Identification and Treatment of Skin Allergies

Allergies can be defined as a hypersensitivity to some substance. This sensitivity can present itself in three basic ways:

1. Breathing system presentations, such as rhinitis and asthma.

2. Intestinal allergies such as diarrhea.

3. Skin allergies, such as dermatitis.

Skin allergies are very common, but can also be confused with other common skin irritations, such as insect bites. Its even harder to determine where the allergic reaction came from. When you suddenly find a red patch of skin or a rash, ask yourself:

1. Does the irritated skin cover a large part of your body or only a small patch, such as the palm of your hand? If the latter, it may be due to a contact allergy. Stay away from the suspected allergen. If the marking is broader, over a larger section or even the entire body, suspect a food allergy something carried with the blood flow through your body.

2. Have you eaten any unusual foods; something youve never eaten before? Have you started taking a new prescription medicine? Street drugs? How about vitamins or other food supplements?

3. Are you using a new detergent for washing your clothes?

Its important to do this analysis as soon as you can, because its easy to forget what you ate or came in contact with as time moves on. Youre much more likely to hit on the source or your allergy if you think about it as soon as you notice the adverse reaction.

If youre having a mild allergic reaction you can relieve skin redness and itching with a corticosteroid combined with antihistamine cream or ointment. Here are some topical corticosteroids used in treating allergies:

Betamethasone Dexmethasone Clobetasol Fluocinolene Clobetasone Desonide Flumethasone Difluocortolone Dexsoxymethasone

Some natural herbs are also used for allergy relief. For skin allergies, aloe is helpful. If youve got an aloe vera plant, a common houseplant, just break off a leaf and rub the juice liberally over the reddened skin. It will stop the itching and relieve the redness quickly.

Other prepared and packaged herbal remedies are helpful. As always, check the label to make sure they do not contain any drugs youre trying to avoid. (And if they do, they must be classified as a drug, not an herbal remedy by law.)

Most of the time skin allergies are easily relieved and not too serious to your overall health. However, you should consult your doctor in any of these situations:

1. Youve tried a topical treatment and it did not work. You see no reduction of the redness, swelling or rash.

2. You have another more severe allergic reaction in addition to your skin allergy such as difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting, fast heartbeat or headache. These symptoms could be precursors for the often-deadly anaphylactic shock and need to be treated by a medical professional immediately.

Its a good idea to get an allergy test today. Its fairly simple. An allergy specialist will give you a scratch test where he or she will introduce very small amounts of common allergens into your skin. After about a half hour, hell be able to tell if you have adverse skin reactions to any of the allergens he used. These tests are not painful or harmful, but they can go a long way to keeping you healthy, since youll know what substances you need to avoid.

Michael Russell\r Your Independent guide to Allergies

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