The Allergy Basics

If you want to learn about allergies, you’ve come to the right place. If your ultimate goal is allergy relief, learning about allergies, understanding what causes your symptoms, and taking preventative action is the key!  For instance, an allergist can help identify what allergens trigger your symptoms.  With these triggers in mind, you can identify the best plan of action for your needs.  If you have indoor allergies, reduce or eliminate exposure to allergens so that you significantly decrease or eliminate symptoms.

Any steps to decrease exposure will help. By decreasing the total amount of allergens your body is coping with (known as an allergen load), you will ward off allergy attacks.  The objective is to decrease your allergen load below your allergic threshold, where you begin to have symptoms.  The key to success is understanding what steps are most meaningful to decrease your allergen load and to focus on those areas.

Understand these allergy concepts to find relief:

• Allergens are the substances that trigger allergic reactions.
• Your body regards these substances as dangerous intruders and reacts to them with varying degrees of intensity.
• People with indoor allergies are typically allergic to allergens from dust mites, pets and molds.
• Decreasing your total exposure (allergen load) below your allergic threshold will ward off attacks.

What’s Your Action Plan?

• Take action against allergens at home by working with your physician to determine the most critical prevention steps. Use our helpful “Allergen Avoidance Action Plan” teaching tool to best identify these steps.