Thursday, January 20, 2011

Urticaria Diet - Foods To Avoid

By Debbie Pipter
Urticaria is one type of skin rash which is characterized by the pale red, itchy and raised bumps that the patient experiences. Urticaria is another term for hives and this condition is usually caused by allergic reactions to some foods or certain substances.

Chronic Urticaria can be hard to treat because until now, there are no definite forms of treatments or control for attacks that are available. There are individuals that are resistant to treatments thus, making it harder for doctors to find the perfect cure for the said skin disease. One of the most effective treatment plans for Urticaria is knowing what triggers the allergic reaction and how you can avoid the next attack.

This is actually difficult to do since there are many forms of urticaria and there are people who show more than one type. Urticaria is often idiopathic (caused by unknown reasons) and the vaso-motor nerve system can be affected by internal or external irritants.

The foods that induce urticaria in most people are egg, fish, nuts, shellfish, berries, chocolate, cheese, milk, wheat and tomatoes. These foods are reported to release histamine thus, triggering hives attack. As much as possible, avoid foods such as strawberries, tomatoes, uncooked egg whites, shell fish, pineapple, alcohol, fermented and aged protein containing foods since they have high levels of histamine.

Following Urticaria diet can be a challenge, especially if you love eating. Below are what the Urticaria diet excludes:

Fermented foodFoods with high levels of histamine, which can trigger Urticaria anytime, Artificial food colorings such as tartrazine, Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylaated hydoxytoluene,

If you are suffering from Urticaria, you need to visit your dermatologist as soon as possible, so that he or she can recommend possible methods of treatment for your condition.

The Truth About Physical Urticaria Treatments.. The Answer- Try This Urticaria Treatment When nothing Else Works:

Although urticaria is often referred to as an allergic reaction, and to all intense and purposes it is, it's also true to say that the reason for your body reacting to certain stimulants in such an aggressive and unsightly manner is largely due to underlying issues.

Most diseases have their roots buried much deeper, an urticarial rash is just our body's way of displaying a warning.
READ MORE - Urticaria Diet - Foods To Avoid

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What Is the Deal With Gluten Intolerance

By Tina C.
Gluten intolerance begins to make sense when you learn what it is first. It has an glue-like consistency and is actually proteins found in wheat and other closely related grains. These include spelt, kamut, rye, triticale, barley, oats and 1,000s of processed foods that contain some parts of the these grains. You see gluten is great for making food products. Bread in possible in its current form largely due to gluten. Bread. Do you see how big this is? Unfortunately, with each passing year we begin to realize that many people suffer from the intake of gluten. And their symptoms can be mild to severe.

There is an actual disease (celiac) that is a direct result of gluten sensitivity. It is characterized by a whole host of awkward symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, stomach pain and severe weight loss. It can even be life threatening to children.

When the body turns on itself it is known as an auto-immune disorder and this is just the type of thing that can happen. Some of these are diabetes, dermatitis, thyroid disease and soft tissue problems. The severity of these has been directly linked to the amount of time the sufferer has been exposed to gluten. In the future we might find that many problems might be cleared up with a gluten-free diet. But as of yet, no big studies have been done.

Even osteoporosis may be associated with gluten intake. This may be caused by poor absorption of nutrients. The good news is that low bone density has been shown to be reversible in people who adopt a gluten-free diet.

Infertility and poor pregnancies are also closely related to problems with gluten digestion. In diagnosed celiac sufferers cutting gluten out of all the food they consume has been shown to reverse this effect!

Celiacs even have up to 100 times the chance of getting some forms of cancer that can be prevented if gluten is eliminated!

So, this is serious business, eh? Who would have thought that a little grain could actually lead to a loss of life.

How many people are have gluten intolerance you may ask. Well that is an interesting question. The latest studies tend to indicate that at least 50% of the postulation is gluten sensitive. Yes, this many people may have immune system problems due to gluten and not even realize it. Since the immune system affects so many parts of the body you may not know just how far reaching your consumption of simple bread may go.

Scientist have begun to understand gluten sensitivity and how far reaching its damage may be. One recent study concluded, though, that high wheat diets lead directly to lesions in the small intestine in otherwise healthy people. This could indicate that almost everyone may be a potential victim of our modern day diet. The interesting thing to consider is that our best current archaeological knowledge seems to indicate that humans never consumed hardly any gluten until recently. This may explain the problem. This sheds a whole new light on gluten intolerance.
READ MORE - What Is the Deal With Gluten Intolerance

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What Are Hives? How Can You Overcome This Maddening Skin Condition

By John Helios
Hives are swollen, red or pink bumps, patches, or welts on the skin that usually appear suddenly. Hives are raised welts on the skin which may be red or white, and are commonly itchy. Hives are usually red, but they are sometimes skin-colored swellings, and hives have clearly defined edges.

Hives are itchy transient swellings of the skin lasting 4-36 hours. Hives are small raised itchy lesions of localized skin swelling. They are lesions that appear on the skin as a result of certain allergic, environmental or hygiene reasons. Hives can affect skin on any area of the body, especially the trunk, thighs, upper arms and face. Hives can develop on almost any part of the body and can affect body at anytime regardless of age or race.

How Do Hives Present Themselves?

Hives are often patchy in the beginning; however the patches may well run together till the hives cover a lot of the body. Hives undoubtedly are a manifestation of an inflammatory reaction of the body. Hives are usually not contagious, plus the real cause of hives can often be challenging ascertain. Hives are generally based on their time course and cause.

Hives may be either acute or chronic. Acute hives last from under 1 day up to 6 weeks. Hives may perhaps last a couple of hours to a few weeks. Also known as urticaria can show up in minutes and in most cases disappear in a few minutes or hours. Hives can show up in clusters and may well change regions that are affected in a matter of hours.

Hives Can Seriously Affect Your Health

This skin condition that show up in the throat might cause anaphylaxis, swelling of your airway, so that it is difficult to breathe. Hives can show up anyplace on the human body and may be round or oval in shape. They can happen anywhere on the body and change in size and shape.Hives appear as extremely itchy welts which might be pink-white and may even fluctuate from mosquito-bump size to large plaques many inches across.

It can develop in small areas of just a few millimeters or occur in patches as large as several inches. Hives can also develop due to physical stress, sunlight, cold and physical pressure. Hives are usually caused by an allergic reaction, but can also be brought on by stress. This skin condition can also be caused by an allergic reaction to food, drugs or inhaled allergens such as mold spores.

Finding A Treatment For This Skin Condition

The only way to treat you hives is to learn what is causing your condition. There are a number of treatments for hives and many of them are natural and work in balance with your body and lead to you overcoming that maddening itching.
READ MORE - What Are Hives? How Can You Overcome This Maddening Skin Condition

Monday, January 17, 2011

Treatment Of Angioedema Emedicine and Angioedema Support!

By Dan Gil and Maryam Mahd
In these days, thousands of people are searching ways and techniques regarding Angioedema Emedicine & Angioedema Support. It is because a lot of people are under the influence of this problem and the issues of this allergy are increasing very rapidly. Being an expert in this field, I felt a great urge to tell my readers that there are several ways and methods that can help the affected people to get rid of this allergy.

Before telling the ways and techniques to get rid of this health problem I want to give you a small idea about Angioedema. This is actually a form of allergy and it usually affects the skin of the person or animals as well. Yes, there are certain cases in which people were found worried about the health of their pets. So, whenever you find some sort of weird and annoying allergies in your mouth or the mouth of your close relatives then take initial and fats steps o get rid and cure of this allergy.

Symptoms Of Angioedema Emedicine:

The main symptoms of this annoying and trouble making allergy are redness on the affected part of the skin. Moreover, the affected areas also get swelling and this swelling is somehow very annoying and painful in certain manners. Not only on hands or face, this type of allergy can also affect the private parts of the body that is more painful and unbearable. So, instead of wasting time and money here and there, try an online source of Angioedema Emedicine & Angioedema Support without any hassle. Feel free to hit the links below in the resource box and get the solution of your problems.
READ MORE - Treatment Of Angioedema Emedicine and Angioedema Support!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Symptoms of Yeast Allergy

By Ellan Elanzen
A yeast allergy is pretty common, or perhaps it would be. There is a feeling that a lot of the symptoms blamed on yeast allergies are actually the result of other conditions. Nevertheless there do appear to be quite a few people who suffer from allergies to yeast. Being able to recognize yeast allergy symptoms can be tricky, they are very similar to many other allergies. You will need to get your doctor to administer an allergy test if you are going to determine if you have a yeast allergy.

One of the most common allergy symptoms is a feeling of tiredness or lethargy. This is because a yeast allergy will weaken your immune system and leave you feeling rundown. This is rather unusual since it is distinct from the reactions people have to most other food allergies. Nevertheless it is widely reported amongst people with yeast allergies so it does seem to be a symptom. It may be that other food allergies also produce a similar reaction but since they usually affect children nobody has noticed it. Clearly this is an area where more research needs to be done.

The other common yeast allergy symptoms are gastric distress. This is for anything from flatulence to diarrhea to vomiting. Basically your intestines aren't working properly. This is a fairly common symptom of food allergies so that can make it difficult to determine the cause of the reaction. It may take hours or days after you have eaten yeast for you to have any of these symptoms which makes it pretty hard to trace it back to its cause. On the other hand you may have the symptoms almost immediately after consuming the yeast. In this case it is much easier to figure out the cause.

Itchy eyes and a runny nose are also fairly common yeast allergy symptoms. They may be accompanies by coughing and sneezing as well. The reason for this is that the protein in yeast is viewed as being a hostile invader by your body. It will then release histamine to fight it off. If your body releases too much histamine it will cause your eyes to itch and your nose to run. This is why antihistamines are usually recommended to people with allergies. In some extreme case the histamine can cause you to go into anaphylaxis, this is a serious medical emergency.

There is a pretty good chance that your yeast allergy symptoms will include a rash. Eczema outbreaks are a fairly common reaction to allergies and yeast is no exception. You may also develop hives. The difference between eczema and hives is that eczema is a chronic condition that can be triggered by an allergic reaction. Hives on the other hand are a direct reaction to the allergen and usually appear very quickly and then disappear again in a few hours. Either way the rash will likely be very itchy and you will probably want to use a topical cream to reduce the irritation.
READ MORE - Symptoms of Yeast Allergy

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Are The Foods You Eat Making You Sick?

By Brian Kerr
Some foods may give you a feeling of sickness after consuming them. Common signs of food allergies are hives or even rashes. Other people experience itchy hands and fingers, there may even be a tingling sensation. Food allergies are not particularly rare as over ten million people in America alone suffer from these ailments. Most food allergies are mild afflictions, but some allergic reactions can be fatal. Hundreds of people die each year from severe allergic reactions to foods.

Children are at the most risk because they are not fully developed yet. Also parents do not know about what food allergies their child may or may not have until one has occurred. Often times your child will out grow his or her allergies to most foods. As they grow older their body will adapt to many different kinds of foods. Keep in mind however that not all children will grow out of their food allergies. Some children will even carry these childhood food allergies into adulthood. A child that retains their ailment as they become an adult will most likely keep it with them during their entire life.

Eating at a restaurant if you have allergic reactions to some foods can be dangerous. This is because there really is no telling what exactly was put into the foods being offered. If you know what kind of food affects you, then be sure to ask a waiter or a cook what ingredients the dish you plan to order has in it. Taking this precaution could very well avoid an unwanted trip to the hospital.

Packaged foods can also be a danger for those with allergens. The key to eating packaged foods is to learn to read the labels. It is not always as easy as it sounds as some words for ingredients on labels can be different from what you know them by. You could ask a clerk for help if you are new to reading nutritional information and need to know if a certain ingredient is included so that you can avoid it.

Statistics state that eight percent of all children are or will be affected by food allergies. Adults are affected at four percent because most children grow out of their allergies as stated earlier.

One of the most common food allergens is peanuts. Foods that contain peanuts almost always warn people with food allergies whether or not the product contains them. You can find the warning usually right on the nutritional information section of the label. Also foods that are made in the same factory as peanuts will have a warning that their product may contain parts of peanuts.

Taking the proper precautions is the best way to avoid allergic reactions to foods. Just watch what you eat and read labels to make sure you are avoiding foods that can cause your body harm.
READ MORE - Are The Foods You Eat Making You Sick?

Friday, January 14, 2011

The IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA Air Purifier

By Brett Zennen
Whether or not you have heard of IQAir, this company is commonly viewed as the best in the industry. Today we will take a look at their flagship model, the IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA Air Purifier. This company has consistently won awards year after year, and this particular model has gotten more #1 reviews than any other purifier on the market.

It's not just the average consumer either; some of the top consumer magazines, websites and air purifier experts are all agreeing that this unit is one of the best made. Taking a look into how this unit operates will help us understand the great reviews.

The heart of this system is a 4 stage filter purification process. The first stage is a micro-particle filter. This filter snagsall those particles which are indeed tiny, but do not need the efficiency of a HEPA filter . This helps lengthen the life of the filters which follow it in the system.

The partially cleaned air then moves on to the second stage of filtration, a granular activated carbon absorption filter. This stage is mostly responsible for the odor eliminating qualities of this purifier. The carbon has an extremely porous surface which provides a lot ofarea for chemicals to bind. These VOC's, or volatile organic compounds are the compounds which are easily released into the air from things in our home and stay in the air a long time before settling.

The third stage of filtration uses a pelletized chemisorption filter. This unique feature helps by neutralizing harmful chemicals floating around in the air. By using an oxidation process, it renders harmful chemicals inert and thus harmless by changing their chemical structure. Very cool!

The final stage is the obvious one, the one we've all been waiting for, the HEPA filter. Now IQAir uses their patented HyperHEPA filtration system as the fourth and final stage of this purifier.
As far as I can tell this is just a quality HEPA filter which takes care of removing viruses, bacteria, and smoke and combustion particles through a typical HEPA filter matrix of nano-fibers. These filters are known to be the best offered on consumer grade purifiers.

To summarize, while this is a high-end HEPA air purifier and does cost a bit more than some models you may have previously considered, it may be well worth it. Not only do quality proven products tend to last longer and work better throughout their lifetime than cheaper products, the health benefits offered by the efficiency of an air purifier like this one may be well worth the extra cost. Used by hospitals around the world, I would say this purifier passes my "good enough for my family" test!
READ MORE - The IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA Air Purifier

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Home Remedies For Allergies: Why You Have Allergies And What You Can Do About It

By Kazuko Collins
When you experience allergy symptoms it indicates that your immune function has gone hay wire. Usually our immune system focuses on protecting us from the most harmful substances, but those who suffer from allergic reactions have an immune system that is working overtime on things like pollen,dust and dander among others. These things are not so harmful, but because your immune function isn`t working properly it is treating those things as serious threats. The best thing we can do to alleviate allergies in the authors opinion, is to boost our immune system and restore balance to our body, mind and spirit so the body functions properly.

Home Remedies for Allergies

* Omega 3 fatty acid and other nutritional components found in cold, deep sea water fish such as Salmon, Mackerel and Alaskan Tuna help remove inflammation from the body that allergies often trigger. We now consume several times more omega 6`s to omega 3`s. While these are both important to our health, an imbalance in these throws the body out of joint and can lead to illness including allergies.
* Ginkgo biloba is well known as a memory booster, but it also contains components that greatly reduce many allergy symptoms. Take 200 milligrams a day. This is one of several herbs useful in helping alleviate allergies.
* Drink hot or cold green tea. Among it`s many health benefits, it is also a natural anti-histamine. In addition to helping with your allergies you will find many other area`s of your health improved by the addition of this important nutritional source.
* The herb Nettle is a natural anti-histamine. This herb has ancient origins and has been used for over 2,000 years. University studies confirm that the use of this herb can help alleviate symptoms.You can find these in capsule form in most health food stores. Take 500 milligrams 3 times a day.
* Ginger tea is one of the great home remedies for allergies because of it`s ability to reduce inflammations in the body. Inflammation is a major contributor to allergies.
* Stress reduces immune function. Your body then sees even minor threats to it`s system as dangerous. Learning to reduce stress is an absolute must if you want to overcome allergies.

Allergies often stop us from enjoying what would otherwise be some of the most enjoyable times for us. Whether your allergies stop you from having or being close to certain animals you like, eating foods you enjoy, or getting out to enjoy a beautiful spring day, it is worth making the effort to reduce or eliminate allergic attacks. Try these home remedies for allergies and start enjoying yourself again.

The author is not a Doctor and has no medical training. Always consult your health care professional before using these or any home remedies or natural cures.http://www.skweezer.com/s.aspx/-/ezinearticles~com/?Home-Remedies-For-Allergies%3A-Why-You-Have-Allergies-And-What-You-Can-Do-About-It&id=5616831
READ MORE - Home Remedies For Allergies: Why You Have Allergies And What You Can Do About It

Friday, December 3, 2010

Urticaria Treatment - Stop Urticaria In Hours, Complete Method Revealed Here

By Debbie Pipter
Finding an urticaria treatment is by no means easy.... If you have suffered with urticaria for any length of time you will undoubtedly know what I mean. Of course if you only suffer with the occasional bout of acute urticaria as the result of coming into contact with a specific allergen, then antihistamine may do the trick. The truth is that medications designed to block or reduce the production of histamine in the body are really just a way of masking the symptoms of urticaria and not really an urticaria treatment or cure.

This is new & complete-relief tips for urticaria sufferers: I wanted to write this article as I have a couple of great tips to share with urticaria sufferers. Many articles skirt around the same old urticaria treatment methods, and I'm sure many are written by people who really have no experience and perhaps very little knowledge of urticaria as a chronic condition.

The following details are based on my own experience with chronic urticaria, I personally suffered with the condition for some years on and off, more on than off as I got older, but that's a different story. So let me tell you about an urticaria treatment method that I discovered while hunting for a way to stop my urticaria. What I'm about to describe is what I like to call a quick fix, it's not what you would call an urticaria cure, it's not even a long term urticaria treatment, but I had some great results using the following method.

Note: this quick urticaria treatment may help those suffering with hives (urticaria), urticarial wheals and whelts and deeper swelling such as mild angioedema, for serious cases of angioedema this method probably won't help much. I say this method may help as I don't have any medical training and the method I'll tell you about is something I used as a quick urticaria treatment, basically it may or may not have the same effect on you as it did on me. If in doubt please consult a professional.

My Quick Urticaria Treatment:

Before I explain what my solution is let me first explain my urticaria symptoms, how this urticaria treatment helps and what results you can expect, oh, and how long it takes for this urticaria treatment method to work.

My Urticaria Symptoms:

I'll keep this short, just thought it might be helpful, especially if you suffer with the same kind of urticaria symptoms as me. OK, for the last 2 years of my chronic urticaria I had urticaria on my face and neck for an average of around 3-4 days out of every seven.

My urticaria symptoms are as follows:

Urticarial wheals (rings) under my hair, on my neck & forehead. Mild angioedema (swelling), sometimes with (under) the urticarial wheals other times on their own. The swelling was almost a daily occurrence the same as the urticaria, plus it was usually under my hair and around my eyes (especially the top of my nose).

I know that my condition is linked to my immune system, I found that out some time ago, but taking drugs as a way of treating my urticaria just seemed ridiculous, especially as they are often the catalyst for the condition in the first place.

What you can expect if you try this urticaria treatment:

I'm not talking miracle cures here, I probably shouldn't even refer to it as an urticaria treatment, but it helped me for some time. This method should help if you suffer with chronic urticaria on a very regular basis, you should see your urticarial rash start to dissipate within hours.

Here's my urticaria treatment:

The following method should be used preferably after eating although this is not mandatory.

1. Take one simple over the counter antihistamine
2. Wait 20 mins
3. Then take 1 Niacin vitamin B-3 tablet (100mg)

You can get Niacin supplements from most supplement suppliers & they are cheap.

Why use 100mg Niacin?. Once you take your first tablet you will know, within 10-20 mins your body will start to flush and itch like you have prickly heat all over, but don't worry this will only last around 20 mins. Although this is not a long term urticaria treatment it does help. I cant tell you exactly how it works as I have read conflicting accounts, but this seems to be what happens to me. As a chronic urticaria sufferer my body seems to produce an excess of histamine, using the Niacin appears to burn away all the excess histamine & therefore clearing up my urticaria symptoms in hours rather than days.

Perhaps many medical professionals will disagree with my interpretation of how it works?, all I can tell you is, this is what happens to me. By the way I laid this urticaria treatment out as 3 steps, you can take the Niacin straight away if you prefer, however I added the antihistamine as it stops much of the flushing.
READ MORE - Urticaria Treatment - Stop Urticaria In Hours, Complete Method Revealed Here