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Allergies: Types, Preventive Measures, and Medications

It’s hard to find a person who doesn’t have an allergy to something. The human body negatively reacts to substances the organism regards as dangerous. As a result, people “cough” or “sneeze” them out. Some allergic reactions become too hard. People get skin rashes, and their tongues and limbs start swelling. As a result, many people end in a reanimation. Some of them die because of improper or not-in-time treatment.

Many people live knowing nothing about their allergies until they strike them in certain conditions. What types of allergies do people have? How can one avoid them? What kinds of treatment can one buy to handle acute and moderate allergic attacks?

Types of Allergies People Usually Experience

Typically, doctors identify four main types of allergies.

Airborne

This allergy hits people who breathe allergens together with air. Seasonal allergens are the most popular among people who cannot stand the smell of blossoming trees and flowers. The most common triggers for airborne allergies are:

  • dust mites
  • pollen
  • mold
  • pet dander
  • mildew
  • aerosols
  • smoke
  • strong smells

Typically, people sneeze, cough, and suffer from headaches, difficulty breathing, and watery eyes when heaving airborne allergies.

Contact

This allergy type occurs when a person touches the allergy triggers. The allergens penetrate a person’s skin and provoke severe negative reactions. Patients usually complain of skin rash and skin itching. Some may also have watery eyes. The most common skin triggers are:

  • cosmetics (lipsticks, creams, soaps, shampoo, lotions, topicals, gels, etc.)
  • medicines (any component may be allergic)
  • nickel
  • flora and fauna representatives
  • latex (gloves, condoms, cofferdam, masks, etc.)
  • household cleaning stuff, especially with aggressive chemicals
  • perfume and toilet water
  • unnatural clothes and wool

Sometimes, people confuse contact with atopic dermatitis. They both result in eczema, inflammatory skin rash, and itching. Unlike atopic dermatitis, contact allergy is easier to treat. The only thing one should find out is its trigger and remove it. Atomic dermatitis is a combination of genetic and environmental triggers. So, it can become permanent or hard to treat as the source is usually hard to identify.

Medication

People treat different diseases using traditional and non-traditional medicine. The first one includes topicals, nasal sprays, pills, tablets, and other synthetic drugs. The second treatment type includes herbs and herbal medicine, homeopathy, bee products, and mud. A person can have an allergy to any of them. However, some drugs are considered to be more allergic than others:

  • chemotherapy
  • penicillin
  • sulfa drugs
  • anti-inflammatory drugs (non-steroid group)
  • sea salt
  • topicals (iodine, herbal ointments, etc.)
  • different herbs

Health experts don’t recommend dealing with self-treatment as it can worsen a patient’s situation or cause severe allergic reactions.

Food

Even newborns can have food allergies. A breastfeeding mother consumes food that becomes a part of breast milk. A baby eats it and suffers from allergic reactions. It can be an inflammatory rash, difficulty breathing, atopic dermatitis, and sneezing. That’s why breastfeeding experts recommend keeping to low-allergy diets for breastfeeding mothers and adding new products to their daily ration gradually. Parents should do the same when introducing new products to 6-month-old babies.

The most common food allergens are:

  • nuts (peanuts, walnuts, macadamia)
  • fatty fish (salmon, tuna, flake, barramundi, cod, etc.) and shellfish
  • eggs
  • milk
  • fruit (oranges, strawberries, apricots, peaches, prunes, persimmon, grapes, figs, etc.)
  • vegetables (tomatoes, beetroots, eggplants, carrots, cucumbers, sweetcorns, potatoes, onions, beans, and mushrooms)
  • wheat
  • seasoning and spices

Today, many products have colorants and chemicals that can also provoke severe allergic reactions. So, one should be careful. When a person suffers from food allergies, it’s necessary to find out and write down all possible triggers and take medicines to manage acute symptoms quickly. As a rule, these are shots or chewables.

Typical symptoms of food allergies are skin inflammation rashes, itching, and body part swelling. Sometimes allergic reactions occur too fast and a person requires emergency help. Food allergies are dangerous as a person swallows food and drinks that stay in the body until fully digested. So, it’s impossible to get rid of them immediately. Only good quality and properly selected IV or IM medicine can relieve a patient’s condition.

Antiallergic Medications and OTC Products

Health advisors prescribe one of the four types of drugs to treat allergies or release the symptoms:

  • nasal sprays
  • inhalers
  • pills
  • injections

Injections are usually used in emergencies connected with the inability to swallow pills or chewables. For example, peanut allergy provokes tongue swelling that blocks airways. A person cannot breathe and starts choking. An intramuscular shot releases the symptoms quickly if applied on time. Doctors recommend carrying them everywhere and warning mates or friends about the situation. They should know how to use the medicine if a person cannot inject the drug independently or faints.

People often use nasal sprays or inhalers when having airborne allergies. The most popular drugs are:

  • Flonase nasal spray for eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis
  • Astelin nasal spray for sneezing and itching
  • Rhinocort inhaler for hayfever

However, pills remain the best-sellers. They are taken regularly or symptomatically. Doctors usually prescribe drugs with the required active component. Not all active substances are suitable for a concrete medical case. These are the top anti-allergic pills with their active ingredients and available doses:

  • Claritin (10mg of Loratadine)
  • Periactin (4mg of Cyproheptadine)
  • Aristocort (4mg of Triamcinolone)
  • Atarax (10mg/25mg of Hydroxyzine)
  • Clarinex (5mg of Desloratadine)
  • Phenergan (25 mg of Promethazine)
  • Prednisolone (5mg/10mg/20mg/40mg)
  • Allegra (120mg/180mg of Fexofenadine)

Health advisors prescribe antihistamines, hormones, or corticosteroids to allergic patients. The drug selection depends on a concrete case and a patient. The only thing that pharmacists can suggest is either to choose brand or generic drugs. Both produce the same effect as they have the same active ingredients. However, generics are cheaper and may differ in color, shape, release form, and inactive ingredients.

Typical Allergic Reactions

A body can react to allergens differently. As a rule, a person experiences skin and breathing difficulties. Typical allergic reactions are:

  • rash or hives
  • sneezing and runny nose
  • watery and red eyes
  • coughing and trouble breathing
  • tongue, face, and limb swelling
  • headache

Sometimes, a person might have stomach upset caused by allergens. This allergic reaction is rare and is often confused with indigestion. However, it’s one of the possible ways for the organism to react to possible allergic triggers.

How to Avoid Acute Allergic Reactions

It’s hard to avoid allergies for people whose organisms negatively react to various substances. Some people suffer from all four types of allergies. As a rule, they have atopic dermatitis, eczema, or asthma. Others can avoid possible allergic triggers.

Doctors usually treat their allergic patients in the following way.

  • First, they ask them about symptoms and their environment to identify possible triggers.
  • Second, they send them to laboratories. Patients deal with various tests to find out what substances and things cause their allergic reactions.
  • Finally, they select the best-matching drug to manage symptoms. Patients must also avoid their triggers or take medicines regularly to prevent acute allergic attacks. For example, people take medicines regularly in spring and summer when suffering from seasonal allergies as it’s impossible to avoid pollen, the strong smell of blossom, and street dust.

People should try new products carefully to ensure their organisms “have nothing against them”. One should follow basic recommendations for breastfeeding mothers and the first lure for babies — one teaspoon at a time. If a person has stomach upset or any other typical allergic reaction to the introduced product, it will be necessary to exclude it from the ration.

Disclaimer: The information presented on the page should not be used for self-medication or self-diagnosis. If you suspect the presence of a disease, you must seek help from a qualified specialist. Only your attending physician can diagnose and prescribe treatment.

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