January 2017 – Allergy Zen

Water Allergies

Facts, Causes and Treatment

Introduction

Water is an integral and essential source of life. As we cannot live without eating food, so is the case with water. We all need water for our survival. Considering all the domestic, industrial and other uses of water, no one can deny the vital importance of water. Most of the people are not aware of the fact that our bodies are mainly composed of water. A man of 150 lbs (70 kg) contains approximately 10-11 gallons (40 liters) of water in his body. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you suddenly become allergic to water? How would you feel like if you come back home after doing some hard task in a hot summer day and you are all sweating but you cannot take a bath? Obviously, this situation would irk you more than anything else. Although, this condition is rare, but still few people develop water allergy.

What is water allergy?

Definition

Water allergy occurs when a person becomes allergic to water i.e. he or she suffers from skin rash and itching when he comes into contact with water. Although, this condition can be called as “water allergy”, the medically used terminology is Aquagenic urticarial.

What causes water allergy?

Since our body contains water and we are totally dependent on water usage in one or another way, it is an established fact that it is not the water itself that causes allergic reaction. Here, you may have a question in your mind that what can cause an allergy then? If you look into the cases of water allergy, you would notice that most of the people who reported about suffering from this condition observed the symptoms of water allergy after swimming. Hence, researchers suggest that primary cause of water allergy is the presence of additives in water, such as chlorine, that is added to water for disinfection.

Similarly, when someone is complaining to develop water allergy after swimming, it indicates that chlorine may be the factor since chlorine is added to the water to kill the bacteria. However, it has been observed that common people fail to understand the real reason behind water allergy and they continue to experiment by changing soaps and body deodorants to get away with it.

How can water allergy affect me?

Water allergy is known to affect person’s skin and symptoms may become evident within few minutes after exposure to water. It is not merely associated with swimming as few people also develop water allergy after taking a bath or a shower. Symptoms include itching and skin rashes. Furthermore, skin may develop hives and affected person may experience pain during and after exposure to water. The pain may persist for few minutes to few hours. If someone is too sensitive to water, he or she may experience sore throat and shortness of breath while drinking water.

What are the treatment methods?

Since, water allergy is a rare condition, treatment methods are scarce. However, there are few medications that are instrumental in treating the affected skin such as Zostrix and Capsaicin cream. Capsaicin cream heals the irritated skin.

Shower and Water Filters will remove harsh chemicals.

What can be recommended for avoiding water allergy?

We all have heard it, “prevention is better than cure”. The answer lies in the idiom itself. Dermatologists suggest that if you have a water allergy, you should reduce your exposure to chemicals that may present in water. Always drink purified water, in bottles or filtered. Use a water filter in you home for all drinking and cooking water. Use a shower filter to remove chlorine if skin rashes appear after a shower or a bath. Always remember that you may be breathing more chlorine during a shower, and shower filters eliminate this. In industrial areas where an “acid rain” is a suspect, avoid rain and always take an umbrella with your when you go out in a rainy season.

Furthermore, you can use anti-allergic medications and ointments / creams to temporarily treat skin hives. That is treating symptom, not the cause. Remember that it is best to identify the real cause and eliminate it.

5 Exercises for Heavy Computer Users with Asthma

If you have been a heavy computer or cellphone user , you are likely familiar with various ergonomic issues , correct workstation sitting postures and all associated with it.

I’ll remind you.

This is how a typical heavy computer user looks like. It does not matter if you sit in ergonomic chair with a monitor at proper height on an “arm” stand. Even if your workplace is perfect, it isn’t after several hours of heavy use. This is what YOU look like. So that you know that a fancy sitting ball did not help him at all, here’s a picture from the back : shoulders are still slouching.

After decade or more of this , you will inevitably develop various body and skeletal problems. Starting from poor posture to “forward head” posture and other issues associated with misaligned spine and imbalance of the front and back muscles.

Notice how on the next picture, person on the left has “head forward”, flat back. What we also highlighted on this picture is the fact that his shoulders went forward, creating long back muscles and short front ones. His stomach and rib cage also collapsed, creating various muscular-skeletal problems.

If you work 8 or more hours a day like that for 10 years or more, you will inevitably develop problems that will require visits to chiropractor or various other doctors. Worst cases end up with a lower back spine surgery and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

What does all have to do with Allergies and Asthma?

Look at the pictures above. Back and shoulders collapsed forward, rib cage is pressing on your lungs and stomach muscles. As years go by, lung volume slowly decreases. The diaphragm eventually gets stuck. Abdominal muscles get weaker and won’t support vertical posture and correct spine anymore. This will send all sorts of wrong signals to your brain about the lungs.

As you keep slouching at your computer, laptop or a mobile phone, this misalignment keeps building, resulting in asthma-like symptoms.

Simple Exercises for Heavy Computer Users

It won’t be enough to remind that you have to do stretch exercises. There are numerous types available , just search the internet for “stretching for computer users”. Here we will list several very basic exercises that are going to help you tremendously and will point in the right direction to a healthier lifestyle.

Let us also mention that you won’t be able to get correct instructions from a pumped up 20 year old gym instructor, because this is not a typical problem of a 20 year old. I’d expect this to be common when you are 40+. A push-up exercises that are recommended for young adults to balance back rotator muscles with the front are only going to hurt you, because your back rotator muscles are long and your front chest muscles are short naturally from bad posture. In fact, your rotator bone is also misaligned, it is rotated , and any strong exercises and physical activities such as running before this (and your spine) are balanced can potentially lead to only more problems.

What you need is opposite stretches and exercises that will shorten and strengthen your back muscles, while making chest muscles longer. Yoga is also highly recommended, and we will show one yoga position that should help significantly.

Stretching exercises.

1. Put your arms behind you in a lock. Breath in, pull arms as far back as possible. Breath out – relax.

2. Wall Stand Stretch. Stand with your back to the wall. Hands apart , palms of your hands outside (picture below, Pose 1 on the left). Make sure back of your feet, buttocks, shoulders, hands and your head all are aligned against the wall. Look straight forward, not up or down. Stay like this for 30-50 seconds. Do this type of stretch throughout the day, 5-7 times, your nervous system needs to remember the right posture.

3. Corner Stretch, or Doorway Stretch. Very simple, you will need a corner or a doorway. Stand facing the corner, or in the doorway with your arms up at or above the shoulders line, facing forward. Start pushing forward until you feel your chest muscles stretched. Don’t use too much force. Identify your personal best arms position where you feel stretch the best. Do this daily or every time you work at the computer for a prolonged time period.

4. Arms Back Rotation – hold your arms out with palms up, parallel to the ground. Start rotating arms 360 degrees backwards, 30-40 turns. Do this at least once per day. This will help shoulders and back rotator muscles and the bone to get back into the alignment.

5. Locust Pose / Salabhasana pose with legs down, or a variation of a Cobra pose in Yoga. In this variation, keep your legs and part of your chest down. Hold arms either on the sides or bent and pull your head and arms off the ground. For stronger effect rotate your palms until you feel strong stretch in the back between shoulder blades. Make sure stomach or lower back muscles don’t get engaged. Relax, breathe, hold for several breaths, lay down and relax.

Don’t expect immediate results. It will take at least a year of counter-balancing exercises to get your spine back in order and your proper posture back.

Happy and Healthy Living!

Reaction to Allergens

Some interesting facts…

All of us are aware of the term “allergy” (or hypersensitivity) as we all experience some form of allergy at least once during our lifetime. However, even if we don’t experience it ourselves, we are still able to see people around us who suffer from different kinds of allergy. Allergies occur due to our body’s natural response to a foreign invader. This foreign invader is called as “Allergen”. Pollen grains, dust particles, and cigarette smoke are some common examples of Allergens. On the other hand, some food products can also induce allergic reactions. Allergens are normally harmless but they may induce severe reactions in some people. Hence, our body’s response to particular allergens is simply termed as “our body’s reaction to Allergens”.

Is every one sensitive to allergens?

Answer is No. Not everybody has an allergy to a particular substance or factor. Besides, different people have different forms of allergies, and, thus have a totally difference mechanism of reaction to allergens. For instance, you might develop pimples on your face after eating merely 50 grams of chocolate while your younger brother or sister might still be able to eat lots of chocolates whole day without any reaction at all. Similarly, you can witness so many chain smokers around you and yet you would also come across few people who can’t even bear sitting next to a person who is smoking. The latter case is because of those people’s sensitivity towards cigarette smoke.

How severe are allergic reactions?

Severity of allergic reactions depends on many factors. Firstly, it depends on the person as you know some people are too sensitive to allergens. Secondly, it depends on the type of allergen. For instance, pollen grain may induce a “Hay fever” while a person who inhales dust particle might sneeze a little bit and that’s it. However, some allergic reactions can be too severe. Anaphylaxis is one of the most dangerous forms of allergies and such an Allergic reaction can be life-threatening.

How do I know if I am having an “Allergic reaction”?

It is very simple to find out if your body is reacting to allergens since allergic reactions have effects that are usually persistent. Particularly, perennial allergic reactions can occur throughout the year. You can identify such reactions with the following symptoms:

Runny-nose
Watery eyes
Itchy skin
Rashes on skin
Sneezing
Coughing
In severe cases such as Anaphylaxis, unconsciousness and abnormal heart beats.
In case of Asthma, breathlessness

Can I die because of an allergic reaction?

Most of the allergic reactions are mild and. However, there are potentially harmful forms of allergy that are known to have adverse effects on people. Anaphylaxis is one such form that affects the breathing and blood circulation of the person and in US alone, an estimated 150 people lose their lives annually due to Anaphylaxis. Brittle Asthma is also potentially harmful for people.

How can I prevent allergic reactions?

Realistically speaking, you cannot totally prevent allergic reactions from happening as it is natural tendency of your body to overreact to some foreign invader. Normally, these reactions are harmless so you don’t need to worry unless you are experiencing severe form of allergies. However, you can always take some preventive measures. For instance, if you are allergic to animal fur, you should avoid keeping pet animals. Similarly, if you are allergic to cigarette smoke, you can always avoid company of people when they smoke.

If you try avoidance and still encounter severe symptoms of allergies, you should consult your doctor.