Allergies

If you feel like your seasonal allergies are starting to act up earlier with each passing year…or if you’ve never been an allergy sufferer yet suddenly you’ve started to wonder, “Could all these symptoms be allergies?”…you’re probably right, on both counts. In a report released last year, experts explained that not only is allergy season […]

Wine lovers: Here’s another reason to rejoice! It turns out that having a little merlot or pinot noir once in a while may do your tummy good. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Let me explain… It’s widely known that red wine has properties that protect your heart. This is courtesy of compounds called […]

We tend to hear about the possible side effects of drugs through ads, doctors, and word of mouth. Usually, these adverse reactions are caused by the active ingredients—the components that cause the medication to have a therapeutic impact on your health. But, we rarely hear about bad reactions to the inactive ingredients. While they’re far more rare, they do happen…and in some cases they can be life threatening. Learn how to identify potential allergens and what you can do to help prevent side-effects.

In most parts of the country, allergy season is in full swing. If you don’t have allergies, there’s always the risk of a troublesome spring or summer cold. But, no matter which affliction your respiratory system ends up doing battle with, you’re going to have to deal with mucus. Mucus definitely has the “yuck” factor, […]

With much of the country in the throes of a particularly harsh allergy season, many people may wonder why they suffer so much from allergies while others seem perfectly symptom-free. Well, there are a lot of factors that could make a person more susceptible to seasonal allergies, including hereditary and environmental influences. And believe it […]

For some people, the fall season means football, cooler weather, changing leaves and landscapes, and pumpkin-spiced lattes. For others, it means fall allergies: itchy and watery eyes, coughing, sneezing, congestion, and runny nose. Such is the life of a seasonal allergy sufferer. If you don’t have to put up with allergies every spring or autumn, […]

Why would your seasonal allergies suddenly make you allergic to foods you’ve never had problems with?  If you’re allergic to pollen, why would that cause an allergic reaction to oranges or peaches? And how come these new allergies aren’t showing up on diagnostic tests? Typically affecting older kids, teens, and young adults—unexpected and unexplained food […]

Allergy shots have been around forever. But they may be on their way to extinction—replaced by something far better. Historically speaking, once you’ve identified, with your allergist, the things that set you miserably off—the sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose, rash, or hives, he’ll often prescribe a shot. A minute amount of that allergen injected into […]

Pop quiz time!  Q: What do cats and latex rubber gloves have in common? A: They’re both common allergens. So are peanuts, mold, dust mites, pollen, cat and dog dander, soy products, birch trees…it’s a mile-long list. That’s what makes allergies almost entertaining. Not that we should take them lightly—they range from mildly annoying to […]

When your nose runs, your eyes itch, you can’t stop sneezing, and you’re breaking out in hives, what’s going on? Allergies? A cold? How can you tell? The symptoms can be very similar. What should you do? The usual response is to “take something.” Whether it’s a cold or an allergy, that “something” is usually […]