Five Important Facts About Allergies

Springtime brings lots of pleasant things like warm weather, but it also comes with some not-so-pleasant stuff like air-borne allergens. These, coupled with the many other things some people are allergic to like milk, peanuts, or mold, can leave you feeling less than 100 percent.
Fortunately, the more you know about how allergies work, the easier it will be for you to avoid and deal with outbreaks.
Here are five important facts everyone should know about allergies:

1. You are never too old to develop new allergies While most allergies are developed during the early years, you can develop new allergies up until your forties. These later-life allergies are typically brought about by a change in your environment like moving to an area with different weather or a new home.

2. Flowers are not your enemy When most people hear the word "pollen," flowers come to mind. However, those aren't the type of pollen your local meteorologist keeps talking about. It's tree pollen that triggers allergies not flowers, so feel free to smell the roses during the spring. That's not what's making you sick.

3. Neither is pet hair There's a common misconception that pet hair triggers allergies, but that's simply not true. As annoying as pet hairs can be, they have nothing to do with your allergies. Rather, it's particles of your pet's saliva and dander that's making you sneeze. The effects become magnified if your home isn't properly ventilated.

4. Allergies can affect any organ in your body Even though the most common areas of the body affected by allergies are the eyes, nose, and throat. Allergies can affect any other organ as well. Some allergies affect the lungs, others affect the skin, while some affect the stomach.

5. Recognizing your allergies helps with prevention It's extremely difficult to keep allergies at bay if you don't even know what you're allergic to so that you can avoid them. Fortunately, there are allergy tests out there to help you figure this out. Some are administered via skin testing, some through blood tests, while others involve an elimination process.
Once you figure out what your allergies are, it's just a matter of avoiding these triggers.