Allergies and Asthma

Allergies are a chronic condition in which your body mistakes a benign substance (allergen) as a threat and releases histamines and other substances to fight it off, which results in an allergic reaction. There’s a wide range of potential allergies that could impact your health and wellness. Some of the most common allergens include:

• Pollens
• House Dust
• Molds
• Animal dander (hair/fur)
• Insect bites and stings
• Latex
• Certain medications, such as penicillin
• Foods

Food allergies are also increasing in prevalence. For example, dairy products, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy products, fish, and shellfish often trigger allergic reactions. Foods can also cause delayed reactions, or hypersensitivities, and these can be determined by our skin testing or blood measurements.

Allergies cause a variety of symptoms that range in severity. Allergic symptoms are usually localized to the part of your body that came into contact with an allergen, although that’s not always the case.

For example, food allergies often cause tingling or swelling in your mouth, or nausea and vomiting. However, a food allergy can also cause hives or a rash on your skin. Common allergy symptoms include:

• Sneezing or coughing
• A runny or congested nose
• Itchy or watery eyes, nose, or mouth
• Swelling of membranes
• Skin rashes and hives

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that affects breathing and can cause you to go into shock, lose consciousness, or even die. Anaphylaxis causes severe symptoms including:

• A drop in blood pressure
• Shortness of breath or tight breathing
• A rapid, weak pulse
• Skin rash
• Lightheadedness

If you or anyone near you goes into anaphylaxis, call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest emergency room immediately. Even if you have an epinephrine auto-injector, you should use it and then seek immediate medical attention to ensure your symptoms don’t return.

If you suspect that you have allergies, you should make an appointment with Dr. Haas and the team at Preventive Medical Center of Marin. They offer comprehensive allergy testing services to identify the substances that trigger your reactions. With that list in hand, they create customized allergy management plans that combine the best of conventional, naturopathic and Eastern medicine approaches to enhance your health and reduce your allergy symptoms.

Dr. Haas and his team consider your overall health when planning treatment to manage your allergies. They help you develop avoidance strategies and may suggest other therapies or treatments including:

• Skin Testing & Sublingual therapy
• Neti pots and saline nasal rinses
• Nutritional supplements like vitamin C and the bioflavonoid quercetin
• Herbal therapies, such as stinging nettle
• Acupuncture

You may also benefit from following an anti-inflammatory diet and taking supplements such as probiotics and omega-3 fatty acids to restore balance to your digestive tract and reduce inflammation. Learn more about the integrative medicine approach to Allergies in this blog article: https://www.preventivemedicalcenterofmarin.com/blog/allergies-an-integrated-approach

Call the office to schedule an appointment for expert, customized allergy management services.