By Riley Hendersen

Think disasters like fire or flood are the only things that can destroy your home? Think again. There may be an enemy growing in the dark, damp places in your house. This enemy may not only be harmful to your family, but may also threaten the life of your home. What is this enemy? Mold.

While some species of mold are not harmful, there are some that can be poisonous to your family and close to impossible to eradicate from your home. For those who suffer any type of allergy, mold can compound their allergy symptoms and make them especially miserable.

While most people are sensitive to mold, there are some people who are especially susceptible to the dangers of mold. These groups include the elderly as well as babies and small children. If you find mold growing in your home, you should evacuate these people immediately so they will not suffer any ill effects from the mold.

You may wonder how mold can get into your home. There are actually a variety of reasons mold may begin to grow in your home. These reasons can include water or pipe leaks, floods, or any other circumstances that may cause surfaces in your home to be wet for an extended period of time.

High humidity levels can also promote mold growth. If you notice a musty odor in your home or if you begin to notice either you or any of your family members start to have an increased incidence of sinus or allergy symptoms you might want to have your home checked for mold.

Mold is actually a living fungus that consumes the products, such as drywall, in your home for nutrients in order to live. During this process, molds produce organic compounds that are released into the air.

It is these compounds that are responsible for the musty smell associated with mold as well as the allergy type reactions experienced when they are breathed in by humans. Symptoms of an allergy to mold can include things such as dizziness, fever and headaches.

Removing mold from your home can be tricky since improper procedure can release mold spores into the air and make your problem worse. It is best to contact professionals to take care of your mold problem. They have the proper equipment and knowledge to clean up the problem without making matters worse. In some cases, parts of your home may have to be gutted and the drywall replaced to get rid of the mold.

In rare cases, homes have had to be burned because the mold problem was so severe it could not be remedied. It is usually best to find alternate lodging while mold is being removed from your home. This can save you the sickness associated with mold spore inhalation.

If you have ever suffered with an allergy, mold may have been responsible for your symptoms. Over a long period of time, exposure to mold can cause life threatening illnesses. People may actually have to abandon their homes while the mold is cleaned out, or the home may have to be gutted and rebuilt in order to get rid of the dangerous substance.

For more information on allergies try visiting http://www.theallergyeffect.com - a website that specializes in providing allergy related tips, advice and resources to including information on mold allergy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Riley_Hendersen

Tags Allergy | Health & Fitness | fungus | mold | symptoms

By Danny Walton

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from asthma or allergies, and are currently taking medication for you symptoms, and are experiencing side effects, you need to read this article. You need to know that there are natural cures for asthma and allergies.

Below are some of the popular drugs used to cure asthma and allergies and their side effects.

Generic name: Budesonide

Brand names: Pulmicort, Rhinocort

Side effects: facial edema, rash, herpes simplex, nervousness, nausea, nasal irritation, dry mouth, hoarseness, wheezing, nasal pain, delayed growth in children

Long term use: glucose intolerance, psychiatric disturbances, cataracts

Generic name: Beclomethasone

Brand names: Beclovent, Vanceril, Becloforte, Beconaise

Side effects: irritation of the throat, coughing, hoarseness, candidiasis in the region of the oropharynx or the larynx.

Long term use: depressed pituitary-adrenal functioning, osteoporosis.

Generic name: Flunisolide

Brand names: Bronalide, Aerobid-M, Nasalide, Rhinalar

Side effects: nasal burning and stinging, aftertaste, hoarseness, sore throat, cough, wheezing, Candida (yeast) infections, change or loss of sense of smell or taste, nausea, headache, diarrhea, allergic reaction (including rash, hives, itchiness and bronchospasm)

Long term use: permanent loss of sense of smell and/or taste

Generic name: Fluticasone

Brand names: Flonase or Flovent

Side effects: dry nose, nose bleeds, candida yeast infections in the mouth, hoarseness, sore throat, serious cortisol suppression, growth suppression in children, eosinophilic pneumonia, eosinophilic vasculitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, vasculitic rash, worsening pulmonary symptoms, cardiac complications, increased risk of glaucoma

Generic name: Salbutamol or Albutrerol

Brand names: Ventolin, Easyhaler, Diskhaler, Proventil

Side effects: suspected to be a co-factor in asthma deaths, tremor, inner agitation, heart palpitation, muscle cramps, headaches, premature contractions during pregnancy, psychotic reactions.

Generic name: Salmeterol

Brand name: Serevent

Side effects: liver dysfunction and damage, increased heart rate, blood pressure, heart beat irregularities, chest pain tremor, nervousness, worsening of bronchospasm (life-threatening), allergic reactions: skin rash, hives, swelling, bronchospasm, and anaphylaxis (life-threatening), worsening of diabetes and lowering of potassium, potentially fatal heart complications.

Expert Warns Against 5 FDA-Approved Drugs- In testimony Thursday (November 18, 2004) before the Senate Finance Committee, Food and Drug Administration reviewer David Graham cited Meridia, Crestor, Accutane, Bextra and Serevent. Serevent was shown, with 90 percent certainty in a long-term trial in England, to cause deaths due to asthma. GlaxoSmithKline, told by the FDA to do a large, clinical trial, begged off. “We’ve got case reports of people dying, clutching their Serevent inhaler,” Graham said. “But Serevent is still on the market.”

Generic name: Prednisone, Prednisolone

Brand names: Adasone, Cartancyl, Colisone, Cordrol, Cortan, Dacortin, Dellacort, Delta-Dome, Deltasone, DiAdreson, Econosone, Fernisone, Liquid Pred, Meticorten, Orasone, Panasol, Paracort, Parmenison, Prednicen-M, Prednicot, Predniment, Rectodelt, Sterapred

Side effects: systemic corticosteroid effects such as hypercorticism and adrenal suppression, Cushing’s syndrome with moon face, truncal obesity, acne, psychiatric disorders, menstruation disorders, osteoporosis, muscular atrophy, and other myopathies,hypertension, edema, hyperglycemia, cataracts, glaucoma, aseptic bone necrosis, pancreatitis, delayed wound healing, sleep disturbances, nycturia, nausea; gastrointestinal bleeding, dermatrophy, cerebral pseudotumor, congestive heart failure, convulsions, impaired wound healing

*to discontiinue use: prednisolone, or prednisone must be reduced gradually if the therapy lasts longer than one week.

Generic name: Theophylline

Brand names: Theo-dur, Respbid, Slo-bid, Theo-24, Theolair, Uniphyl, Slo-phyllin

Side effects: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, trouble concentrating tachycardia, palpitations, extrasystoles, headaches, tremor, nervousness, excitability, sleep disturbances, gastroesophageal reflux

Long term use: dangerous complications mostly affect the heart (arrhythmias) and the central nervous system (convulsions) and are frequently lethal.

Generic name: Zileutron

Brand name: Leutrol, Zyflo Side effects: changes in liver functioning

Long term use: liver damage (yellowing of skin or eyes, unusual tiredness, abdominal pain)

Generic name: Zafirlukast

Brand name: Accolate S

ide effects: headache, infections, nausea, diarrhea, numbness, tingling, pain, worsening respiratory symptoms, liver damage (yellowing of skin or eyes, unusual tiredness, abdominal pain); Churg-Strauss syndrome: can be very serious; if dose is reduced watch for the following symptoms: fever, muscle aches, pains and weight loss.

Long term use: liver damage (yellowing of skin or eyes, unusual tiredness, abdominal pain) instances of life threatening liver failure have been reported to the FDA by Accolate patients

Generic name: Montelukast Brand name: Singulair Side effects: headache, abdominal pain, rash, dyspepsia, dizziness, diarrhea, sinusitis, and ear ache, gastroenteritis, cough, nasal congestion

Are you sick of suffering from asthma drug side effects? The truth is, you really don’t have to take drugs at all. Want to learn more about natural cures for asthma and allergies? Check it out here!

Tags asthma | allergy | cure | drugs | symptoms

By Marilyn Franklin

Your skin is the first thing people see when they look at you. Even when you meet someone it is common to shake their hand in greeting in the United States. Skin allergies can affect that first impression. If you don’t suffer from skin allergies you may think of it as a cosmetic problem but anyone who has them knows that a skin allergy can be very uncomfortable and at times painful.

Some people may not realize that the skin is the largest organ that we have. We all want to take good care of our skin even though it can be challenging at times even when you don’t have skin allergies. We want our skin to look healthy, radiant and smooth. Unfortunately, many live day in day out with a variety of skin disorders usually caused by allergic reactions. There is hope for managing these allergies. The key is to be informed.

What Can Cause a Skin Allergy?

Here is a list of some typical triggers that cause a skin allergy:

• Chemical Household Cleaners
• Latex
• A Variety of Foods
• Pollen
• Dust

Chemical Household Cleaners: These cleaners have strong chemicals that are very harsh. If you are not wearing gloves the chemicals can not only cause rashes but they can even cause burns. I was cleaning my grill yesterday with an oven cleaner and thought I could get away with not using gloves. I was mistaken since I burned my thumb. Skin allergies are also known as allergic contact dermatitis because they generally surface when you come into contact with the allergen line the cleaners in this instance.

If you are affected by this type of skin allergy there are alternative natural cleaning products that you can use if you have been highly sensitive to these types of products. These products are made of less toxic and less harmful materials.

Latex: This material can cause skin allergies as well. Those who wear latex gloves may be sensitive to the latex that is used when these gloves are manufactured. When the latex comes in contact with the skin rashes, bumps, and other reactions can occur. You may also experience severe itching.

There are other gloves that are manufactured that do not have latex. Nowadays daycare and childcare facilities are really on top of allergies. They ask questions about your children’s allergies including latex since these facilities use gloves to keep from spreading germs when they change the children’s diapers.

Variety of Foods: Food sensitivities or intolerance can cause skin allergies. Unfortunately they are hard to diagnose because of the delayed reaction most people experience. Hives can occur rapidly after a certain food has been eaten. Some may be surprised to know that eczema can develop if a food is continually eaten. Eczema is a common skin disorder that has been linked to not only allergies but asthma as well.

Infants and children can develop reactions to dairy but older people can be affected as well. The person is usually reacting to the protein in the milk itself called casein. This reaction causes underlying skin irritations such as dermatitis and rashes. Wheat , citrus, peanuts, and eggs are other foods that can cause skin allergies to erupt.

Pollen and dust can also cause skin allergies but they are commonly known more for reactions affecting your breathink like wheezing, congestion and coughing.

Can Skin Allergies be Treated?

There are a variety of treatment options for treating these skin reactions. Doctors can prescribe certain creams and lotions that can reduce the inflammation or get rid of the rashes and itching. You may also want to consider natural or alternative treatments as well. Keep in mind once you identify your allergy you should do your best to avoid what causes your skin allergy.

Marilyn Franklin writes for AllergyFiles.com where you can find information on all allergy types including food allergies like a yeast allergy or sugar allergy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marilyn_Franklin

Tags skin allergies | cosmetic | cosmetic | inflammation | disorder

By Carmel Baird

Allergies are becoming more common today, and the medical professionals aren’t sure why this is so. Most people aren’t affected by allergies, allergies are an abnormal immune system reactions to things that are typically harmless to most people.

Food allergies are most common in infants and often disappear as a child gets older. There could be a marked improvement when a child received the proper allergy treatment. This improvement is noticed in their behavior as far as school is concerned. There can be hidden or delayed reactions to allergies and this makes it more difficult to identify as the symptoms may not appear until anything form two hours to five days and can range from unexplained fatigue to physical pain. Often migraine headache suffers are also people who suffer from allergies.

Allergy Symptoms

The most common form of allergies are hay fever, eczema, asthma and food. Food allergies can present themselves as irritation and swelling of the throat, digestive problems and in some rare cases anaphylactic (allergic) shock. More common symptoms of food allergies involve the skin and appear as hives, rashes, eczema and itching. Food allergies can also cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Food allergies and food intolerance are often confused. Intolerance to lactose or MSG can cause similar symptoms to an allergic reaction. While food allergies can be serious, by simply eliminating these foods from the diet, there may be no need for medication or allergy treatments.

Allergy Reactions

Reactions often vary, this can be in the strength and ranges from very mild to sometimes fatal. There can be a reaction on the skin if there is an allergen, which is normally encountered in the airways or in food. With the life threatening allergy reactions, a person may be unable to breathe, this could cause a drop in blood that would be dangerous, causing the blood flow to decrease and rob the brain, lungs and heart of this vital supply. Severe cases of food allergies can happen by the person simply coming in contact with the food in question.

Allergy Treatments

There is ongoing research by doctors and scientists to understand allergies and in doing so provide better allergy treatments. Your doctor will test you to make sure that you have an allergy and find out which allergens are causing your symptoms. It is advisable to contact your doctor when the allergy outbreak occurs, so he can provide the best allergy treatment for you. That sinus headache you get could be a migraine and allergy treatments are helping migraine sufferers.

Allergies have become more common today, one theory by a leading allergy specialist is as he says “too clean”, the fact that we live in such clean environments and as allergies are an abnormal response by our immune system, our immune systems are not building up the immunity our bodies need to protect us.

The majority of things that cause an allergic reaction and require allergy treatment are not obviously harmful and those who are not allergic will have no problems.

©2007 CTBaird. Carmel Baird contributes to Allergy Hints and Tips a site dedicated to helping people obtain information, hints, tips about allergy treatments New articles are being posted every week.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmel_Baird

Tags allergen | allergy | food | rashes | symptoms

By Michael Russell

As countless people are well aware, allergies are a nuisance and a debilitating condition. An allergic reaction occurs when the body’s immune system has an overreaction to a normally harmless substance. This substance is known as an allergen and often results in symptoms that can range from itchy eyes and a runny nose to skin rashes and breathing difficulties. Furthermore, allergies can cause painful irritation and can even be lethal to some. This article will describe the symptoms, diagnosis methods and treatment information for some of the more common allergic conditions.

Asthma - This is a chronic inflammatory disorder that results in a swollen throat and inflamed bronchial passages within the lungs. Asthma is widely prevalent and severely disabling at best. At worst, it can even be fatal. While countless allergens can potentially trigger this disorder, indoor allergens are generally responsible. This allergic condition is characterized by difficult breathing, tightness in the chest and frequent bouts of coughing and wheezing. A skin prick test can be used to diagnose this condition and it can be treated through the use of antihistamines, bronchodilators and topical steroids.

Rhinitis - Rhinitis is an allergic condition that is known to occur in the eyes, nose and throat. This symptom arises when airborne particles or allergens trigger the release of histamine, which then subsequently results in inflammation and fluid production in the nasal passages, sinuses and eyelids. Sneezing, stuffy or runny noses, a sore throat, facial pains, headaches, poor concentration and sleeping difficulties characterize rhinitis. Depending on the severity of this condition, over the counter or doctor prescribed antihistamines, in haled medications and eye drops can be used to ease the symptoms.

Oral Allergy Syndrome - Oral Allergy Syndrome (O.A.S.) is an allergic condition occasionally experienced by people with food allergies. Specifically, fresh fruit and vegetables are the common triggers and it is manifested as a local tissue reaction on the person’s lips, mouth and in the throat. These reactions generally occur within a few minutes after ingesting the food, but last only briefly and are rarely severe. A blood test can be used to help in identifying the offending allergen and O.A.C. is generally treated through various over-the-counter antihistamines and epinephrine.

Allergic Conjunctivitis - Conjunctivitis is an eye condition that is triggered by various airborne allergens and irritants. Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis is usually linked to attacks of hay fever. A person who normally might wear contact lenses is recommended to wear eyeglasses during these times. Contact lenses will only compound the problem and may potentially cause an eye infection. Red and itchy eyes and eyelids, swollen eyelids, consistent sneezing and a runny nose characterize allergic conjunctivitis. This condition can be treated through the use of lubricating eye drops and over-the-counter antihistamines. Aspirin and ibuprofen can assist in reducing eyelid swelling and a cold compress over the eyelids can bring substantial relief.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis - This is an allergic reaction that occurs when an allergen substance comes in contact with the surface of the skin. Regardless of how minute the amount, the contact with an allergen will trigger an aggressive skin reaction. Allergic contact dermatitis usually is first signaled by itchy and flushed skin with tiny fluid-filled blisters. However, the onset of symptoms is not necessarily immediate and may appear even a week after initial contact. As a result of this delayed response, patch testing is the ideal diagnostic method. Treatment methods for this condition include cortisone creams and ointments. Tight and rough clothing can further aggravate the symptoms and should therefore be avoided.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Allergies

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Tags allergic reaction | antihistamines | inflamed | irritants | skin rashes