Your Relief Blog

Stuffy Nose: Is It Allergies?

Once the colder weather rolls around, it is very easy to pass off a symptom such as a stuffy nose as having a cold. Normally, some cold symptoms might persist from seven to ten days. However, if you are still suffering a stuffy nose for longer than two weeks, it may be very possible that you have indoor allergies.

Changing Your Diet For Asthma Control
If you have asthma, you might wonder if you should change your diet to help control your symptoms

The short answer: don’t do it.

Why? There’s a long answer for that.

While many people associate symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, or congestion with allergies, swollen puffy eyes can also be a sign of an allergy. Eye allergy symptoms can occur with the aforementioned symptoms or they can occur completely on their own.

Eye allergy symptoms may include:

• Itchiness
• Burning
• Redness
• Clear, watery discharge
• Puffiness
• Swelling

If you have never been to an allergy doctor before, you probably do not know what to expect during your first visit. You might think going to the allergist is all about being pricked by needle after needle to see what you are allergic to. Just the thought of that may make you dread going to that first appointment. However, seeing an allergist is not just all about needles.

Antihistamines

When you are exposed to something that you are allergic to, your body reacts by releasing histamine. Histamine acts on the local tissues and you experience sneezing, itchy eyes and a runny nose. Most people gravitate to three main antihistamines to relieve those symptoms:

1. Claritin (Loratadine) – Usually effective for milder symptoms.
2. Zyrtec (Cetirizine) – Can make your feel sleepy and cannot be used by some individuals, i.e. pilots when on duty.
3. Allegra (Fexofenadine) – Usually costs more than Claritin and Zyrtec.

It sometimes can be difficult to determine whether you have a cold or an allergy because many of the symptoms are so similar. However, with a cold your symptoms and discomfort will usually go away within seven to ten days. But when symptoms continue to linger, it could be a pretty sure bet that you have some type of allergy. And when that happens, it might be time to see an allergist.

Along with the cooler weather comes the flu season. If you suffer from allergies and/or asthma, you could be at a higher risk for catching influenza. Having the flu is bad enough, but it can cause your asthma to flare.

Reducing Your Chance of Catching the Flu

It is very easy to catch influenza during the fall and winter months because everyone spends more time indoors. Once someone in your home or workplace catches the flu, it can quickly spread to everyone around them. This can happen with colds and other types of viruses, which can also cause your asthma to flare.

Fall Allergies to Watch For

For some people, the arrival of fall means relief from most of seasonal allergy symptoms they had during the spring and summer. In the fall, grass goes dormant and stops producing pollen and weed allergens in the air begin to also wind down. Depending on the weather conditions through the fall, these allergens sometimes linger on until the first hard freeze occurs toward the end of fall. Mold spores that peaked during the summer may also hang around until the first snow.

Is It Allergies or Do I Have a Cold?

Symptoms from colds or allergies are often so much alike that it might be difficult for you to determine which one you are suffering from. While a cold is caused by a virus, a seasonal allergy is an immune system response triggered from exposure to allergens. Both might cause runny or stuffy noses, and sneezing, but there are some differences in how each present themselves. Understanding the differences between the two, can help you seek relief from your allergy symptoms instead of brushing them off as just another cold.

What can you do to take control of your allergies, instead of letting them control you?

Allergy self help is where you begin taking control. Simple steps can decrease your allergy symptoms and make day-to-day life easier. There are two parts to consider: decreasing exposure to the allergens and using over-the-counter (otc) treatments to control symptoms.