Discovering How Can Drinking Clean Water Alleviate Allergies
Each year, thousands of Americans are affected by the triggers of seasonal allergies. The common indicators include watery eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. However, one of the most overlooked symptoms is dehydration.
Drier air and changing temperatures make it hard for the body to be hydrated. As such, drinking water will not only flush the system. It can also eliminate foreign substances like allergens, which circulate in the body.
Indeed, drinking a good amount of water is important to your health. Keeping it hydrated will also bring an end to your allergy issues. As you drink extra fluids, it can help thin the mucus found in the nasal passages and drain the sinus. Drinking caffeine and sodas can alleviate dehydration and not help solve allergies. As such, the goal is to drink at least 60 ounces of water each day. You can do this by buying water bottles, subscribing in water delivery, or installing water filters in your home.
In this article, we will discuss what dehydration and allergies are. Moreover, we will discover the remedies on how to combat dehydration and allergies at your home.
Allergies and Dehydration
Do you have allergies? Allergies can be hereditary. They are common in children, but it can appear at any age. Sometimes, it can disappear and return at a later stage of your life.
No parents wanted to see their children suffer from allergies. Any children can develop allergies. However, they are common in children from families with allergies history. Since it’s impossible for the parents to control everything that their child eats or gets exposed to, parents should focus on monitoring the symptoms of their child.
Early identification of the allergies will improve one’s quality of life. It can reduce the number of missed work or school days. If you are suffering from allergies, it is time to consult the expert and identify the problems.
People with allergies suffer because of the histamine reaction in their system. Histamines are produced by the body to combat it against dangerous pollutants. The symptoms that your body feels is its natural way to fight the harmful irritants. Examples of which are pollen, mold, and dust.
Histamines can regulate the water supply of the body. Whenever the body does not receive an adequate amount of water, histamine production functions as a defense mechanism. It performs as such to preserve water in the body. As such, when the body is dehydrated, histamine production increases. This enables the body to experience similar trigger symptoms like those of seasonal allergies.
Symptoms of Allergies
The common symptoms of allergies are the following:
- Itchy, blocked, or runny nose
- Sneezing
- Watery, itchy, and red eyes
- Chest tightness, cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath
- Asthma
- Red rash or hives
- Swollen eyes, tongue, lips, or face.
- Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, feeling sick
- Cracked skin, dry, or red skin
The symptoms may vary depending on the trigger and the contact. In rare cases, allergies can lead to anaphylactic shock or anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic reaction. This can be life-threatening and needs medical attention immediately.
Kinds of Allergies
Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common ailment which is caused by allergies. Some of the symptoms include itchy nose, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, and postnasal drip. If you have allergies, you may experience red, itchy, and watery eyes plus chronic ear problems. Allergic rhinitis is also known as hay fever, however, it is not always triggered by hay, and it does not cause fever.
Nasal Congestion
Allergies are one of the common cause of chronic nasal congestion like stuffy nose experienced by the children. Sometimes, the nose of the child is congested, and he or she breathes through the mouth. This is true, especially when he/ she is sleeping. This causes the child not to have a good sleep and become tired the following day. Thus, early treatment of allergies, which causes nasal congestion, can prevent these problems.
Ear Infections
Allergies can lead to ear inflammation and accumulate the fluid in the ear. This can promote ear infections and decrease one’s hearing. A child whose hearing is impaired can develop poor speech while learning how to talk. Moreover, allergies can cause ear itching, fullness, and popping of the ears.
Food Allergies
In the United States, there are around 6 million children who suffer from food allergy. If a mother is breastfeeding, some infants can have allergic reactions to the food that their mothers are eating. As such, babies must be tested for allergies. Eliminating such foods from their mother’s diet may cure the child’s allergies.
All parents of a child with a food allergy must be aware of the potential anaphylaxis. This is a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. It can impair breathing, drop in blood pressure, and put the body into shock.
Preventing Dehydration and Allergies
It is best to prevent dehydration and allergies early on. Most sufferers of allergies and asthma try to modify their environment to help alleviate wheezing, sniffling, and sneezing. Experts agree on focusing on cutting down the toxins and air pollutants inside the home. But apart from this, you can also test the source of tap water to help prevent allergies and asthma attacks.
Here are some essential steps on how to do it:
Chemicals in the Water: Cause of Allergies
Testing the source of your drinking water can be a good idea if you or your family member has asthma allergies. According to studies, chlorine can make asthma in children worse. Chlorine is a chemical added in tap water to kill the bacteria.
However, chlorine in the water can trigger allergies and asthma. People with allergies are sensitive to the fumes produced by chlorine. The gases can build up in an enclosed container which can irritate the lungs of adults and children. It can cause skin irritations, dry skin, itching, rashes, and respiratory conditions.
Apart from chlorine, fluoride can also affect people with allergies and asthma. Fluoride is added to the municipal water source to help fight tooth decay in children. However, it can compromise the health of others. For many years, studies have documented the effects of fluoride on people with allergies.
Another chemical to blame is the dichlorophenol, which is often used to make pesticides. It is used to clean the drinking water, but it can cause allergies too.
Indeed, these purifying chemicals are interfering with our immune system. When the immune system identifies allergens, it will release antibodies to attack the substance, which leads to allergic symptoms.
Filtering Tap Water to Alleviate Symptoms of Allergy
If there is someone with asthma or allergies in your home, experts agree that you should consider filtering the water source. Many home water filters remove chlorine through reverse osmosis water filtration or a semi-permeable membrane. This can successfully remove calcium, pesticides, and various hard water chemicals. Moreover, reverse osmosis water filters can remove fluoride from the tap water.
You can upgrade your home’s filtration system and invest in a shower filter which can prevent the chemical absorption in your skin. One of the best products to try is the Berkey Shower Filter. This type of shower filter can reduce hydrogen sulfide, BPA free, and eliminate chlorine. If you are thinking of preventing allergens at your home, the Berkey Shower Filter is a must-have product now.
Investing in Shower Filter: The Berkey Shower Filter
Shower filters like Berkey Shower Filter can remove chlorine effectively and quickly alongside with heavy metals. Remember, chlorine can be harmful to the body if we are not careful. Heat can convert free chlorine to gas, which can enter the body through the skin, eye sockets, and respiratory system. It can cause skin irritation and difficulty in breathing. A such, investing in a shower filter is a must.
Hard water has negative effects on the skin and hair. Soap in contact with hard water will combine with the metals dissolved and form a film of soap curd. The curd will stick with the skin and hair, which makes it lifeless and difficult to manage. Moreover, the film prevents the bacteria and filth from being washed off and makes it hard for the skin to recover from its normal condition.
As such, shower filters solve the water condition in the bathroom. However, investing in a shower filter and whole house water softener can solve the water problem all together inside the house.
Alternatively, there are various whole house water filters in the market that can remove all the chemicals from each faucet. As you install it at your bathroom and kitchen faucets, it can provide a completely purified bath and drinking water at your home.
Drink More Water
As discussed above, dehydration can play an important role in asthma and allergies. Even if you don’t feel thirsty, it is essential that you drink the right amount of water.
Experts believe that because the lungs lack water vapor, it constricts the airways and makes the lungs produce mucus. These two factors are the causes of an asthma attack.
Since your body experienced hydration preservation mode for too long, rehydrating it can be challenging. But you must stick with it! Think about it this way. The more water you pour on the dry land, the more water the land will be absorbed and soften eventually. This is similar to your body. The more you drink water, the more accustomed your body will become to hydration.
As such, it is recommended for asthmatic people to drink at least 10 glasses of water each day. You can put a pinch of salt in it to regulate water in the body. Make sure to avoid drinking coffee because it can rob the needed water of the body. No matter how enticing other liquids can be, there is no substitution for drinking water to hydrate the body.
The most important time to drink water is when you wake up in the morning. It is also ideal for drinking your water in between meals to aid in rehydration and digestion.
Drink enough water each day. Rehydrating is the body’s way of consuming at least of your body weight in ounces of water each day. You can increase this intake when you exercise and when the weather is hot.
Also, you must keep track of how much water are you drinking. As you track your water consumption, it will give you an idea of how much water are you taking each day. This is one way of getting to know if you are drinking enough water to hydrate your body.
Take note, water is important in your health. Staying properly hydrated will let your body react better with allergens. With this, it need not produce high levels of histamines because of lack of water. Water is an essential and inexpensive way to regulate allergies. So, bottoms up!
Here are other tips to prevent allergies in water:
Keep Showers Cool and Short
Long hot showers can increase chemical absorption that lingers in the home water’s supply. You can consider limiting the shower time. Use lukewarm water and turn off the water entirely as you shave or lather.
Choose Bottled Water
You can either invest in installing water purifiers for your home. Another option is to buy bottled waters which can provide a safe alternative for your drinking water on the go.
Limit Pool Time
Public pools are dependent on the use of chlorine to kill bacteria in the water. So if you love swimming in the pool, you might want to limit your swim time. You can also treat your own pools with non-chlorine chemical alternatives. Check pools with bromine or ionization processes. These type of pools rely on silver ions and copper to make the water clean.
Distilled Waters for the Humidifiers
Humidity in the air can improve your breathing. If you are using a humidifier to sleep comfortably through the night, you must fill it with distilled water. The minerals found in tap water can form deposits which can promote bacterial growth. This can be released through the air and worsen your symptoms.
Conclusion
In sum, these techniques will help reduce the toxins in the water to resolve asthma and allergies. There are various options to try, which are considered effective for those who are sensitive to the chemicals in the water, such as the Berkey Shower Filter.
Indeed, understanding health effects are important. Now that you know the problems, you can take proper steps to reduce asthma and allergies and improve your health. Breathe well and breathe deeply. Today is a brand new day to start living good!
EcoBlueLife.com is a replacement water and air filter company located in the United States. The views and opinions contained herein are solely those of the original author and do not represent Eco Blue Life or its affiliates. This article was originally published on TheBerkey.com
