Is It Possible to Control the Tree Pollen Allergy Symptoms?

You may decide to embark on a series of tree pollen allergy treatments but in fact preventative measures work best. It is important that you understand the underlying features that trigger this sort of reaction in your body.

Normally the tree pollen allergy symptoms will appear in the spring period. The culprits include oak which comes from the genus of Quercus and Birch which comes from the genus of Betula. Pollen on the other hand can be found on many different types of trees. The person can be allergic to a series of conditions and substances. Therefore it is important to have some sort of objective analysis of the symptoms and their impact on the individual. You may actually react with u to 8 species and this will make your spring holiday a real nightmare.

Medication: You should always start with the non-sedating antihistamines that are available without prescription. If they are not working then you can see an allergist for further advice. They may recommend oral leukotriene antagonists. In addition you may decide to use steroid sprays which contain the active ingredient. Some clinicians have recommended drops if your eyes start to deteriorate.
Combinations: Although one particular form of tree pollen allergy treatments may not work, you could actually make use of combination therapies. Ensure that you consult with the doctor because you can trigger some dangerous drug interactions. Often these are worse than the original condition which you had been treating.
Pollens: Extensive research might enable you to isolate the exact pollens that seem to trigger a reaction in you. These are the things that you have to look at in the long run. In order to reverse the conditions you will have to check for the responsive rates. For example if you start on a new antihistamine, it should be possible to ascertain whether it is really improving your condition.

Remember that the tree pollen allergens are carried in the air. Therefore you should limit exposure. A case in point is where you close the car windows when driving in the country side. Buy some specialist vacuum cleaners in order to ensure that you can clear the atmosphere of pollen. When you are given an inhaler or emergency antihistamine, it is important that you carry it with you at all times even if you are working or traveling. The emergencies can arise at the most inconvenient time and you may end up in shock.

The management of tree pollen allergy symptoms requires a multi-pronged approach. Therefore prevention goes hand in hand with a cure. The author of this article is a regular blogger of tree pollen allergy treatments blog.

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Does OxyHives Work?

83% of all hives sufferers never actually figure out what causes their hives, and if you're one of these people you know how frustrating it can be to continuously see doctors without ever getting any relief.

For some lucky people hives can just disappear on their own never to return again, but some other sufferers can go through weeks of non-stop itching and pain for the hives to disappear and return again in a few days. Whilst hives are relatively harmless and will not cause serious illness, the frequent inability to get relief or figure out what is causing your hives can be extremely frustrating.

OxyHives is a completely natural product that is designed to provide your body with the balance and support it needs to heal itself and cure the symptoms of hives and even prevent them from reccuring - whilst allowing you to continue on with your normal life.

OxyHives works on a long-term level by evening out the histamine imbalances in your body that result in the hives allergic reaction, whilst also providing instant relief from the redness, pain and itchy symptoms of hives. Furthermore unlike creams it works to protect the whole body not just a localized area and unlike harsh drugs there are no side effects because it is a 100% natural formula.

Many people have had great success treating their hives with OxyHives. Dr Tiffany Young (from hives.org) has actually cured over 30,000 patients from hives since 1990 and claims a 95% Success Rate with OxyHives.

How to Get the Most from OxyHives

Unfortunately because the causes of hives can vary so widely between individuals, even the manufacturers concede that Oxyhives might not be the perfect cure for everyone. However if you've continuously suffered from hives without any relief then it's definitely worth a try to see if this product will work for you.

Below are some simple guidelines you can follow to ensure that you get the most benefits from OxyHives possible:

Avoid taking Aspirin - approximately 30% of all hives sufferers are believed to have an insensitivity to aspirin that causes their hives breakouts.Try and eliminate beverages that contain a lot of caffeine such as tea and coffee and most especially soft drinks and diet sodas.Always wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you take OxyHivesStore OxyHives in a cool dry place out of direct lightOne of the best times to take homeopathic remedies is just before you go to bed.

Recommended Dosage

OxyHives is taken orally in the form of a spray, and is best sprayed twice under the tongue, because his is where it is most effectively absorbed into the blood stream, and isn't destroyed by the digestion process.

And rather than trying to apply a cream to affected areas, sublingual medicines allow the medicine to be absorbed by the body immediately and treat the whole body at once not just a specific area.

Are There Any Side Effects?

OxyHives is a completely natural remedy that is free of any side effects, such as nausea or drowsiness that are associated with strong drugs such as anti-depressants and anti-histamines that are most commonly prescribed for hives sufferers.

However if you experience any side effects then you should stop use immediately and consult your health practitioner.

Check out our website OxyHives Treatment for more information on Hives Treatments and customer reviews.

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Hay Fever - The Best Treatments for an Allergy Free Life

Hay fever or seasonal allergic rhinitis afflicts sufferers with a variety of symptoms, such as:

· Itchy, runny & / or blocked nose

· Itchy, watery, red eyes

· Sneezing

· Itchy throat

· Less commonly; headache, face pain, sweats, loss of smell, asthma symptoms (breathless, wheezing)

Hay fever is caused by an allergy to pollen, the commonest coming from grasses and weeds which causes symptoms during spring & summer. Tree pollens can also affect many people, but tend to do so earlier in the year, generally from March till May. If symptoms persist in the winter months then other causes of allergy maybe to blame, such as fungal spores, house dust mites and animal & pet dander from fur.

Symptoms are caused by the body's immune system reacting to pollen, cells in the lining of the nose & on the surface of the eyes release histamine when exposed to an allergen which causes inflammation & irritation. Hay fever affects about 20% of the population and often starts in childhood and re-occurs each year for several years before improving or disappearing completely. People that suffer from hay fever are also often prone to asthma & eczema; these so called "atopic" conditions also tend to run in families.

Simple measures to reduce exposure to pollen can help ease symptoms, but avoiding pollen completely is virtually impossible. The following actions may help when the pollen count is high (50+):

· Stay indoors as much as possible with the doors & windows closed

· Keep car windows & air vents closed, consider fitting pollen filters.

· Wear wrap around sunglasses

· Avoid cutting grass & large grassy areas as much as possible

· Shower & wash your hair often to remove pollen

Treatment:

Hay fever is treated mainly with anti-histamine tablets, nasal sprays (anti-histamine or steroid) & eye drops. For optimal control, treatment should begin BEFORE the hay fever season starts and continue until the pollen season ends.

Anti-histamine tablets are classified into 1st generation (e.g. Chlorpheniramine - PIRITON?) which commonly cause drowsiness & also need to be taken several times a day.

2nd generation anti-histamines (e.g. Loratidine - CLARITYN? & Cetirizine - ZIRTEK?) generally do not cause drowsiness and are only taken once per day. Loratidine is considered the least likely to make you feel sleepy or to interact with alcohol. Both these drugs can occasionally cause dizziness and should be avoided during pregnancy & breastfeeding. These drugs can ease all symptoms of hay fever with the exception of a blocked nose, if this symptom is troublesome the use of a decongestant, such as pseudoephedrine can be tried or alternative anti-histamines prescribed; Fexofenadine or Desloratidine. Anti-histamines taken orally tend to act in about 30 minutes, but for faster relief Acrivastine - BENEDRYL? can be used which offers relief within 15 minutes, but requires frequent doses every 8 hours.

Steroid nasal sprays (Beclometasone - BECONASE? & Fluticasone - FLIXONASE?) are very effective at relieving nasal & eye symptoms. They are used once or twice daily in each nostril and can take between 5 & 20 days to provide a full effect. Anti-histamine nasal sprays (e.g. Azelastine - RHINOLAST?) offer fast relief of nasal symptoms, but do not help affected eyes and are generally less effective than steroids. Cromoglycate nasal sprays (RYNACROM?) offer another alternative, but these also need to be used regularly and can take up to 2 weeks to reach full effect. They are more often used in children. Ipratropium bromide nasal sprays (ATROVENT?) are particularly effective in stopping very watery nasal discharges, but have no effect on other nasal or eye symptoms.

Eye symptoms can be rapidly relieved by anti-histamine eye drops (e.g. Antazoline - OTRIVINE ANTISTIN?) or alternatively use drops with the anti-allergy ingredient Sodium Cromoglycate (CLARITYN? or OPTREX? allergy drops) however these need to be used regularly and can take several days to reach full effectiveness.

Successful relief of hay fever is often only achieved with the use of several products and may require treatment with anti-histamine tablets, a nasal spray & eye drops combined, starting a few weeks before the season begins.

Michael Lord BPharm(hons)

Pharmacist for 25 years & health journalist

http://www.healthandbeautyabroad.com/

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Coping With Sun Allergy Symptoms

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Here's What Could Be Causing Your Health Issues

Bio-Individuality. Have you heard that term before? Bio-Individuality is kind of like saying, "There are no two people who are exactly alike on this planet." It means that no body is the same, no mind is the same, and no life is the same from one person to the next. It means taking an individualized approach to the way we deal with health, wellness, and any other lifestyle factors. As any good health coach will tell you, what works in terms of diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes for one person, isn't necessarily what their next client will need!

The important piece about bio-individuality that you need to know about is that all the answers you need are within yourself. Your body intuitively knows the food it thrives on and the food that wishes to abstain from. This is where food allergies and intolerances come in. This is a moderate to extreme way of your body saying to you, "This food doesn't belong here. I know the kids down the street drink milk with every meal, but that's not gonna cut it for me."

Quite often there are foods that don't suit our body well, but since there's no severe reaction of any sort, we don't even know it's there. This happens a lot with the common food allergens of soy, dairy, gluten, corn, and wheat. The funny thing is, the thing we're most likely to be sensitive to is the same thing we're eating every day! People with gluten sensitivities tend to eat bread, cereal, pastries, and the likes day in and day out. People with dairy allergies most likely grew up drinking milk with every meal and still drink a couple glasses a day.

What's happened is that our bodies have become desensitized, meaning that we've become so used to the symptoms of ill health, that they seem normal. These symptoms can range from headaches to PMS and mucus to constipation. We accept these as part of what's normal when each is a sign of an underlying issue, one that often resides with food sensitivities.

So how do you test for food sensitivities? It's actually easier than you might think. You don't need pins and needles at the allergist's or even a blood examination from your doctor. Testing for food sensitivities can be done in the comfort of your own home with a little help from your neighborhood grocery store.

For 7 days, take each of the common allergens (listed above) out of your diet, along with any food you notice you eat a lot of. On the 8th day add back in one of the potential allergens. Notice if any of those symptoms (like sinus problems or headaches) comes back. If not, it's safe to say your body does alright with that food. The next day, introduce another food back into your diet. Once again, notice the way your body reacts to the reintroduction of this food. Repeat until all the foods are added back in. If something stirs up those symptoms, make note of it and avoid that food as much as possible.

There are special foods for almost any type of intolerance these days. Foods made without soy, corn, wheat, gluten, and dairy, among other things. You can find these online or at your local supermarket. Even better, start cooking at home more so you know exactly what's going into your foods!

Shannon Lagasse, The Young and Fresh Health Coach, teaches women who are struggling to lose weight how to drop the pounds easily and enjoyably by empowering them to find freedom from restrictive dieting, deprivation, rigorous exercise regimes, and beliefs about food that are holding them back from having their ideal body. To schedule your F.R.E.E. Breakthrough to BodyLove Session and to receive her inspirational weekly health & wellness articles on natural ways to get the body and life you want, visit http://www.youngandfreshhealth.com/.

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What Can We Do With Hay Fever?

When we have chronic allergies, our immune system has been shifted away from a response that deals more with bacteria and viruses towards a response that causes more allergic tendencies. This is usually due to our bodies being over-stimulated by exposure to multiple irritants and becoming hypersensitive to different agents. With a shift in the immune response, our immune system is hypersensitive to things such as dust, pollen, grasses, pet dander, or allergic foods, and allergies can often be found in a triad with asthma and eczema. The most important thing to do at this point is to try and avoid things we are sensitive to, whether they are food or environmental offenders, to try and decrease the burden to our immune system. Besides avoiding offending factors, there are many other natural treatments that can be helpful, which are described below.

Vitamin C and quercetin are both very helpful in decreasing histamine and the inflammatory response seen in allergies. Other treatments that are very helpful for decreasing hay fever include grape seed extract, Petasites hybridus, or butterbur, and Urtica dioica, or nettles. Because low stomach acid can cause problems in digestion and lead to the development of allergies, supplementing with hydrocholoric acid may be useful. Fish oil and probiotics can also help with stabilizing membranes and the healing of the gut, which will decrease allergic symptoms.

A method for directly clearing our nasal passages during bouts of hay fever is the use of a neti pot. Howto use a neti pot is described in my blog post on treatments for sinus infections. A neti pot can help to wash away any airborne allergens we may have inhaled during the day, as well as rinsing away any bacteria or other microbes that can build up and eventually cause sinus infections. The neti pot can thus directly decrease the allergic load in our nose and sinuses.

Along with using a neti pot to clear nasal passages, another way of decreasing congestion and thinning mucus secretions can be accomplished by eating spices or pungent foods. As long as the spices do not cause reflux (spicy foods are an easy trigger for people that are prone to having heartburn), the most frequently recommended spices for this purpose include cayenne pepper, hot ginger, and fenugreek, as well as the traditional onion and garlic.

One key to success with allergies is to try and start treatment before symptoms kick in - starting three weeks before allergy season begins is a great way for preventing or decreasing allergy symptoms. As always, there are many treatments that can be beneficial for allergies. It is therefore important to seek professional medical advice for moderate to severe allergies to find the underlying causes for each case and to get treatments specific to each individual.

Dr. Corrine Wang is a licensed Naturopathic doctor that graduated from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. As a Naturopathic doctor, she is committed to assisting others achieve balance and wellness in their lives. She believes in treating the whole person and supports each individual's healing process with the most effective, least invasive methods possible. Dr. Wang treats a variety of conditions using therapies that include clinical nutrition and dietary therapy, herbal and nutritional supplements, homeopathy, detoxification, and physical medicine including craniosacral therapy. She believes in mind-body medicine and supporting mental health along with physical health and also has experience with biofeedback, meditation, and other counseling techniques. She has a practice at Pacific Naturopathic in Mountain View. To learn more about Dr. Wang and how she can be of service, please visit her website at http://www.drcorrinewang.com/.

Original article

Holiday Allergy Survival Manual - 5 Ways To Manage Allergies During The Holidays

The three weeks after Halloween are when the gloves come off and most of us get serious about the holidays that loom ahead. Whether you are entertaining at home or going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's, or homes of other relatives, it's never too early to start to focus on allergy management. Doing the following 5 things will help you enjoy the season.

Say Yes To Vitamins---Giving your body the nutrients it needs by taking water soluble vitamins daily can drastically improve your physical and emotional health. These boost your immune system and make your body more naturally able to fight symptoms that irritants can cause.

Vitamin Stress B, C, D, E, and Coq10 will increase your stamina and overall feeling of well being. Taking them consistently will help keep their levels stable in your body.

If you ever skip a day you'll notice the difference in how you feel immediately. The way you feel on days when you don't take them will astonish you.

This suggestion is not meant to take the place of medical advice, so as always, consult your physician to make sure a professional thinks it's a good idea as well.

Choose Your Company---You will probably receive a ton of invitations. Consider the circumstances carefully before you accept. If possible, turn down invitations where you know the air will be thick with irritants.

Homes with pets, smokers, and/or even an overabundance of scented candles can set you back for weeks. Flare-ups are hard at any time of the year and can be particularly stressful for you and those who love you when you are together for the holidays.

Be Prepared---Sometimes regardless of how many precautions you take, you will feel your allergy symptoms start to take control. Always travel with a "Plan B" in mind. For you that may be over-the-counter antihistamines, or a prescription prescribed by your allergist to stop symptoms before they become unmanageable.

Particle filters that can remove different size particles should be a part of any effective cleaner. These should include pre-filters for visible particles, a HEPA for invisible particulates, and carbon cloth which can remove both gaseous pollutants and particles.

Filter Your Air----Even with all of the technological advances that have been made in science, one of the most reliable ways to experience allergy relief is still to avoid whatever triggers the symptoms.

Using an air purifier helps you avoid the triggers and reduces the need to take more invasive measures to manage the flare-ups.

Filter Other People's Air---If your plans including visiting over night away from home, having an air purifier that is portable enough to travel with you is a good idea. That means that clean air is always as close as the nearest outlet wherever the holidays find you.

Make every day a holiday by removing airborne allergens from your air.  Put the Allergy Machine Air Purifier from PurerAir.com to work for you now.  See it at http://purerair.com/allergy_machine.html

Original article

5 Causes of Chronic Urticaria

Chronic Urticaria is the medical condition which causes red wheals to appear on the surface of one's skin for more than 6 weeks. While most people will develop urticaria at least once in their lifetime, it usually will go away in a day's time, and it will not be considered severe.

When it persists it develops into Chronic Urticaria which can be caused by more than one factor, not mostly allergies as most people think.

Here are the 5 most popular causes of chronic urticaria:

1. Idiopathic Causes

What this means is that the exact causes of the condition are unknown and generally when dealing with chronic urticaria the causes are idiopathic and thus undetermined, this "cause" being at the top of the list.

2. Medicine/Drugs

The 2nd most encountered cause of this condition is manmade drugs which can be anything from antibiotics, aspirin and different vaccines to contraceptive or diet pills. Also, if chronic urticaria patents are also users of cocaine or inject themselves with heroin they might very well develop a condition known as bronchospasm which is a condition that causes difficult breathing which can range from mild to severe.

3. Allergic Reactions

This is probably the most known cause of chronic urticaria to the general public, as most patients believe they developed the condition because something they ate or took. They usually stop eating that certain food and when the urticaria persists they are left with no idea of its causes. It is important to note that urticaria that is indeed caused by something you ate or medicine you took will almost always manifest itself in minutes to a few hours after consuming the respective product meaning it will be fast acting.

4. Stress

Believe it or not this is another common cause of chronic urticaria. Stress from work, home or school can definitely cause acute or chronic hives, but it is not only limited to mental stress, as the same goes with physical stress. If your body is extremely solicited on a regular basis you may very well develop the condition.

5. Metabolic Diseases

Liver or kidney disease can also cause this condition, along with a high or low thyroid function but also autoimmune diseases (the condition in which the immune system attacks the skin).

These are the five most common causes for urticaria. If you are interested in finding information regarding curing this condition by using natural proven methods, follow the link below.

Get rid of Chronic Urticaria using a proven natural method. Click here to find the best chronic urticaria treatment.

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A Framework for Managing Garlic Allergy Symptoms

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How Eye Allergy Symptoms Develop and Their Treatment

For the most part eye allergy symptoms are more of an irritant than a fatal condition. That does not mean that you should not take steps to protect your body from them.

One of the eye allergy symptoms that are well known is vernal keratoconjunctivitis. This means that you will experience some level of scarring on the cornea. Eventually you will find that vision is restricted. Your eyes will be very itchy especially after you have been exposed to the allergen. It is advisable to take a mild antihistamine or decongestant in order to ensure that your body is not negatively affected by the condition and its development. Alternatively you may decide to take Patanol which is a mast cell stabilizer that is applied topically.

Long term solutions: You may get rid of the current irritation but the worst thing that you can do is to consign your life to permanent tablets. At some point you will need a break and that is why you need to ensure that you keep your treatment appropriate. When using topical steroids you have to be very careful because the can have side effects that are hard to reverse. Your doctor will give you some tips for avoiding the pitfalls that are associated with the abuse of steroids.
Multiple conditions: The development of eye allergy symptoms may be associated with other reactive tendencies. For example the person may be suffering from atopic eczema dermatitis and allergic rhinitis. Irritants will elicit a reaction if they are applied to the eye. One of the problems that you face in diagnosis is the fact that the signs can overlap with other equally valid possibilities. Conjunctiva may develop on the mucus membranes. This is because of the many mast cells that are found there.
Tears: You may experience some inflammation of the lacrimal glands. That can affect the process of moisturizing the eyes. Moreover the production of tears is meant to boost the immune response for the eyes. For example the organ is rich with lymphocytes, immunoglobulins and enzymes that are essential for the proper functioning of the body. About 27 million people in the USA suffer from eye allergy symptoms and this means that the treatment programs remain a priority for the health authorities.

As a general rule, you should try to isolate the allergen and keep away from it. If you find that eating certain foods brings out the waterworks then it is perhaps a good idea to avoid them altogether. Always ensure that you consult with the family doctor before taking any action.

The eye allergy treatments have become sophisticated over time due to the development of bespoke technologies. The author of this article is a regular blogger of eye allergy symptoms blog.

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A Template for Dealing With Yeast Allergy Symptoms

Before exploring the possibilities that are associated with yeast allergy treatments, you have to consider the underlying issues that are leading to the development of the condition. Moreover you have a program for improving the quality of life that the patient leads.

First of all it is important that yeast is an organism that occurs naturally. It is used in different productive methods and somehow finds its way into the food chain. If you do not take the right precautions then it is possible that you will restrict your diet in case it becomes an allergen to your body.

Hypersensitivity: This can be something that is inherited or it might actually arise from exposure to yeast. Research has shown that about 33% of Americans suffering this sort of reaction when exposed to the microorganism. Of course the severity of the symptoms will vary from person to person. A protein that is present in the substance will be of importance in determining the reaction that you get. Lactobacillus acidophilus may be able to balance out the protein but that is not always the case especially if the yeast is able to overcome the bacterial elements. The yeast allergy symptoms arise when the immune system produces histamines in order to counter the perceived threat.
Infections: If you are allergic to the microorganism then it is likely that you will have a high propensity to develop Candidiasis. For the most part you will experience some abdominal cramping which is followed by vomiting, flatulence, nausea and indigestion. On occasions you may also develop constipation and diarrhea. The combinations of these symptoms can begin to waste the body and that is why there has to be a strategy for ensuring that you can keep away from the allergens for as much as possible. The secondary yeast allergy symptoms include coughing, nasal congestion, fatigue, wheezing and watery eyes. Edema can develop in different parts of the body.

If you take an antihistamine then the milder symptoms will disappear within a matter of days. The symptoms can weaken your immune system to the extent that you develop other complications that were not originally part of the condition. The avoidance strategy means that you will not be taking any form of bread. Beer and certain alcoholic beverages are out of the question. At the same time you have to consider the need to have a balanced diet at all times.

It seems that the incidence of yeast allergy symptoms will continue to increase even as yeast allergy treatments are being sought.

Original article

Gluten Free Diet and Surviving a Hotel Restaurant

The title of this entry suggests that I eat at the restaurant in question quite often. Actually, I don't. I was at the hotel for four nights, but only ate at the restaurant twice. That's how I survived it without compromising my gluten free diet.

The point of this article is not to rant against the hotel, but to illustrate what can go wrong at a restaurant, and how to deal with it and remain gluten-free.

The Problem with the Restaurant

I was a hotel attending an intensive course to help me with the direction of my life and my business. Because I have a gluten allergy and given that there would be no time to look for food outside the hotel, and expecting challenges in finding food to suit my allergy requirements, I mostly brought my own food. I ate at the restaurant twice, and this was not a happy experience.

Because the course I was attending involved a lot of people, they had a buffet arranged for us. Before buying tickets for the buffet, I told the hotel staff what my allergies are, and asked if I could be accommodated. I was told this was possible.

Luckily, I only pre-purchased the dinners. When I showed up at the buffet, it turned out that I could really only eat the salad! The first night, Cindy, a really service super-star, was able to arrange an alternate meal for me. The second night she was not there, and the staff came up with something that technically I could eat, but really was pretty unsatisfactory.

Bringing My Own Gluten-Free Food

Breakfasts and lunches did work really well because I brought my own gluten-free food.

I do not eat gluten, but I can eat oatmeal. I brought a one-cup immersion heater to boil water, and added that to a bowl of instant oatmeal. Adding walnuts and almonds made it a pretty good and complete breakfast.

For lunch, I brought rice cakes, and canned meat (which I found at an Italian store in my home town). The cans have pull-tabs, so they are easy to open, and don't stink like fish, so that worked very well.

Planning for Next Time

I have another similar trip coming up in March. This time I will bring dinner as well as breakfast and lunch.

I have not planed my meals yet, but I have purchased a single-burner electric stove which I can fit in my suit-case. Some camping pots and implements will complete my kitchen. I will probably have rice with something out of a can - not exciting but better than restaurant food. If I can, I will try to come up with something interesting, but it will all have to work as airplane luggage, so there will be challenges. I'll add more when I have worked out the details.

More About Immersion Heaters

A few people have been asking what an immersion heater is. You put it in to a cup or mug of cold water, plug it in, and it heats up. After a time, the water will boil.

Allergic to gluten? Find out more: Gluten Allergy

Read more about gluten-free diet

Copyright 2010 Douglas Samuel. May be republished providing above author information is included, and live links are used without the rel="nofollow" attribute.

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Barley and Barley Allergies

Of the main cereal crops (wheat, barley, oats and rye), barley is probably the least commonly used in day-to-day food. It is often used to make beer and whiskey.

As a food, barley is most often used in soups and stews. In Asia, is boiled to make barley water, a popular drink which is ideal for hot weather.

Barley can grow in cold conditions, which is why it is a staple crop in Tibet (they also grow wheat there, so if you are allergic to wheat, Tibet is not actually a perfect destination for you).

Barley is a flavorful, tasty, chewy grain. It can be cooked like rice and served on the side with meat and vegetable dishes, much like rice.

Health Risks
Barley contains gluten and must be avoided if you are celiac or allergic to barley.

If you are allergic to wheat, you may still be able to eat barley (I do).

If you have just discovered that you are allergic to wheat, it is best to eliminate barley from your diet for several months, then re-introduce it to see if it causes you trouble or not.

Health Benefits
Barley is a good source of fiber, selenium, phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Barley Relatives
Barley is a grass. Besides being related to your lawn and bamboo, grass is also related to the following food crops because they too are grasses:

Wheat
Maize (Corn)
Oats
Rice
Rye
Sorghum
Millet
Sugarcane

Further Notes
Barley is really in a lot of places one might not suspect. While it is very commonly found in beer or whiskey, and that is kind of known, it is also very commonly found in everyday foods like bread, cereal, cookies, etc.

The main reason for this is that most flour that you buy in the grocery store, lists malted barley flour as one of the main ingredients. Because of FDA requirements on labeling, companies are not necessarily required to specifically list that the flour they used to make their bread contains malted barley flour. Nor do most labels tell you that malt is made from barley (always), and/or corn.

I find barley in almost as many things as I find wheat in. Although I can't seem to find anything on it right now, when I first started researching barley, I was finding that dextrose and maltodextrin are sometimes derived from barley (most often from corn, maize, rice, etc) as well. Those are two sweeteners that are in everything.

Have a gluten allergy? Find out more: Gluten Allergy

Read more about gluten-free diet

Copyright 2010 Douglas Samuel. May be republished providing above author information is included, and live links are used without the rel="nofollow" attribute.

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Learn How to Treat the Symptoms of Allergies

Allergies can cause a lot of different issues such as a runny nose and stuffy head. In the spring time you will notice that you may wake up more often with a runny nose and this is because there is more pollen in the air. When you feel something coming on then you need to take some medication so that it will not get worse. It is a good idea to go to your local pharmacy and get a recommendation on what works best. There is always new medication on the market so you will not have a problem finding something that works.

If the symptoms that you are having get worse, then you should visit your local doctor. In most cases they can give you a simple antihistamine that will clear it up. You may want to ask them about allergy pills as well because they can help to prevent the symptoms from starting. This is a preventative measure and during the spring time you should be seeking out medication that help to avoid getting allergies.

Washing your hands and avoiding contact with people who have allergy symptoms is a smart thing to do. If someone that you work with is sneezing and seems to have an allergy problem then make sure that you try to avoid them. It is easy to catch an allergy from someone else because they can spread. During the peak season o the year you have to be careful because this is when it is more common that people are having issues.

You may to consider taking vitamins to build up your immune system. The more you can do this the better the chance is that you do not get an allergy. The thing you want to remember is to try to protect yourself from getting sick. This means that you should do several things to avoid catching or developing a bad allergy cold. Talk to your doctor and see if they have a recommendation for you as well. They can give you a Vitamin B shot that will help to protect you.

Remember that allergies strike at certain times of the year so make sure you protect yourself. Another way to keep from getting allergies is to get an allergy test to see if you are allergic to anything. You might find that a certain food makes you break out in an attack. This is real good information to know because it can help you to choose foods that you are not allergic to.

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Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Health and Well Being.

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