Aww, April Allergies – Wellness Newsletter April 2022
Katz Korner
Debora Katz,
MSN, PMH FNP-BC
Shawnee Family Health Center in Adams County.
Aww, April Allergies
April, 2022
Hi, I am Debora-Kay Katz, and I am a Family Nurse Practitioner at Shawnee Family Health Center in Adams County, Ohio. This month I am seeing many patients and co-workers with seasonal allergies. I love Adams County, and it is known for its beautiful scenery, rolling fields, and wooded hills. With warmer weather and April flowers, people that suffer from allergies may not be able to appreciate spring to its fullest. Watery-red-sore-eyes, runny-nose, and scratchy-throat are miserable. These are all symptoms of an unbalanced immune system. I have gathered some suggestions to help or at least to distract.
If symptoms are persistent, see your health care provider. You may need to go to an immunologist. An immunologist can perform precise tests to determine your specific allergy and offer treatments to fit your personal needs.
Eating Your Medicine:
Some dietary ideas to reduce the symptoms of seasonal allergies:
- Green tea contains natural antihistamines and reduces allergic reactions.
- Local, pure, unprocessed honey, taken daily, builds natural defenses.
- Avoid spicy foods that cause watery eyes and runny nose that exacerbate symptoms
- A whole foods diet such as the Mediterranean diet benefits those with asthma.
- Eat a healthy diet to maintain weight as obesity makes allergic reactions worse.
- Omega-3 fatty acids decrease allergic reactions
- Foods high in vitamin C and bromelain, such as tropical fruit, help lessen the symptoms
- Onions contain quercetin, a chemical that reduces the histamine reaction
- Yogurt, with live probiotics, keeps your immune system strong.
- Drink your water to thin the mucus.
- Try drinking warm green or peppermint tea with a teaspoon of honey; skip the milk. It will soothe the throat and decrease congestion.
- Peppermint essential oil in a diffuser is an excellent decongestant.
Mental Health and Allergies:
- A study in 2018 from the National Institute of Health concluded a strong association between seasonal allergies and mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, and alcoholism.
- There is evidence, PubMed in 2015, that long-term use of anticholinergics such as diphenhydramine known as Benadryl can lead to dementia. Anticholinergics are used to treat allergic responses and are also prescribed for anxiety.
- Stress affects hormones such as cortisol, histamine, and thyroid function, making us more susceptible to environmental allergies.
- Combating daily stress by taking time to center, meditate, deep breathe, and being in the moment can all help fight allergies.
- Laughter strengthens the immune response by increasing immunoglobulins (IgA), a protein in the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and throat that helps protect us from allergen invaders. Laughter really is the best medicine!
RIDDLE
I sound like one letter
But I am written with three
I show you things
When you look through me
What am I?
An Eye
Oh! My Eyes:
- “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Mahatma Gandhi
- “Listen with your eyes for feelings.” Stephen Covey
- “Few are those that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” Albert Einstein
- “The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
A healing affirmation from Louise Hay,
“I Listen with love to my body’s messages. My body is always
working toward optimum health. My body wants to be whole and healthy. I cooperate and become
healthy, whole, and complete.”
Blessings for Health,
Debora-Kay
