That's Fit

Ever had someone tell you they were allergic to exercise? I bet you rolled your eyes and thought, 'yeah, right!.' But it just so happens that some people do have an allergy to exercise--it's extremely rare but it does happen.

According to Fitsugar, It's called exercise-induced anaphylaxis, and it's symptoms include feeling itchy and hot within the first few minutes of exercise, followed by more pronounced symptoms like hives, fainting, vomiting, difficulty breathing and swollen lips, throat and eyes. But before you go self-diagnosing yourself, remember this: There's only been 1,000 documented cases in nearly 40 years, so it's pretty rare.

Want to know more about exercise-induced allergies? Head over to Fitsugar for more info.

Peanut allergies may soon be a thing of the past, says Dr. Wesley Burks, a food allergy expert at Duke University Medical Center.

"I think there's some type of immunotherapy that will be available in five years," reports Burks who says ideally, this therapy would change a person's immune system response to peanuts from an allergic one to a nonallergic one.

This would be great stuff, given that peanut allergies are growing more and more common. And while many kids grow out of other food allergies -- milk and eggs, for example -- only 20 percent ever lose their peanut allergy, which often appears in the first three years of life and manifests itself in range of symptoms, from minor irritation to the whole-body allergic response called anaphylaxis.

Stay tuned for more on peanut immunotherapy. And be on the lookout for news on the genetic engineering front. Burks says genetics may one day produce an allergen-free peanut.

Special mattress pads, allergen-reducing fabric sprays, air filters, and so forth ... if you have asthma you may have invested lots of money in products such as these. Dust mites can be a big asthma trigger, and trying to minimize them is a good way to reduce asthma episodes. But a research group has determined that many of the special efforts people take to reduce allergens and dust mites aren't effective enough to make a difference.

Previous studies have reviewed both physical and chemical allergen reducers. The research group reviewed 54 studies. They found that, while many products were ineffective, others did reduce allergens as advertised -- but not enough to ward off an asthma attack.

If you currently own special products such as fancy vacuum cleaners, air filters, and mattress pads, feel free to keep using them. Many do reduce allergens, though they aren't effective enough to make much of a difference. A good habit to get into is washing sheets, blankets, and pillows often using high temperatures. Also, remove soft toys from your child's bed.

Having food allergies can really make eating healthy and good tasting food difficult, especially when it comes to family get-togethers and other social functions. But depending on what exactly your food allergy or allergies are, there may be more options out there than you realize. From nut-free power bars to dairy-free milk that doesn't sacrifice any calcium, if you know where to look and are a smart shopper you can eat as well and with as much variety in your diet as anybody. Check out this list of some of the best "allergy-friendly" foods and see if there isn't something new you didn't know was out there.

I don't know how I got so blessed but my entire family all comes down with hay fever and pollen allergies every fall -- everybody except for me. But seeing people like my mom and sister suffer really brings home the fact that having allergies can present a real problem because often the medications that are supposed to help come with side-effects that are almost as bad as the allergies themselves. And although the drug companies are getting better and there are more options out there than ever before, what if you'd rather just do something natural?

Mother Earth Living has come up with this list of natural allergy fighters, including garlic & onions, honey, horseradish, vitamin C, and ginko biloba. You've probably already got several of these in your kitchen cabinet, so have you ever eaten them with allergies in mind?

It can be extremely frustrating for people with pierced ears that are sensitive to nickel or have other ear allergy issues, but there are some things you can try to reduce the irritation. Obviously, buying hypo-allergenic earrings made of materials other than nickel is a good place to start, but you can't always choose how your favorite pair gets manufactured. Having a few tricks up your sleeve can come in handy and two ideas that work for many people include using clear nail polish to coat the earring stud, and coating the front and back of your earlobes with a liquid bandage before putting the earrings in.

What works for you?

Fingers are crossed in North Carolina, where researcher Mohamed Ahmedna is tentatively thinking he may have discovered a way to nullify peanut allergies for the millions of people who suffer them every year. It involves using a food enzyme to deactivate the specific allergens that cause people all the trouble. Without those allergens peanuts would be safe to eat and safe to use in processing without worry of allergic reactions.

The tests that have been done so far have only been on serums drawn from severely allergic people, and since those showed no reaction the next step is full-fledged human trials. Cross your fingers!


Via Slashfood

Cosmetic medical procedures are becoming more and more commonplace everyday as technology advances, but there are still serious risks associated with even the simplest of procedures. Permanent makeup, which is basically just tattoos, is one that can easily have serious and devastating side effects. Studies have shown that certain shades of the tattoo ink used for permanent makeup cause allergic reactions in a significant number of patients, with redness, swelling, and even permanent bumps in the skin called granulomas resulting. The especially scary part is that it's possible to develop an allergy to the pigment at any time -- even in a tattoo you've had for years!

I for one would never want something permanent like this on my face, with or without the chance for nasty side effects, but for those who like the idea -- is it worth the risk?

Nothing can ruin the fun of a vacation faster than an allergy attack or an asthma flare-up, and since most of us don't get to take that many vacations it's obviously pretty frustrating when that happens. So try these tips this summer to help keep the fun and lose the sniffles and wheezing:

• If driving, open the windows and run the A/C for about 10 minutes first to clear out dust mites and mold.
• Keep the car windows closed if you have pollen or mold allergies.
• If sensitive to air pollution travel when air is cleaner in the early mornings and evenings.
• Inquire about allergy-proof rooms at hotels, or get a sunny dry room away from the pool.
• For those with food allergies always carry an epinephrine injection on your person and be careful when eating airline and restaurant foods as ingredients aren't always listed.
• Consider seeing your allergist/immunologist before your trip for a physical.
• If you have a sinus infection (sinusitis) try to delay flying until you've recovered, and if you can't do that try taking an oral or nasal decongestant about an hour before take-off.
• Use a saline nasal spray to keep your sinus membranes moist on long flights.
• And obviously be sure to pack all your medications and bring them with you -- but bring more than you think you'll need and store them in their original containers.

When you think "food allergy," what comes to mind? The biggest is of course anaphylactic shock, where the mouth and throat swell up and the person is in danger of suffocating or choking to death. This is often made light of on TV and in the movies (I'm thinking of the scene in "Hitch" right now, that was funny...) but it's really not a laughing matter. Besides that very obvious form of allergic reaction, though, what else do you look for?

Common food allergy symptoms include:

• Gastrointestinal distress, including but not limited to, abdominal cramps or pain, diarrhea, and nausea/vomiting.
• Skin issues like hives, rashes, or eczema.
• Sneezing or a runny nose.
• Shortness of breath.

The tricky part is that many of these symptoms can also indicate other issues like hayfever allergies or a flu virus. Paying attention to when and where the symptoms occur, and keeping track of what you eat, can help you see any patterns and see if a food allergy might be the problem.

It's that time again...allergy season. If there was ever a reason not to like spring, allergies would be it. And depending where you live, the issue may be even worse than for most. Forbes has compiled a list of the top 100 worst cities for spring allergies in the U.S.

Where does your city rank? Not so good if you live in one of the top three: Tulsa, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Fort Myers. But if you call #100 home, Fort Wayne Indiana, you're doing much better. As for me, I'm happy with a score of 64 -- at least it's in the bottom half!

Spring may be right around the corner here in the U.S., but it's in full bloom over in Pakistan. Specifically, it's Mulberry trees that are blooming, and instead of being admired for their beauty, they are feared for the terrible (and sometimes even deadly) allergic reactions their pollen causes.

The paper mulberry trees were planted back in the 1960s and have spread wildly into most open areas around the town of Islamabad, and since they produce some of the severest pollen allergies in the world this has created major health problems for people living in the area. The town is doing what they can to cut the trees down on a small scale, and although they continue to ask the government and environmentalists for help -- they have yet to get it.

You can be, sorta. There are different disorders that can seem like a water allergy, but the closest thing is called aquatic pruritis, and wow it must be rough to deal with. The symptoms -- itching, burning, and/or a prickly sensation -- usually show up within minutes of coming into contact with water. Surprisingly, there are usually no visual changes to the skin, although some people do get mild (but itchy) red bumps on their chest, back, arms or legs. And although doctors don't know the cause for sure, the most popular theory is that it's a hypersensitivity to additives or minerals in the water.

Treatments vary from topical or oral prescriptions to light therapy. After reading this I do have one question: do these poor people get symptoms, like an itchy throat, from drinking water?

As much as I hate winter with its freezing temperatures and icy weather, I know it serves a purpose. Here in the Midwest we're experiencing a much warmer than average winter season, and it seems to be happening in other parts of the U.S. as well. Besides being hard on farmland, warm weather this time of year has had other interesting effects -- like doctor's offices getting flooded with patients suffering from seasonal allergy symptoms, in January!

This winter's strange weather patterns have caused a flush of mold spores and other allergens, and many patients making appointments thinking they have a common cold are finding out they really just have allergies. Doctors warn that things may only get worse if the weather stays on the same track -- the official allergy season may start earlier than normal if wildflowers get a head start and trees bud early.

Ugh.

Once you've been diagnosed with an allergy, your doctor will probably say "Oh well. Nothing you can do but treat it whenever the symptoms get too overwhelming." Conventional drugs do not remove the allergy, they just treat the symptoms.

But there's at least one doctor who would object to that analysis.

Dr. Devi Nambudripad of Buena Park, California says it's possible to get rid of allergies completely and permanently. This doctor, who is trained as a medical doctor, chiropractor and acupuncturist, has created a system called "Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique" or NAET.