Can Allergies Affect Your Lungs?
How Allergies Impact Your Lung Health
It’s very common for most allergy sufferers to experience a runny nose or itchy eyes when their symptoms act up, but some patients may also experience trouble breathing. After repetitive allergy flare-ups, patients may experience chronic damage to their lungs.
How Allergic Asthma Leads to Decreased Lung Capacity
Just as some people may experience skin irritation or swollen eyes, some patients can experience reactions in their airways, leading to asthma symptoms. When you breathe in an allergen, small particles become lodged in your throat and lungs — causing allergic asthma. This condition is very common in patients with seasonal and year-round allergies — including those with environmental and food allergies.
Common Conditions for Patients with Asthma
Allergens cause inflammation in the lungs which if left untreated can cause permanent damage to your lungs and lung capacity. This can be dangerous for patients who are already at high risk of viral infections such as COVID-19, who may experience an extremely hard time breathing if they become sick. Patients with asthma and breathing troubles are also at a higher risk of developing bronchitis, some patients developing a chronic form that occurs every few months.
Patients may also develop a hypersensitivity to allergens, known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This type of allergic reaction causes inflammation of the lung’s air sacs, further decreasing your lung function.
Improving Your Lung Function
The first step in controlling your asthma and restoring your lung health is diagnosing your condition. Some of the most common risk factors associated with asthma include:
- Allergies
- Chronic respiratory infections.
- Smoking.
- Air pollution.
- Occupational exposure.
- Obesity.
Additionally, common symptoms of asthma include:
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest tightness or pain.
- Wheezing when exhaling (especially in children).
- Trouble sleeping caused by wheezing.
- Coughing or wheezing attacks.
Lifestyle Changes
Household particles such as dust, mold, chemical products, and environmental allergens cause a majority of asthma flare-ups. So, it’s important to keep your home as allergy-free as possible and avoid going outdoors when air quality is poor.
Allergy & Asthma Treatments
Additionally, there are many treatments for allergic asthma that can help prevent a decrease in lung capacity or function, including allergy immunotherapy. At Cure Allergy Clinic, we offer the following:
- Allergy Shots: a form of allergen desensitization that could move allergies completely into remission.
- Allergy Drops: a unique form of sublingual immunotherapy called CureSLIT used to treat asthma, sinus issues, and allergies.
Using a daily inhaler can help prevent a flare-up as well, and it’s important to have a rescue inhaler in the event of a bad allergy attack. If you’re suffering from repetitive asthma flare-ups, it’s important to seek treatment to protect your lung function and alleviate your symptoms.
Arlington Allergy Specialists
At Cure Allergy Clinic, our team is not just dedicated to helping you breathe comfortably — but managing and treating your condition to lead you into remission. We are proud to be a trusted resource for high-quality integrative care for patients in and around Arlington, Texas, including the communities of Dallas, Irving, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Coppell, and Fort Worth.
Start seeking the relief you need to breathe easier and manage your allergies today by scheduling your first consultation with our team.