Allergy questions

04-17-2006, 03:49 AM

Hi all,

I am a 29 year old male and suffered a severe sinus infection this January which has left with me with ear problems. I recently had a blood test which showed an IgE level of 150. I have also done a skin ***** test which identified numerous allergies, the "positive" ones being dust mites, house-dust mix, cat hair and cockroaches. The test also included "borderline/equivocal" which included dog hair, feather mix, numerous weed and grass pollens, mold, fungus, wheat, egg white, peanut mix.

I have a couple of questions which I hope someone can help me with.

1) Can I become more allergic through continued exposure to allergens?
For example, if I were to exercise in grassy fields in spring when all
the weeds and grasses are pollinating, will I then become more allergic
to them in the future?

2) Can I become sensitized to new allergens? I am not allergic to horse
hair danger but I have never touched or been around a horse in my life.
However, if I started handling horses could I then become allergic to
horse hair danger?

3) I heard somewhere that by reducing allergen exposure to a certain
allergen, my allergic response to that allergen will go down over time.
Is that true? For example, by reducing the dust mite levels in my home,
the skin ***** test will register a lower reading.

4) Are skins ***** tests for food allergies accurate?

5) Also has anyone had a positive experience with oral allergy drops
(sublingual drops)? I would prefer these to allergy shots. Any opinions on which is better?

Thanks,
Chris

04-17-2006, 01:53 PM

You can certainly develop allergies at any age and yes, you could very well be allergic to horse hair. If you show that you are allergic to all those things that you mentioned, then I would not entertain the idea of doing a whole lot outside. Allergies and asthma go hand in hand and if you have allergies and not asthma, I would play my cards right and not try and irritate the situation because asthma problems stem alot from allergies. Are you on Claritin or Singulair?

04-17-2006, 04:13 PM

If you are really concerned about the food allergies, ask for the blood tests. At age 30 I developed tree nut and peanut allergy, and my allergist skipped the skin test, and went straight to the blood test to verify.

04-17-2006, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singer1

You can certainly develop allergies at any age and yes, you could very well be allergic to horse hair. If you show that you are allergic to all those things that you mentioned, then I would not entertain the idea of doing a whole lot outside. Allergies and asthma go hand in hand and if you have allergies and not asthma, I would play my cards right and not try and irritate the situation because asthma problems stem alot from allergies. Are you on Claritin or Singulair?

I was hoping to do exercises outside. I'm not sure about exercising indoors at the gym because of my indoor allergy problems. Where can I exercise?

I was recently told by my doctor that I have mild/moderate asthma. Had asthma as a kid but thought it went away. I only had trouble breathing when exercising hard at the beginning but thought it was normal.

What is Claritin or Singulair? I am from Australia and have never heard of these.

Quote:

If you are really concerned about the food allergies, ask for the blood tests. At age 30 I developed tree nut and peanut allergy, and my allergist skipped the skin test, and went straight to the blood test to verify.

I had a blood test done. They didn't show anything. I only had a limited amount of foods tested, around 5 or 6. Was this test accurate? Should I go for a comprehensive food test?

I'm thinking of doing allergy shots or allergy drops. Would allergy shots be beneficial for me?

Chris

04-17-2006, 10:47 PM

Yes you can become more allergic over time. And yes, reducing exposure will help reduce your allergic response, to the specific allergen, and help reduce your allergies over all. For example, if you totally make your house a dust mite free zone, you will reduce your response to dust mites, AND help reduce your allergic symptoms in general. it's called the bucket theory, where your body can handle so much allergy exposure and if it gets over a certain threshold, you get allergy misery. But if you can keep your exposure to a minimum most of the time, your body will be better able to handle some accidental exposure.

Allergy shots are a godsend. If you can afford them, get them.

Skin tests are more accurate than blood tests. The advantage of the bloodtest, is if you are deathly allergic, you don't run the risk of causing a severe allergic reaction during the allergy testing.

Singulair is the US brand name for Montelukast, an allergy/asthma medcine. Claritin is an antihistimine, but I forget the generic name for it.

04-18-2006, 02:37 AM

Thanks sneezydiva for that great info. I think I'm going to go for allergy shots or drops and see how that goes.

Chris

04-18-2006, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneezydiva

Yes you can become more allergic over time. And yes, reducing exposure will help reduce your allergic response, to the specific allergen, and help reduce your allergies over all. For example, if you totally make your house a dust mite free zone, you will reduce your response to dust mites, AND help reduce your allergic symptoms in general. it's called the bucket theory, where your body can handle so much allergy exposure and if it gets over a certain threshold, you get allergy misery. But if you can keep your exposure to a minimum most of the time, your body will be better able to handle some accidental exposure.

Allergy shots are a godsend. If you can afford them, get them.

Skin tests are more accurate than blood tests. The advantage of the bloodtest, is if you are deathly allergic, you don't run the risk of causing a severe allergic reaction during the allergy testing.

Singulair is the US brand name for Montelukast, an allergy/asthma medcine. Claritin is an antihistimine, but I forget the generic name for it.

Hmm Sneezy, you seem quite quite knowledgeable in this area. I read lots of your posts, looks like you had sinus problems for a while.

How much do these shots cost you and how long you been taking them.
I'm in Canada and allergy shots are not covered by govt. insurance.
Actually I should ask how long before they start working/taking effect on your symptoms such as congestion, itchiness, etc.

And I should thank you for replying to several of my previous posts.

Another question since I don't wanna clog this board with so many new threads:

for allergies, when you get itchy skin, can it hust be the same 1 or 2 spots or is it all over. Don't laugh but I have this constant itch just one small part of my head and my left chest (nipple area). I use conditioners and mosturizers but it doesn't go away. Other parts of mybidy when I gave dry skin, mosturizes do the trick. But these 2 areas, constantly itchy and swollen.

04-18-2006, 06:49 PM

[QUOTE=hp8]Hmm Sneezy, you seem quite quite knowledgeable in this area. I read lots of your posts, looks like you had sinus problems for a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hp8

How much do these shots cost you and how long you been taking them. .

I've been on them about 3 years, but unfortunately moved in that time, and the new doctor insisted starting over from the beginning with "his" shots.
So in reality about 2 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hp8

I'm in Canada and allergy shots are not covered by govt. insurance.
Actually I should ask how long before they start working/taking effect on your symptoms such as congestion, itchiness, etc. .

You should notice a difference in about 6 months, but most doctors say maximum relief takes a year or 2. Most people get the shots for 3-5 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hp8

And I should thank you for replying to several of my previous posts.

.

You're very welcome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hp8

Another question since I don't wanna clog this board with so many new threads:

for allergies, when you get itchy skin, can it hust be the same 1 or 2 spots or is it all over. Don't laugh but I have this constant itch just one small part of my head and my left chest (nipple area). I use conditioners and mosturizers but it doesn't go away. Other parts of mybidy when I gave dry skin, mosturizes do the trick. But these 2 areas, constantly itchy and swollen.

Yes! You're not crazy. I used to get the same hive on the inside of my wrist. i also got nipple itching when I first started the shots. Have you tried benedryl cream or hydrocortizone on them?

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