Air condition your home.
Keep bathrooms free of mold and mildew.
Avoid pets or restrict them to certain areas.
Damp mop hard surfaces regularly.
Enclose your fireplace.
Fluff drapes and rugs in dryer to remove dust.
Use your exhaust fans.
Vacuum mattresses.
Don't allow smoking in your home.
Replace furnace filters frequently.
Vacuum everything once a week.
Invest in an ozone-free air cleaner.

Watching what you eat is important if you’ve got food allergies, so taking steps to control your diet can also be considered a natural allergy remedy. In addition to closely monitoring what you eat, there also are foods you can consume that are known to contain naturally-occurring histamine combatants. For example, Quercitin, a flavinoid found in onions and apples, is capable of blocking the release of histamines which cause the familiar allergy symptoms like runny nose, congestion, and itchy, watery eyes. Besides being effective against allergies, there are countless other health benefits of eating these and other types of fruits and vegetables, like lowering your risk of developing heart disease and keeping your blood sugar levels stable

allergies symptoms

Allergies come in all shapes. The first time that you realise you are having an allergic reaction you’ll probably find you’re suffering from the following symptoms:


1. Itching or rubbing

2. Red small spots on the skin

3. Sore red areas where you have come in contact with the offending product

4. Possible sickness or headaches

5. Extreme cases: hyperactivity, emotional outbursts.

If you are allergic to a cream or lotion, dab off as much as you can with a cotton bud soaked in tepid water. Do not run the area under a tap. Your skin is likely to be dry and pouring water directly over the affected areas will only make it worse. If your pain is itchy and hot, place ice wrapped in a clean cloth over the area. After the itching has subsided, use a cooling cream. Don’t use normal moisturisers as this may make it worse. Use a non-perfumed, non-coloured lotion and ensure that it is lanolin-free (such as after-sun lotion) Re-apply every hour.

Do not scratch or itch, this will result in scabs and bleeding.

If your pain is severe, go to your local hospital emergency room, taking along whatever has caused this reaction (if possible).

The most common allergies are:

1. Peanuts/nuts

2. orange food colouring

3. caffeine

4. pollen (hayfever)

5. perfume

6. dust-mites (asthma)


From the list above, a nut allergy is probably the most difficult (and the most common).
Nut traces can be found in almost anything and having this disorder can be tricky when shopping at the supermarket.

How do I know what I’m allergic to?

If you’ve got an allergic reaction to certain areas of your body, think about what things may have come into contact with these areas. The list can be pretty exhaustive and you should think of all possibilities.

For example, if you’ve an itchy, sore scalp it is possible that you could be allergic to:

1. your shampoo

2. conditioner

3. shampoo used by your hairdresser

4. hair products

5. hair colouring

6. a hat

7. a washing powder you’ve used to wash your hat (list this if you have other areas affected such as your body, skin surface)

8. fabric softener

Eliminate all the possible culprits’ one by one, month by month. This can take quite some time so good idea is to start with the most obvious possibilities and work your way down the list. For the example above,use a different shampoo for one month and see if the problem clears. If it does not, try eliminating something else.

In the meantime, for your problem areas where you are experiencing discomfort cooling creams and general antiseptic creams are available at your local chemist.

Seasonal allergies are nothing to sneeze at: You feel stuffed up, have a scratchy throat, and your head feels like it's full of cotton. On the other hand, maybe you have a cold instead. Knowing the difference will help you determine treatment, experts say.

While you may be suspicious of allergies in spring, keep in mind that there's a family component. If neither parent has allergies, it's unlikely that you will. If both your parents have allergies, you have a 75 percent chance of developing them, too. Still, it's not unheard of to develop allergies as a grownup. And the incidence of seasonal allergies is on the increase, thanks in part to global warming.

Allergy is a disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy. Allergic reactions occur to normally harmless environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are acquired, predictable and rapid. Strictly, allergy is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is called type I (or immediate) hypersensitivity.

Allergy shots contain a small amount of the substance which you are allergic to. If you are allergic to pollen, a small amount of pollen would be added to the shot. The amount is small enough so that it does not cause you to suffering from allergy symptoms, but enough so that you body gets used to fighting the allergen. Therefore, the next time your body comes in contact with that substance, it will be familiar with fighting it off and you will most likely not suffer from allergies.