SKIN ALLERGY

Skin Reactions and Contact Dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis occurs when the skin comes into direct contact with an allergen, resulting in hives and skin rashes. Common causes of contact dermatitis include topical medications, perfumes, makeup and plants, such as poison ivy.

Although skin allergies rarely cause dangerous reactions, symptoms are uncomfortable and unsightly, and can be chronic. Click here for more specific information on contact dermatitis.
 

Insect Bites and Bee Stings

A bee sting isn't a pleasant experience for anyone, but if you're allergic to bee sting venom, your life can be at risk. Stinging insects such as wasps, hornets and bees can cause intense swelling, itching and even death. Anyone with a severe bee sting allergy should practice avoidance, learn to identify areas bees like to frequent, and carry life-saving medication at all times. More information on these measures can be found at Insect and Skin Allergies site.
 

Insect Allergies

Two million Americans suffer from stinging insect allergies. Bug bites can be dangerous: every year approximately 500,000 Americans seek emergency room treatment for stings. Stings cause 40 to 150 deaths in the United States every year, and those figures may be a conservative estimate.
Yellow jackets, wasps, hornets and bees account for the bulk of insect allergies, with fire ants in the southern States also taking their toll. Summer, of course, is the most dangerous time for a person with a bug bite allergy: nests can contain populations of over 60,000 insects.

Avoidance is the best solution if you have an allergy. Stinging bugs are often attracted to soda pop, picnic food, perfumes, garbage, and sweet smells. The insects are also the most dangerous when defending their nests, so the potential for multiple stings is higher around the nest where they're more likely to swarm.
 

Skin Allergies

Skin allergies are common: an estimated nine percent of Americans suffer from some degree of allergic contact dermatitis. The number of skin allergy incidents appears to be on the rise. In the 1960s, only three percent of children were diagnosed with allergic contact dermatitis. By the late 1990s that number had risen to ten percent.

Allergic contact dermatitis occurs when the skin comes into direct contact with an allergen. Skin reactions can also be due to the ingestion of oral medications and certain foods, even though the allergen has not directly touched the skin. Between ten and twenty percent of Americans experience hives at some point in their lives. For most people, allergy-based skin irritation is mild and temporary. For some, a skin allergy can be both chronic and severe. Learning to identify allergy symptoms and allergic triggers is the best way to avoid skin allergies.

Symptoms of allergic contact dermatitis vary. Rashes may appear as blotchy red patches or smaller red bumps. Urticaria, or an outbreak of hives, is also a common symptom. Symptoms of allergies may appear as late as one to two days after exposure to the allergen, and can take as long as two to four weeks to clear up. Some people suffer from chronic hives that may persist for months.

Treatment Options: Hydrocortisone and Antihistamine Medications

Avoidance of allergens is the best way to prevent skin allergies. Avoidance requires that you carefully examine your surroundings for the allergen: people suffering from a metal allergy, for instance, should be aware that nickel is commonly used in jewelry and eyeglass frames. Allergens are often invisible, making avoidance more difficult.

Treatment varies, depending on the severity of symptoms. A cold compress can soothe the itchiness of skin rashes. Hives are a sign of high histamine levels, so an antihistamine may provide relief. Antihistamine medications are available in both over-the-counter and prescription forms.

Hydrocortisone is a steroid medication available in topical and oral forms. Topical hydrocortisone helps reduce the itching and swelling when allergies are confined to a small area of the skin. Some topical solutions can even be purchased without a prescription. Extensive skin rashes and hives may require the use of prescription oral hydrocortisone. Large or extended doses of any steroid can cause unwanted side effects: be sure to consult your doctor before using hydrocortisone.

Plants and Dermatitis

Poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac are perhaps the best-known causes of skin allergies caused by contact with plants. Allergic reactions to these plants are not always immediate: rashes may break out up to two days after contact with poison ivy or poison oak.

Simply avoiding poison ivy and poison oak isn't always enough to prevent allergic reactions. Touching an item that has been in contact with the plants is often enough to trigger a reaction. The allergen can be passed to human skin through a third party: clothing, gardening tools or pets that have come into contact with the plants can "carry" the allergen.

Nickel: A Common Metal Allergy

Nickel allergies are the most common type of metal allergy, although gold, steel and other metals can also cause reactions. Nickel allergies appear to be on the rise: fifteen percent of the US population suffers from nickel allergies, as opposed to only ten percent in the 1980s. A possible explanation for this increase is the popularity of body piercing, which brings more people into direct contact with nickel-containing jewelry.

Nickel is used extensively by the jewelry industry, although many companies offer nickel-free jewelry. The body does not actually react to the nickel itself; the allergic reaction is caused by nickel salts, which are formed when the metal comes into contact with skin.

A Sun Allergy or Sun Sensitivity?

The body's immune system rarely reacts to sunlight enough to warrant a diagnosis of a sun allergy. However, symptoms of sun sensitivity can mimic those of skin allergies. Solar urticaria, or sun-induced hives, is a fairly common reaction. Sun sensitivity can also be aggravated by certain medications. Sun block and sunscreen may help, but no sun block completely shields skin from sunlight, so the skin may still react. A "sun allergy" reaction can be avoided by limiting sun exposure, wearing protective, long-sleeved clothing, sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.

An annual "sun allergy" affects many people in the springtime, especially in areas where winter sunlight is limited. Called polymorphous light eruption (or PMLE), the condition occurs up to three days after initial sun exposure, causing skin rashes and hives. As springtime progresses, the body builds up a tolerance to sunlight, and the condition usually fades completely by summer. People who experience PMLE should use sunscreen or sun block until the skin adapts to the new season.
 

Insect Allergies: Stinging Insects to Watch For

If you have an allergic reaction to the venom of a particular insect, experts estimate that you have a sixty percent chance of being allergic to other insects as well. Bees, wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets should be avoided as much as possible. In the Southern parts of the United States, fire ants also cause allergic reactions.

Ticks, biting flies and some varieties of spider may also cause allergic reactions, although incidents of reactions from these species are infrequent. A mosquito bite can cause a reaction, although a serious allergic reaction to a mosquito bite is uncommon.

Symptoms: Itching, Hives and Anaphylactic Shock

A normal reaction to a bee sting or other bug bite is fairly mild. The immune system reacts to the venom in the sting, resulting in some pain, itching, swelling and redness around the sting or bite.

In more severe reactions, swelling and hives spread beyond the original reaction site. A bee sting may result in swelling and itching over a large area of the body, for example, or a mosquito bite can swell up to the size of a grapefruit. Such reactions may last for several days. As alarming and discomforting as such symptoms may be, they are not usually cause for concern. An important exception, of course, is any swelling around the mouth, throat or nose that restricts breathing.

The most severe reaction to stinging insects is anaphylactic shock, or anaphylaxis. Symptoms include hives and skin rashes in areas of the body where the bee sting or other bite occurred. The allergy sufferer may experience tightness around the chest, and dyspnea (dyspnea is difficulty breathing). The throat may swell, and the person's voice may become hoarse. Dizziness may occur as the victim's blood pressure plummets. Left untreated, anaphylaxis can result in loss of consciousness and death.

Treatment: Calamine Lotion to Epinephrine

Treat a "normal" reaction to a bee sting or other bite by disinfecting the sting site and icing the area to provide relief. If the stinger is embedded in the skin, remove it by "scraping" or brushing it off with a flat edge (hard plastics are useful for this). Pulling on the stinger will release more venom into the wound. Mosquito bite itchiness can be combated with calamine lotion. Stings from wasps and bees may also be soothed by calamine lotion.

In cases where the wound has swollen to an unusual size, disinfect and ice the wound as you would a less serious bite. Antihistamines or steroids may be prescribed to treat swelling, and generally reduce discomfort until the swelling subsides. Check with your doctor.

Anaphylactic shock requires immediate medical attention. Epinephrine, an adrenaline-based medication, is available for people who suffer from life-threatening allergies. Epinephrine can be self-administered by syringe or by using a specially designed "pen." Even after an administration of epinephrine, the allergy sufferer should receive professional medical care as soon as possible.

Know Your Enemy

If you suffer from serious insect bite allergies, knowing how stinging insects behave can make your life safer. Bees, wasps and other stinging insects are often attracted to sweet fragrances: soft drinks, hair spray and open garbage cans will attract insects. While insect repellant may help with mosquitoes, it doesn't deter stinging insects.

Learn where insects make their nests. Yellowjackets nest in walls and on the ground. Wasps and hornets favor bushes, trees and overhanging areas on buildings. Avoid walking over grass barefoot: you can easily step on a wasp or foraging bee. And avoid floral patterns on clothing: bees have been known to mistake bright patterns for flowers.

Cockroaches

While cockroaches don't bite, don't sting and aren't venomous, many people are allergic to them, or more accurately their fecal matter. If you suffer from chronic or repeated ear or sinus infections, a stuffy nose, asthma, or skin rash, talk with your doctor about evaluating your sensitivity to cockroaches and other airborne allergens. Also check out the Allergy Treatment Tool or the Asthma Treatment Tool for details on potential treatment options.

Since one of the most common cores of allergy, asthma and sinusitis is fungal infections, as well as polyps, reflux disease and bacteria, you have to make sure that your home and real estate is free from molds and mildew, which later may develop into molds, and prevent any of their future growth.              

• To eliminate molds and mildew from your home, office or other real estate and property, follow the suggestions
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• To visit the best internet mold website, please visit: Mold Inspector.

• To find a Certified Mold Inspector, Certified Mold Remediator or
  Certified Mold Contractor in your area, please visit: Certified Mold Inspector.  

• To find services of a mold lawyer or a mold attorney, please visit Mold Lawyer.

REFERENCE: http://www.insect-and-skin-allergies.com/html/insect-allergies.php3

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