Understanding Allergy Symptoms

Allergy symptoms are caused by a variety of harmless substances in the environment known as allergens. Allergens can cause your body to release a chemical known as histamine. Sometimes too much histamine is released and it tries to push out these allergens through your eyes, nose, and mouth. When your body tries to clear allergens this way it causes inflammation and general discomfort that can show up as itchy eyes or a runny nose, among other things. These types of reactive symptoms are what we call allergies or an allergic response.

There are many common allergens in the environment around you, found both indoors and outdoors, such as dust, pollen, ragweed, grass, animal dander, insects, and mould spores. While you cannot eliminate all these different types of allergens, you can try and figure out which allergens affect you most. This way, you can avoid these allergens or be prepared to treat the allergic response if/when it happens.

Before you choose an over-the-counter (OTC) product to relieve your allergy symptoms, it’s important to determine what allergy symptoms you may be experiencing.

Some of the most common allergy symptoms include:

• Sneezing

• Runny nose

• Itchy, watery eyes

• Itchy nose and throat

If you notice that you are experiencing one or more of the above symptoms, it’s most likely an allergic response. Once you make sure you are experiencing allergies and not a cold, keep in mind that there are several OTC products you can choose from to relieve these symptoms.