Allergies are not a disease and are not curable, but many products exist that can minimize dripping from the nose, constant sneezing and other annoying symptoms.
One can go to a doctor’s office for an allergy shot, which will not stop the allergy, but will minimize its symptoms which will make someone’s life much easier. If a person has phobias concerning needles, there are various products that can be taken orally.
These products are divided into several groups, depending on their influence on the symptoms. These are antihistamines, corticosteroids, decongestants, combined drugs, etc.
Allergy shots are the best way of battling against allergies. By taking allergy shots, the body is exposed to a gradual increase of the allergen in question, until eventually the body’s immune system is capable of defending the body by itself.
Antihistamines work in the manner of blocking the histamine receptors. When an allergen enters our body, the immune system reacts by releasing histamines. These histamines attach themselves to their receptors in blood vessels. By doing so, the blood vessels start to swell and get enlarged causing redness, and will start to itch. By blocking these receptors, antihistamines are preventing the symptoms from appearing. Many of the products used for this problem cause drowsiness, so one must be careful when using them.
Decongestants work in different way. When applied, they shrink the swollen tissues in our nose, and swollen capillaries in our eyes, which also become red. By doing so, it simply lessens the symptoms that are causing the problem; like mucous, redness and swelling. They are usually prescribed as assistance to antihistamines and come in variety of products, like eye drops, nasal sprays, liquid etc. Products like eye drops, or nasal spray cannot be used longer than a few days, because they can cause opposite effect if overused. Decongestants are known to raise blood pressure so people who have problems with blood pressure are advised not to use it.
Combined drugs are a simple combination of drugs from different groups of purpose, like a combination between an allergy medicine and asthma medicine, or antihistamine and a decongestant, etc.
Corticosteroids, or simply steroids, are very good for treating allergies, and have very good impact on all the symptoms at once. They also come in variety of products such as sprays, pills and inhalers. They are very good in treating all kinds of allergies. In order to feel the full effect of treatment, it is necessary to take them daily and regularly, although the effects can become noticeable after at least ten to fourteen days.However, steroids are not a very popular method of treatment, because they have many side effects such as weight gain, high blood, osteoporosis, weakening muscles, diabetes, suppression of growth, etc.
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