r/Allergies

I've been having allergy and asthma issues from old carpet in a house I just moved into. My landlord is amazing and replacing the carpets for me, but I'm worried about the dust involved in that process. I don't think the carpet guys my landlord is hiring will be sealing off the rooms where they'll be working, and I've been told carpet removal gets super dusty. So, how can I best mitigate dust? (Especially since I don't want my allergy and asthma issues to get worse lol)

Fortunately, the living room is carpet free, so I'm going to be putting all my belongings in there and in the kitchen, and I'll be covering everything with plastic drop cloths. I also bought painter's tape so I can tape the drop cloths to the floor.

That said, are there any other ways I should prepare? Should I use dry cloths for dusting, like Swiffer cloths or microfiber cloths, or should I use something wet? My kitchen cabinet doors don't fully seal so should I tape plastic over those, too? I want to prevent as much dust contamination as possible, but I don't want to be out here looking totally crazy to my landlord, either

I wanted to give an update on my SLIT (Sublingual Immunotherapy aka drops) for cat and dog.

For info, I am in the US and have taken SLIT from a certified and reputable allergist in my area who offered SLIT or SCIT for my severe allergies to cat and dogs.
Symptoms included only asthma for me, but it was extremely debilitating. I could not hangout with friends who owned pet or be next to them. I could not be in proximity of any item owned by a cat owner, let alone pets themselves.

I am happy to report that after 6 months of treatment I can already see a big difference in how I react. Not to the point that I could own a cat or stay at a pet owner’s place. But enough that I regained significant lifestyle. I can finally hangout with my pet lover friends in a restaurant without having an asthma attack and lingering symptoms for days. I can handle low exposure to pets. And if I have symptoms they are minor and only last for 10min. I do not need to wash everything that was potentially touched by allergens.
Full effects of SLIT happens after 1.5 year and long lasting results are seen if treatment is maintained for 5, so progress will likely continue.
For info my allergist reports in his office that he has as much good results from SLIT to SCIT.
I also had SLIT for other allergens including grass, pollen, mold and dust mite (vials are not mixed together, cats and dog are their own separated vial).

I wanted to share my story because I have had people on this subreddit telling me how irresponsible it was for my allergist to recommend SLIT for cats because it is not FDA approved (which is true, but it doesn’t mean the treatment is inefficient if well dosed and followed religiously), and how I was wasting my money, or worse that this is a scam etc.
I am not a doctor, so I wont enter into the details of lack of FDA approval entails (the only thing I know for certain is you wont be able to be refunded by insurance, but it was fitting my lifestyle better than taking shots every week). Do your own research if you are interested in knowing more about SLIT and FDA approval and ask multiple professionals, do not just read what is on the internet.
It goes without saying I guess, but don’t let yourself intimidated by people on Reddit who are in the end no professionals, no matter with how much authority they speak to you.

I am also not saying to use SLIT over SCIT.
It works for me, it may not work for you, you might react better with SCIT. But I am just giving a counter point to some posts and messages I’ve been seeing a few months back on this subreddit which caused distress at a time where I needed reassurance and answers.

Hope this gives some insights to some allergy sufferers seeking treatment. In the end, we are all looking ways to feel better.

Somehow I tried to play it cool after sneeze #5. By sneeze #10, I was just openly apologizing to everyone in the office. By sneeze #17... well, I think I heard someone whisper "call an exorcist"...

Allergy season is real, stay safe out there.

Do antihistamines actually work for you?

This is bizarre but I react whenever I run my HVAC. Thought I was nuts but this is the third time it’s happened and I immediately feel horrible. It’s central AC and I just replaced it 1-2 years ago. I’m going to replace the filter and possibly have my ducts cleaned out because I’m crazy allergic to dust/mites. My allergies have been nuts in general because of pollen (in California)… is it possible for the HVAC to be blowing in pollen from outside? No idea how any of this works.

Has anyone installed a HEPA filter or an air scrubber? I already have portable air purifiers in every room. If so, any recs for a specific one? Thanks so much everyone!

Curious if it causes drowsiness or not. Is it generally good?

Happy long weekend everyone! I checked weather forecast and it shows it is very high risk pollen this long weekend. Does anyone effect by the weather change and pollen? like itchy throat and flu like symptoms coughing and dizziness ?

I’ve never had a reaction besides sneezing after I eat chocolate (just once usually). It doesn’t happen every single time but most times I do and I’ve always thought it was so weird. Been happening for about 2-3 years I’d say. Does this happen to anyone else?

Hey Guys! I could really use some advice, help, or just someone saying they’ve been through something similar haha.

I started allergy shots in January and it’s been crazy tough of my mental health. I feel like i barely recognize myself anymore, I have extreme anxiety/OCD like thought 3-4 days post shot. I’m also struggling a lot of with fatigue, low mood, etc, which isn’t common for me. I was using a corticosteroid nasal spray for 2 months, then stopped because it was giving me suicidal thoughts which I’ve never experienced before.

I know it being spring isn’t helping, because im getting double the allergy load, but I also feel like the shots have been making my allergies worse. Before, i could be around dogs and not notice too many symptoms, now my throat tightens up and my eyes itch.

To be fair, anxiety has always been an allergy symptom for me. Even if i get sick, i get more anxious, i think its how my brain reacts to inflammation.

I’m also allergic to Allegra, and notice a lot of mood issues from most allergy meds. Right now I just take Zyrtec on the day of my shot.

TLDR; allergy shots are making me feel like im going crazy. Any advice or commiseration? Does it get better? Do i stick with the shots?

I have nasal allergies and sneeze a million times a day due to various triggers, sometimes from mosquito bites, in addition to urticaria (hives). I'm also affected by heat and cold, and sometimes I can't tell if I've been bitten by a mosquito or just have hives, lol. I might also have an autoimmune disease that causes dandruff or psoriasis. I sometimes feel afraid that one day my immune system will act aggressively and kill me.

Currently, my condition is under control and I haven't received any strong treatments; over-the-counter medications will be sufficient.

Help how to fix this my eye became like this how to fix my eye problem . How to fix this allergy​

Recently, im having a really bad relationship with my self image , so please dont judge me , so this question is for people who have recoverd from allergies , do have any facial changes beacause of it? I had allergies since i was a child from the age of 09 to 18 , I feel like it made my nose bigger i have a twin sister who hasnt suffered from allergies her nose is completly fine , but my nose always looks wide and swollen , and also it made my lower jaw very recessed and my chin weak , is there anything i can do to fix this especially my nose ?

I‘ve been dealing with post nasal drip from my dust mite allergy since 2021 and I feel like I’m about to lose my mind. I have had cobblestone throat for 5 years and this year it progressed to being painful when I swallow, before my throat only hurt if I forgot to change my sheets or clean my room for a few weeks.

I removed the carpet from my stairs in February which brought some relief and bought a dehumidifier but I guess my throat was too far gone because the dry air caused my throat to be more painful.

I’ve tried all the new age anti-histamines but I can’t tolerate the side effects for me which are horrible stomach pain and constipation even though they help my nasal drip. I tried Rhinolast but even though my drip disappeared it left me with temporary burning pain and chronic nasal dryness in one nostril (I use aquaphor to manage) and my ENT recently prescribed Dymista but it’s given me a sore throat and bleeding in my turbinates. My septum is fine so I don’t blame my spray technique but I’ve decided to stop using the Dymista until my next appointment.

I wash my sheets at 60 Celsius, have dust mite covers on my bedding and no carpet in my house. I’m not really sure what else to do. My symptoms are mostly ok in my bedroom but everywhere else it’s horrible and I avoid going into the office for work because everywhere is carpeted and there’s too many soft furnishings. I live in a really big house with 7 other people and it’s vacuumed twice a week. I don’t know if the dust is hiding on top of cabinets or what but I’m close to giving up.

Does anyone have any advice? I want to try shots but from what I hear it’ll be another year before I see signs of it working and that just seems unbearable

Does anyone have any tips? I’ve gotta eat dinner by two very strong bouquets and my head is already killing me from them, I’ve taken paracetamol for the headache which has helped a bit and I’ve taken an allergy and hay fever tablet, but any advice to actually survive the dinner? (No I can’t move them, I’ve already argued about it).

My bf and i got our dog(M) over a year ago, we rescued him at 6-8 weeks old after seeing someone throw him out their car. At first neither of us had a reaction but over the last 10 months anytime M has licked my boyfriend he would break out in hives and get really itchy. In the past 8 ish months if M licks me an excessive amount of times my skin starts to burn and i get super irritated itchy. I took him to the vet in November hoping i could get some answer and was told to get M an allergy shot and to get him neutered, being told it would help not only us but him aswell I did both. I got M his allergy shot that same visit and i was able to get him neutered in December. However none of that helped. Not only is M licking and biting himself still but our allergies to him have stayed the same if not slowly getting worse. We have no idea what to do.

Extra Info

Both my boyfriend and i grew up with dogs and are constantly around other dogs due to family and friends, neither of us have ever had a reaction before.

M is a doberman lab mix.

my dad had 2 dobermans and a doberman mix when i was little so ik it’s not a situation of me being allergic to that specific breed.

So can anyone shed any light as to why my face, nose and eyes itch like mad and they get watery when I have dairy... I have been refused allergy testing because this isnt anaphylaxis, the allergy doesnt kick in until usually the following day? I do avoid dairy products when possible but would really love some insight as to why or what the hell this is... only started about 5 years ago... so mid 30's? Anyone have anything similar?

So the other day, I did an impulse buy on vitamins in an attempt to finally take my health into my own hands. Here is what I bought:

-Turkey Tail Mushroom (Liquid)

-Coenzyme B-Complex (caspules)

-Solar D Gems (capsules)

-Active Creatine Monohydrate (powder)

I tried them all for the first time this morning before work. The issue is that about an hour or two after I took them, the back of my throat started getting itchy and irritated. I can talk, breathe, and eat just fine, but it's still extremely frustrating to deal with. It's been like this for 5 hours now, and I am trying to pinpoint what the culprit is, assuming it's not just tree pollen allergies.

I've had this allergy for a bit over 6 months now, and get seriously itchy and break out in hives from anything with even 1% elastane (or latex or rubber) in it. I've found underwear that works and have gotten rid of more than half my wardrobe, but I'm finding it really hard to find things like pyjama trousers or sweats.

I tried making sure to only use covered elastics - doesn't work. Tried taking out the elastic bands inside those covered waistbands (replaced with cotton drawstring) - It's a lot better but I'm still reacting. It seems to be contamination that just won't quite go away even with multiple washes. If I have to I'll cut the waistbands off and try to sew on completely new ones, it's just a lot of work and I'd rather just buy something that works.

(I have daywear that works, but would rather not have to sleep with many pockets, button and zipper etc.)

Anyone has any tips of trousers I could look for? I'm in Europe and would rather not have to buy from the USA.

(I'm a guy but don't mind looking at women's stuff if it's something I can wear and not break out in hives, sizes just have to go higher than L in that case.)

So I know I’m allergic to certain make up like highlighters and lash glue

I avoid them very well daily

I have a few weddings coming up and am getting my makeup professionally done

For you guys who still have exposure to your triggers often- do you use hydrocortisone occasionally when you can’t help the trigger?

I’ve done this before and only needed to apply before and after my makeup up once. Not again as the skin didn’t react!