Allergies And Snoring
Michael Brown asked:
The woman who divorced her noisy partner told her friends that she was allergic to his snoring. What she didn’t realize is that his snoring was due to allergies.
The trumpeting noise associated with snoring is generated by airflow trying to push its way through an obstructed airway. While snoring is not an illness, it can be symptomatic of other health conditions, even an allergic reaction.
Allergic rhinitis is a health condition in which the membrane lining the throat and nose become inflamed. The inflamed membrane lining creates an obstruction in the airway, which in turn causes snoring. This condition is usually triggered by an allergic reaction to an inhaled substance. Seasonal allergic rhinitis is also known as hay fever.
Seasonal allergic rhinitis is usually due to trees, grass and other plant pollens, and occurs mainly in spring and summer when pollen counts are high. Perennial allergic rhinitis lasts yearlong, and is generally caused by an allergy to mold spores, animal fur, feathers, dust mites or house dust.
The symptoms of allergic rhinitis are quite clear:
* Sneezing
* Blocked or runny nose
* Red, watery, itchy eyes
* Itchy, irritated nose
* Headache
* Nosebleeds (not common)
* Snoring
If you believe that you are suffering from an allergic reaction, but you’re not sure of the cause, your doctor can perform a skin ***** allergy test. However, such tests are not fully conclusive, as some allergens will avoid identification.
In the event that you’ve pinpointed the cause of your reaction and taken steps to avoid it, your symptoms should subside very rapidly without further treatment. Some allergens, like pollen, are virtually impossible to avoid. In this case it may be necessary to take an anti-allergy drug to find relief.
Anti-allergy drugs in the form of nasal spray often contain sodium cromoglicate, a substance that blocks the allergy. Nasal sprays can be used as decongestants, but long-term use is not recommended. Corticosteroid drugs are often prescribed for hay fever, although their effectiveness is not instantaneous. Oral antihistamines may be used along with a decongestant to relieve inflammation and itching.
If allergic rhinitis is a persistent problem, your doctor might suggest immunotherapy, a procedure that desensitizes the immune system. Immunotherapy patients are injected with a series of gradually increasing doses of the allergen, to encourage the body to accept the substance without reacting. While immunotherapy can be an effective treatment for some allergy sufferers, it can take as many as four years for the treatment to be completed, and it is not always successful.
If you feel your snoring problem is caused by allergic rhinitis, there are several treatments available to help alleviate the problem. Try avoiding obvious allergens like furry animals. Use pillows and quilts with synthetic stuffing rather than feathers or down. Cover your mattress with a mite proof membrane. Remove soft furnishings and clean regularly to prevent dust collecting. Avoid visiting areas with long or newly cut grass. Purchase a pollen filter for your car and a HEPA filter for your home.
By avoiding the causes, you allergic reactions should diminish, and your allergy-induced snoring can disappear altogether.
The woman who divorced her noisy partner told her friends that she was allergic to his snoring. What she didn’t realize is that his snoring was due to allergies.
The trumpeting noise associated with snoring is generated by airflow trying to push its way through an obstructed airway. While snoring is not an illness, it can be symptomatic of other health conditions, even an allergic reaction.
Allergic rhinitis is a health condition in which the membrane lining the throat and nose become inflamed. The inflamed membrane lining creates an obstruction in the airway, which in turn causes snoring. This condition is usually triggered by an allergic reaction to an inhaled substance. Seasonal allergic rhinitis is also known as hay fever.
Seasonal allergic rhinitis is usually due to trees, grass and other plant pollens, and occurs mainly in spring and summer when pollen counts are high. Perennial allergic rhinitis lasts yearlong, and is generally caused by an allergy to mold spores, animal fur, feathers, dust mites or house dust.
The symptoms of allergic rhinitis are quite clear:
* Sneezing
* Blocked or runny nose
* Red, watery, itchy eyes
* Itchy, irritated nose
* Headache
* Nosebleeds (not common)
* Snoring
If you believe that you are suffering from an allergic reaction, but you’re not sure of the cause, your doctor can perform a skin ***** allergy test. However, such tests are not fully conclusive, as some allergens will avoid identification.
In the event that you’ve pinpointed the cause of your reaction and taken steps to avoid it, your symptoms should subside very rapidly without further treatment. Some allergens, like pollen, are virtually impossible to avoid. In this case it may be necessary to take an anti-allergy drug to find relief.
Anti-allergy drugs in the form of nasal spray often contain sodium cromoglicate, a substance that blocks the allergy. Nasal sprays can be used as decongestants, but long-term use is not recommended. Corticosteroid drugs are often prescribed for hay fever, although their effectiveness is not instantaneous. Oral antihistamines may be used along with a decongestant to relieve inflammation and itching.
If allergic rhinitis is a persistent problem, your doctor might suggest immunotherapy, a procedure that desensitizes the immune system. Immunotherapy patients are injected with a series of gradually increasing doses of the allergen, to encourage the body to accept the substance without reacting. While immunotherapy can be an effective treatment for some allergy sufferers, it can take as many as four years for the treatment to be completed, and it is not always successful.
If you feel your snoring problem is caused by allergic rhinitis, there are several treatments available to help alleviate the problem. Try avoiding obvious allergens like furry animals. Use pillows and quilts with synthetic stuffing rather than feathers or down. Cover your mattress with a mite proof membrane. Remove soft furnishings and clean regularly to prevent dust collecting. Avoid visiting areas with long or newly cut grass. Purchase a pollen filter for your car and a HEPA filter for your home.
By avoiding the causes, you allergic reactions should diminish, and your allergy-induced snoring can disappear altogether.
Hay Fever, Perennial Sneezing and Asthma
Tom alter asked:
Some people who inherit an allergy sensitive background develop certain allergies from time to time. These allergies may be due to many environmental factors and sometimes symptoms of asthma are also impersonated by them. Some common forms of these allergic reactions may be seasonal while others may be perennial in nature.
It is important to understand the differences between these and asthma so that they are never confused with asthma because their treatments as well the severity both differ from each other. Seasonal sneezing is called seasonal allergic rhinitis or hay fever in the common parlance. As against the name it is not caused because of hay but because of certain pollutants mainly certain kinds of pollen in the environment to which a person may be allergic.
In contrast to these people some others suffer with sneezing bouts, stuffy or running nose almost all the year round. These people suffer from perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis. When these people are exposed to cold wind, sunlight, dust and fumes the symptoms of the sneezing bouts precipitate.
In hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis the symptoms appear gradually or all of a sudden. This depends upon the degree of exposure to the offending allergen and also upon the degree to which the person may be allergic to them. When the symptoms appear gradually they are accompanied with mild sensation of itching and burning of the eyes and mild irritation in the nose or itching of the palate inside the mouth.
The symptoms usually appear in the early morning hours when the concentration of pollen grains is at its peak. The sneezing bouts are also accompanied with marked increase in the nasal congestion, throat congestion, running of the nose profusely and watery eyes. The nasal mucous membrane becomes highly sensitive with advancement of symptoms and any slight change in the nasal mucous membrane manifests in heavy bouts of sneezing.
These changes may be of very slight nature like appearance of a draft, strong odours, or even minute quantities of dust. In addition to these symptoms there may be appearance of other associated symptoms like general lethargy, loss of appetite, drowsiness and also pain in the body with slight rise in temperature.
In some patients in addition to the above mentioned conditions the symptoms of bronchial asthma also develop side by side making the conditions worse. These symptoms either develop right from the start of the other symptoms or may develop later as the disease advances. The worse part is that once a person starts with these symptoms he may continue with the symptoms of asthma even after the sneezing attacks stop.
This condition can be very easily diagnosed with the study of the case history of the patient. The tests usually undertaken to identify the pollens are skin tests with extracts of the pollen and scratch or intracutaneous tests giving positive reactions to the pollens simultaneously with a confirmation of the same through consultation of the pollen calendar.
Once the offending pollen is identified the effect of it can be controlled efficiently by hypo sensitization tests. Treatment with antihistamine tablets generally proves to be every effective. But it is only a temporary resort. The allergen has to be properly identified and then treated accordingly with preventive measures and drug therapy if need be.
Taking preventive action to overcome seasonal sneezing attacks is very important. For this undue exposure in a particular season should be completely avoided. Outdoor activities like tending to the garden or farming should not be done. The windows of the rooms should be kept closed as far as possible to avoid exposure to the allergen. In extreme cases using air conditioning may be the only way out.
The patients of perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis have sneezing, running nose, blocked or stuffy nose and nasal discharge almost all the year round. These people many – a – times are found to be snoring at night and are in the habit of breathing through the mouth. They have discomfort in the ears because of blockage in the ear tubes that open in the throat.
These are called Eustachian tubes. When the irritation persists for a long time a person tends to rub the nose vigorously and repeatedly. This leads to development of a crease across the nose called the allergic crease. Some paranasal sinuses may also get blocked leading to accumulation of secretions.
When the ear, nose and throat get infected repeatedly there may be accompanying fever. Exposure to irritants like cold wind, sunlight, dust, fumes and smoke all lead to aggravation of the symptoms. These symptoms usually occur in the early morning hours and then the symptoms may continue throughout the day and even at night. The symptoms in severe cases may resemble symptoms of asthma accompanied with bronchial spasm and suffocation.
The condition is generally diagnosed after studying the family history of allergy. The lab test of eosinophil count is a must to come to concrete conclusions. Skin test of pollen and other allergens is necessary in case the eosinophil count is normal. Treatment with antihistamines helps very limited people. Nasal drops may provide temporary relief but they should be used very sparingly as they work on the principle of cauterization, that is burning o the mucous membrane of the nose so that the nasal passage becomes insensitive. Hyposensitization works efficiently and surgery may be used in very extreme cases only.
Some people who inherit an allergy sensitive background develop certain allergies from time to time. These allergies may be due to many environmental factors and sometimes symptoms of asthma are also impersonated by them. Some common forms of these allergic reactions may be seasonal while others may be perennial in nature.
It is important to understand the differences between these and asthma so that they are never confused with asthma because their treatments as well the severity both differ from each other. Seasonal sneezing is called seasonal allergic rhinitis or hay fever in the common parlance. As against the name it is not caused because of hay but because of certain pollutants mainly certain kinds of pollen in the environment to which a person may be allergic.
In contrast to these people some others suffer with sneezing bouts, stuffy or running nose almost all the year round. These people suffer from perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis. When these people are exposed to cold wind, sunlight, dust and fumes the symptoms of the sneezing bouts precipitate.
In hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis the symptoms appear gradually or all of a sudden. This depends upon the degree of exposure to the offending allergen and also upon the degree to which the person may be allergic to them. When the symptoms appear gradually they are accompanied with mild sensation of itching and burning of the eyes and mild irritation in the nose or itching of the palate inside the mouth.
The symptoms usually appear in the early morning hours when the concentration of pollen grains is at its peak. The sneezing bouts are also accompanied with marked increase in the nasal congestion, throat congestion, running of the nose profusely and watery eyes. The nasal mucous membrane becomes highly sensitive with advancement of symptoms and any slight change in the nasal mucous membrane manifests in heavy bouts of sneezing.
These changes may be of very slight nature like appearance of a draft, strong odours, or even minute quantities of dust. In addition to these symptoms there may be appearance of other associated symptoms like general lethargy, loss of appetite, drowsiness and also pain in the body with slight rise in temperature.
In some patients in addition to the above mentioned conditions the symptoms of bronchial asthma also develop side by side making the conditions worse. These symptoms either develop right from the start of the other symptoms or may develop later as the disease advances. The worse part is that once a person starts with these symptoms he may continue with the symptoms of asthma even after the sneezing attacks stop.
This condition can be very easily diagnosed with the study of the case history of the patient. The tests usually undertaken to identify the pollens are skin tests with extracts of the pollen and scratch or intracutaneous tests giving positive reactions to the pollens simultaneously with a confirmation of the same through consultation of the pollen calendar.
Once the offending pollen is identified the effect of it can be controlled efficiently by hypo sensitization tests. Treatment with antihistamine tablets generally proves to be every effective. But it is only a temporary resort. The allergen has to be properly identified and then treated accordingly with preventive measures and drug therapy if need be.
Taking preventive action to overcome seasonal sneezing attacks is very important. For this undue exposure in a particular season should be completely avoided. Outdoor activities like tending to the garden or farming should not be done. The windows of the rooms should be kept closed as far as possible to avoid exposure to the allergen. In extreme cases using air conditioning may be the only way out.
The patients of perennial sneezing or perennial allergic rhinitis have sneezing, running nose, blocked or stuffy nose and nasal discharge almost all the year round. These people many – a – times are found to be snoring at night and are in the habit of breathing through the mouth. They have discomfort in the ears because of blockage in the ear tubes that open in the throat.
These are called Eustachian tubes. When the irritation persists for a long time a person tends to rub the nose vigorously and repeatedly. This leads to development of a crease across the nose called the allergic crease. Some paranasal sinuses may also get blocked leading to accumulation of secretions.
When the ear, nose and throat get infected repeatedly there may be accompanying fever. Exposure to irritants like cold wind, sunlight, dust, fumes and smoke all lead to aggravation of the symptoms. These symptoms usually occur in the early morning hours and then the symptoms may continue throughout the day and even at night. The symptoms in severe cases may resemble symptoms of asthma accompanied with bronchial spasm and suffocation.
The condition is generally diagnosed after studying the family history of allergy. The lab test of eosinophil count is a must to come to concrete conclusions. Skin test of pollen and other allergens is necessary in case the eosinophil count is normal. Treatment with antihistamines helps very limited people. Nasal drops may provide temporary relief but they should be used very sparingly as they work on the principle of cauterization, that is burning o the mucous membrane of the nose so that the nasal passage becomes insensitive. Hyposensitization works efficiently and surgery may be used in very extreme cases only.
