Why do you constantly sniffle when the weather gets warm? Here’s what’s happening in your body when spring allergies hit, and what you can do to curb your symptoms<\/p>\n
By Best Health<\/em><\/p>\n Ah, spring. It\u2019s that wonderful time of year when the temperature starts to rise and everything is in bloom. But for many Canadians, it also marks the beginning of spring allergy season<\/a><\/strong>\u2018a time of runny noses, itchy eyes and constant sneezing. Allergy symptoms may last right through summer, depending on what you\u2019re allergic to\u2019with trees, grass, molds and ragweed being the most common culprits.<\/p>\n According to the Asthma Canada, approximately 80 percent of Canadians with asthma suffer from allergic rhinitis (better known as \u2018hay fever\u2019).\u00a0 And that number has grown significantly, says Dr. Susan Waserman, an allergist and clinical immunologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. \u2018As an allergist, the face of my clinic has changed. All allergy has doubled or tripled.\u2019<\/p>\n People inherit a certain genetic disposition towards allergies, explains Dr. Waserman. So the tendency to be allergic is passed from parents to children. <\/strong>During allergy season, your body has an immune reaction when exposed to different allergens and forms allergy-specific antibodies (called immunoglobulins), which sit on cells in your eyes, nose, lungs and skin. The next time you come into contact with a particular allergen, your body reacts by releasing chemicals called histamines, leading to an allergic reaction.<\/p>\n Before you can treat allergies or try to avoid the cause of your flare-ups, you need to identify what\u2019s causing your symptoms.<\/strong> If you know that you\u2019re at an increased risk for allergies due to family history, it\u2019s a good idea to get an allergy skin test (called a scratch test<\/a>) before the season begins.\u00a0 \u2018Start prepping the season before,\u2019 suggests Janine Fraser, a naturopath<\/a> with a special interest in allergies, at West Shore Family Naturopathic in Langford, B.C. \u2018By the time people are reacting and not feeling well, they\u2019re going to need something pharmaceutical.\u2019 She notes that while a scratch test (which exposes the skin to small amounts of irritants) is an effective way of determining what you\u2019re allergic to, going through the test when you\u2019re already suffering from allergy symptoms can increase your discomfort. <\/strong><\/p>\n Keep in mind that your allergies may be linked to more than what\u2019s swirling around outside. \u2018During allergy season, you could become more sensitive to food allergies,\u2019<\/strong> says Waserman. Determining whether foods are an issue is an important part of managing your allergies, Fraser adds. \u2018Our health is built by the food we\u2019re eating,\u2019 she says. \u2018An anti-inflammatory diet won\u2019t completely eliminate an allergy, but it will take some burden off.\u2019 However, she notes that you should consult a professional before eliminating any foods from your diet.<\/strong> \u2018If you eliminate the wrong food, you can put yourself at risk for other things [such as nutrient deficiencies],\u2019 she cautions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What causes spring allergies? Why do you constantly sniffle when the weather gets warm? Here’s what’s happening in your body<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[78,221,79],"class_list":["post-7923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allergy","tag-allergies","tag-allergy","tag-pollen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/universitypharmacy.ca\/shoponline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Anatomy of an allergic reaction<\/h3>\n
Determining your allergy triggers<\/h3>\n