Archive for June, 2008

Did you ever notice any strange feeling like sneezing and itchy skin when you have really a tough day? It’s not merely a coincidence, your emotions can become triggers of allergic symptoms.

Many researches are now trying to find the link between stress and various allergic conditions.

Most of them truly believe that certain allergic disorders like eczema, hay fever and also asthma are typically regulated in your body, whenever you experience more stress by any means.

What is the role of your nervous system in aggravating the allergic symptoms?

Nervous system is the most important body part, which interprets all kinds of stressful events.

It is the main interpreter, which determines how your body can respond to various stressful situations in your life.

So, whenever your body experiences extreme stress, the brain present in your nervous system tends to release certain chemicals like histamines into your blood stream. As a result, you will experience various allergic symptoms like itchy skin, sneezing and also runny nose.

Even, if you develop any sort of negative emotional reactions, then accordingly these pessimistic thoughts will obviously disturb the well-constructed equilibrium of your brain.

Despite being at increased risk for influenza-related complications, almost two-thirds of people with asthma in the US are not vaccinated against influenza each year, according to an analysis of data from the 2005-2006 flu season.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended since 1964 that all persons with asthma get a flu shot, because they’re prone to complications if they do catch influenza.

The vaccine coverage rate did improve if patients had experienced asthma problems. Among those with an asthma attack in the previous 12 months, 38 percent had a flu shot, as did 42 percent of those who had had to go to the emergency room or seek urgent care for asthma.

Vaccination rates increased with the individual’s age: in pediatric patients, rates did not exceed 30 percent, while in patients 65 years and older, rates did not fall below 80 percent.

The respondents were more likely to get the vaccine if they had insurance coverage, a usual place for healthcare, and higher family income. The odds of being vaccinated also increased as the number of healthcare visits rose, yet even among subjects with 10 or more visits, the coverage rate was just 51 percent.

Moving house or the separation of parents can significantly increase the risk of children developing allergies later on.

Stress events during childhood are increasingly suspected of playing a role in the later development of asthma, allergic skin disorders, or allergic sensitizations.

Dramatic life events like the death of a family member or serious illnesses of a family member are suspected of increasing the risk of allergies for the children affected.

These are the results from a long-term study correlating life-style, immune system development and allergies, led by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ), the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the “Institut für Umweltmedizinische Forschung” (IUF) in Duesseldorf.

The researchers had examined blood samples taken from 234 six-year old children and discovered increased blood concentrations of the stress-related peptide VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) in connection with moving house or the separation of parents.

The neuropeptide VIP could take on a mediator role between stress events in life and the regulation of immune responses, researchers write in the scientific journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

The fact that stress events can have an influence on the development of allergies has been known for a while.

Did you ever experience any allergic symptoms because of new carpet in your home? Despite of all the benefits offered by carpets, carpeting becomes the major source for allergies, particularly for those who are allergic to chemicals and dust mites [Controlling dust allergies].

If you are allergic to both chemicals and airborne allergies, then both new carpet which emits chemical odor and old carpet that harbors various airborne allergens become dangerous for your health.

According to allergy experts, for some allergy sufferers, carpets and rugs are the major sources for allergies, which aggravate certain allergic symptoms and its associated health complications [Symptoms of dust allergy].

So, if you are sensitive to any kind of airborne allergens or chemicals, then it becomes very essential for you to take appropriate care in your carpet cleaning process, which helps you in keeping your carpet allergies away from you.

How to deal with new carpet allergies?

New carpet can become a source of chemical emissions, which are quite potential to cause allergic symptoms in those who are allergic to chemicals. In addition to this, the padding and the adhesives used in the manufacturing of carpets, potentially emits certain volatile organic compounds that can aggravate your condition of allergies.

In your daily routine, it is quite common for you to come across various kinds of food additives including preservatives, antioxidants, food colorings, emulsifiers and also artificial sweeteners.

Most of these food additives doesn’t cause any harm to your body. But, there are certain toxic and also carcinogenic agents which are quite susceptible to cause variety of allergenic reactions in your body.

Since most of the allergic reactions to food additives are not diagnosed properly, the appropriate rate of reactions is not exactly known.

However, many studies have estimated that the rate is possibly less than 1% in adults and 2% in children.

If you are allergic to any kind of food additives whenever your body immune system is exposed to these allergic triggers, it can cause variety of reactions in your body. These symptoms can range from a simple skin rash to life threatening illness.

So, if you are really allergic to any kind of food additives, then it becomes very essential for you to stay away from all those triggers of allergy.

A consumer advocacy group called on the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to ban the use of eight artificial colorings in food because they have been linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children.

Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables.

The additives are particularly prevalent in the cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to children.

The purpose of these chemicals is often to mask the absence of real food, to increase the appeal of a low-nutrition product to children, or both,” said the center’s executive director, Michael F. Jacobson.

Controlled studies conducted over three decades have shown that children’s behavior can be worsened by some artificial dyes.

The center’s petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls the group’s request to ban the dyes outright.

For more information, visit: CNN

Do you frequently experience allergic symptoms while cleaning home? Are you concerned with the selection of better cleaning products for your allergies?

Even though maintaining healthy and hygienic environment is very essential, it becomes quite difficult for you, particularly when you are allergic to chemicals.

For most of the people, maintaining a healthy clean environment becomes extremely a major concern.

However, allergy products offer a wide variety of high quality cleaning products to ensure that your home is free from all those undesirable and unhygienic allergens.

But, if you are sensitive to chemicals, then cleaning can become extremely difficult task for you.

This is mainly due to the reason that the chemicals which are mainly used in cleaning products are rather harmful for you.

So, if you are really worried about this, then here are certain chemicals which you can avoid to reduce your risks of allergy.

Chlorine! Most of the household cleaners often contain chlorine bleach. This chlorine bleach is generally considered as the most powerful eye irritant. Even, it is also capable to develop various lung disorders.