Allergic to my home

After being out of the house for days I come home and immediately begin to cough, then by evening I ache in my joints and have sinus drainage and a cough, this persists for days  and when I go out of town it stops, it also stops if I go shopping for several hours or am away for severl hours.  Could I be allergic to my home?  Can I be tested?  

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
There is something either inside your house or in immediate neighborhood to cause these symptoms. Yes, you can be tested for them. What is important is you must find out what is causing this allergy. Common allergens are pollen, mold, dust, pet dander, cosmetics or drugs. You must get an allergy test done, either a skin test or by RAST, to know what you are allergic to. Mold can be present in the air conditioning at home.
Putting the mattresses out in sun, vacuum cleaning, finding out if there are cats or dogs in immediate neighborhood etc should be carried out. You could also be allergic to any cosmetic you apply on face or eye or even for your hair like shampoos or dyes too can cause allergies. Fungus too can cause mold allergy especially if the walls have seepage problems.
Hope this helps. Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Your symptoms are suggestive of allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Allergic rhinitis is a collection of symptoms, predominantly in the nose and eyes, caused by airborne particles of dust, dander, or plant pollens in people who are allergic to these substances.

When a person with allergies breathes in an allergen such as pollen or dust, antibodies are produced. When the antibodies are stimulated by pollen and dust, histamine and other chemicals are released. This causes itching, swelling, and mucus production.

Pls contact an allergic specialist and get skin tests like skin ***** test done. In this a small amount of allergen is introduced into the skin of the forearm and the reaction of the skin is noted. If there is any redness then that person is allergic to the allergen introduced.

You can also get blood tests like RAST done.

You can take OTC antihistaminics like benadryl or Claritin. Longer-acting antihistamines are available by prescription. They cause less drowsiness and can work just as well. These medications include fexofenadine (Allegra), and cetirizine (Zyrtec).

You can also use nasal corticosteroid sprays like nasocort or flonase. Decongestants may also be helpful in reducing symptoms such as nasal congestion, but they should not be used for long periods. Cromolyn sodium is a nasal spray (Nasalcrom) for treating hay fever. If the symptoms are intense then you can go in for immunotherapy

Hope it helps. Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.