Taking Control of my Allergies with AllergyHomeFree

Disclosure: Thank you ALK for sponsoring this post. Take control of your allergies today! Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

The Problem

There’s nothing worse than stepping outside into the warm spring air after a long Winter only to feel your eyes start to itch and your nose start to get stuffy. Or perhaps you have just landed in an idyllic tropical destination when you feel the first signs of environmental allergies arise. Now I know how to handle these situations, but there was a long time when I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t even know I had allergies!

Years without Testing

All of my life, I had chronically itchy eyes and a constantly stuffy nose. And every time I would visit my ophthalmologist, he would ask if I had allergies since he could see some form of reaction in my eyes. I told him that I didn’t think I did because there was never any particular thing that seemed to make me react. Rather, I just had a stuffy nose and itchy eyes all the time. How could I have allergies if that was simply the case 24/7?

Well, after several years of having this conversation, every time I went to the eye doctor, I decided to visit an allergy specialist to get tested for allergies. Sure enough, the allergist was able to determine that I had an allergy to dust (i.e.: dust mites), pet dander, and certain other environmental allergens like pollen, grass, and trees. So no wonder I felt like I simply had itchy eyes and a stuffy nose all the time?! Where can one possibly go without encountering at least some of these items?!

Now I have the clarity I’ve been craving for ages and the knowledge I need to better manage my triggers (such as during Spring melt when snow mold is thrust into the air, or upon arriving on a camping trip where I’m surrounded by trees and other plants). Currently, I am in the process of discussing with my allergist whether to begin additional forms of allergy treatment such as allergy immunotherapy. Thank goodness, I finally got that allergy test!

The Facts

As it turns out, I’m not the only one who delayed allergy testing for years and years. For instance, AllergyHomeFree.com notes that while a recent survey says seven in 10 U.S. adults have experienced symptoms of environmental allergies, less than three in 10 have been formally diagnosed with either allergic rhinitis or nasal allergies by a health care professional.

At the same time, nearly half of American adults say that their environmental allergies have a major-to-moderate negative impact on their daily life, while more than half report that their allergies have somehow affected their performance at work and/or school. Given these impacts and the relatively high number of allergy suffers, you’d think that many individuals would have spoken to specialists regarding their allergies, right? Not so.

Rather, while approximately three in four allergy sufferers talk to some form of healthcare provider about their environmental allergies, less than one in five see an allergy specialist, and only one in 10 have discussed allergy immunotherapy options with a healthcare provider. Are you one of these individuals? If so, what can you do?

The Solution

If you experience allergies and have noticed it is more than you can handle on your own, or perhaps you are like I was, not knowing if you actually have allergies, visit AllergyHomeFree.com and take the Symptom Control Test. From there, you’ll be able to learn if to learn if it’s time to talk to a doctor about your allergies and your symptoms. You can even use the ‘Find a Doctor’ tool to help identify an allergy specialist in your area.

AllergyHomeFree aims to empower patients to take control of their allergies, learn more about allergy treatment options, including allergy immunotherapy, and discuss their symptoms with a healthcare provider. The site also includes helpful information about allergy symptoms, allergy diagnosis, and allergy treatments.

With everything going on in today’s world and your busy life, the last thing you want is to have allergies holding you back. I’m so glad I made the choice to visit an allergy specialist. We see specialists for everything else in life, from personal training to oral care. Don’t your allergies deserve the same? Visit AllergyHomeFree.com today.

*Data according to an online survey within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of ALK from September 18-22, 2020 among 2,059 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of whom, 1,518 ever experience symptoms of environmental allergies. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

---

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me, @lighttravelsfaster on behalf of ALK US.

~Eileen Rhein, esq. from @lighttravelsfaster

---