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A dripping runny nose, feeling worse and getting colder outside the window. Rain and blows do not encourage walking. Additionally, the started heating season and less aired flats cause increased allergic reactions, which intensify in the autumn and winter season. These are the reasons why you feel worse. There are unpleasant symptoms: runny nose, cough – symptoms associated with both allergies and colds. So how do you distinguish between symptoms caused by allergies and those caused by infection?
- Symptoms for allergies and infections are the same, but treatments are radically different
- The autumn-winter period is the time when the symptoms of year-round allergies, especially to house dust mites and molds, become active.
- Arachnids cannot be seen, but they are bed dwellers, they like moisture, they feed on exfoliated epidermis
Colds are caused by viruses, there are about 200 types, and they irritate our respiratory system. We get infected by airborne droplets through contact with a sick person. Symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, heavy nasal discharge usually green or yellow, nasal congestion, cough. All these symptoms appear one after another. Usually, a viral infection lasts from 7 to about 14 days, occurs regardless of the season (the apogee is the autumn-winter period), is accompanied by low-grade fever and muscle pain.
Treatment: there is no reliable method of treating viruses, but we can use the available ones, i.e. clear the nose with drops, inhale with a stick, use antipyretic preparations and, if necessary, painkillers. We replenish the fluids in the body. You can also try a Runny nose gel with marjoram extract, which makes it easier to breathe by decongesting the nose.
Allergy: it is an abnormal response of the body to a given allergen, causing a burst of histamine – the transition from the “acceptance” mode to the “threat” mode. In the morning you wake up with a blocked nose, you sneeze regularly and you have a runny nose with a watery, transparent discharge. Symptoms appear at the same time and also in places where allergens occur, ie in dusty, unventilated rooms with lots of “dust catchers”. This is the primary symptom of house dust mite allergy. The arachnids themselves cannot be seen, but they are the inhabitants of our beds, they like moisture, they feed on exfoliated epidermis. Do Imutest Allergy – Dust Mites – Home Cassette Test to help you determine if you are allergic to dust mites.
If you want to reduce the symptoms associated with allergies, try Na Allergy – Panaseus dietary supplement available on Medonet Market.
Read also: Proper breathing – how does it affect our body?
What to do?
Ventilate the bedding to let the moisture evaporate, use the hypoallergenic one with a dense weave. This will limit the migration of mites. Wash duvet covers at a higher temperature and iron them with an iron – high temperature eliminates mites. Comprehensive action is a chance to reduce allergens.
Wet wipe all spaces in the house. Eliminate the so-called “Dust catchers”, fluffy carpets and heavy curtains – places where dust collects the most.
Limit the excess of stuffed animals, leave only the most beloved ones and wash them once every 2 weeks, if you cannot soak them, put them in the freezer overnight. Dust mites do not like frost.
As an aid in the treatment of allergic ailments, drink nettle root tea or ALERGOFIX – herbal tea from the Herbapol brand in Krakow.
Beware of mold!
Fall is a busy time for you. The remaining leaf piles must be collected. It is in wet leaves that mold develops and enters your body with air. Remember not to ignore the symptoms of allergy, because ignoring it may lead to asthma.
Treatment: first-line drugs are antihistamines. The main medications in the case of allergies are antihistamines. It is important that these are drugs of a new generation, e.g. with the active substance desloratadine. Their action is targeted and thus they do not cause drowsiness or lack of concentration, which is crucial in everyday work. The drugs of the new generation are in the form of a tablet that disintegrates in the mouth without the need to drink it.
How to distinguish an infectious rhinitis from an allergic rhinitis? – the allergist advises
Dr. Aleksandra Kindracja – allergist, pediatrician admits that it is relatively easy to distinguish an infectious catarrh from rhinitis caused by pollen of plants or grasses. The infection is usually accompanied by fever, pain in the muscles, bones, throat, and a general feeling of being unwell. Occasionally there is also watery or suppuration of the eyes. In inhaled pollen allergy, runny nose is watery, runny and associated with sneezing, but, characteristically, it is accompanied by itching of the nose and eyes. The symptoms of pollinosis worsen in the open air, especially on clear days, and decrease after rain. Allergic rhinitis repeats itself in the following years at the same time of the year, and the period of its occurrence coincides with the pollination of certain plants or grasses.
Do you want to have an allergy test? Select the mail-order respiratory panel for inhalation allergies and submit a blood sample for analysis in the laboratory. You can also buy an inhalation allergy – blood test package at Medonet Market.
Facts and myths about air purification
– However, it is more difficult to distinguish an infectious catarrh from the one caused by an allergy to house dust mites – says Dr. Aleksandra Kindracja and adds that in mite allergy the feeling of stuffy nose is dominant. a blockage in the nose that usually interferes with sleep. A patient allergic to “dust” complains of a profuse nasal discharge usually in the morning and a series of morning sneezes. Complications such as sinusitis, otitis or recurrent bronchitis occur quite frequently in these people.
We often talk about diagnosis through treatment. In patients with infection, no significant improvement is observed after the administration of antihistamines. In people with allergies, there is an immediate improvement after the first dose of oral antiallergic drugs, preferably new generation, e.g. with the active substance desloratadine. These drugs can be purchased at any time, in any pharmacy, without the need for a prescription. You can give them to a child after 6 years of age without fear of choking (the form of a tablet that disintegrates without the need to drink it), without fear of side effects such as: drowsiness, limited concentration, increased appetite, but with a guarantee of operation after 30 minutes after taking it.
Remember that both allergies and colds should not be underestimated. See a doctor if your health does not improve. Untreated allergy turns into the so-called allergic march spreading through the body. Modern second-generation drugs block symptoms, but do not lower concentration.
Nebulization will help relieve a runny nose. On Medonet Market you can buy at favorable prices, incl. Nebulizer – Neno Sente Compressor Inhaler and Neno Bene Mobile Nebulizer.