Spring often sees an increase in people seeking advice from healthcare practitioners in dealing with the symptoms caused by seasonal allergies. While we regard itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and congestion as normal while suffering from allergies, people often feel tired as well. Allergies cause fatigue, although we often ascribe this tiredness to other factors.
But not everyone suffers only from seasonal allergies. Millions of people across the globe experience allergic symptoms right throughout the year. While they have similar symptoms to those experienced by those with seasonal allergies, they also tend to find themselves constantly tired. This tiredness could lead to several health issues like irritability and depression, unfortunately, and negatively affect your overall performance.
Allergies cause fatigue in three ways: the various symptoms may cause sleeping issues, the allergens themselves may cause a chemical reaction that stimulates fatigue, and the medications used to address the issue. We will look at all three.
Coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and nasal congestion are common allergy symptoms. They tend to make sleep difficult because they indicate narrowed airways. While these symptoms are uncomfortable during the day, laying down trying to sleep at night may be somewhat difficult. The result is you, waking up the next morning with a body that has not had time to rest and repair itself.
Another way in which allergies cause fatigue is due to our natural immune response and corresponding inflammatory response. Allergies are an inflammatory immune condition resulting from your immune response when your body encounters allergens.
When exposed to allergens, the antibodies in your immune system jump into action and release chemicals to protect you from them. It essentially sees allergens as foreign pathogens that threaten your survival.
This immune response starts in your brain and is carried out by your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. Part of the NEM is an increased cortisol production in the adrenal glands as part of the fight or flight response.
While the NEM stress response sees different body functions changing when you experience stress, the associated higher cortisol production also tunes down your inflammatory response. This is why many medications used to treat allergies contain corticosteroids.
But here is the catch, if elevated cortisol production persists, you run the risk of developing adrenal fatigue. Furthermore, the more your body tries to fight these allergens, the greater its demand for an inflammatory response, and the greater the demand for even more cortisol. Ultimately, your adrenal glands cannot keep up with the demanded cortisol production and your inflammatory response goes into overdrive.
But it is not only your immune system involved in this whole process. Your gut and microbiome also play their part. And your constantly activated inflammatory response could also cause issues in these two systems because both play a role in your NEM and immune and inflammatory responses. This may lead to a variety of symptoms, including fatigue.
Many of the medications currently used in treating allergies, whether decongestants of histamines, could delay sleep or cause drowsiness during the day. This could result in feelings of fatigue.
We tend to focus on the usual suspects, i.e. sneezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery eyes when deciding our allergies are acting up. But allergies cause fatigue and other symptoms as well.
You may suffer from an allergy (or allergies) if you experience the following symptoms:
Furthermore, because allergies cause fatigue, they could experience the following effects:
Many people deal with their allergies by popping a pill. While allergy medications may help address some of the symptoms associated with allergies, they do not address the root cause, unfortunately. Allergens will always be around. You cannot ever get rid of them completely.
Knowing the cause of your reactions helps you deal with them effectively. If you know your allergy is due to food, you could start on a process of food elimination to find out which foods to avoid.
The easiest way of identifying your allergens is by doing a skin or blood test. The results of such a test give a clear indication as to the substance(s) causing your allergic reaction.
The five most common environmental allergens include pollen, mold, dust mites, animal mold, and dead skin flakes. Now, when it comes to pollen, and you know the specific type, you could take measures to eradicate certain plants from your immediate environment. But this is not always possible. Moving to another area could provide a solution but may not always prove practical. You could, however, take other steps to limit your exposure in your home.
Steps to limit your immediate exposure to allergens include:
While medications do not address the cause of your allergy, they may provide symptomatic relief. These include antihistamines, nasal sprays, and antihistamines. Please note that many of these may cause drowsiness.
Many people find relief when taking allergy shots. These shots help desensitize your body because they contain small quantities of an allergen. Allergy shots tend not to promote drowsiness.
A neti pot, filled with a saline solution, is poured through one nostril at a time. In so doing, it helps clear nasal passages and helps reduce swelling due to allergies.
A holistic approach to allergies causing fatigue is one that looks at addressing the whole body. This includes supporting adrenal health, restoring gut microbiome, addressing membrane health, and looking at dietary deficiencies.
When looking at these different areas, your first port of call is looking at your diet. A healthy diet is one that includes lean protein and plenty of organic fresh fruits and vegetables. You could also explore the use of natural supplements to address any dietary shortages. In so doing, you would provide your body the much-needed support it needs when dealing with ravages an allergic reaction has on your body.
A few natural supplements to consider include:
Allergic reactions are accompanied by oxidative stress. Vitamin C has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may help in addressing allergies.
Bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapples, may help reduce swelling and inflammation in your sinuses. Do not, however, consider bromelain if you have a pineapple allergy. Some people supplementing with bromelain may also experience an upset stomach, increased heart rate, or menstrual issues.
Quercetin is a flavonoid found in many fruits and vegetables. It is an antioxidant and also helps stabilize cells that release histamine.
Probiotics help balance gut bacteria and provide immune system support. Probiotic foods include kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, and sauerkruat.
Do remember, however, when considering supplements, that you do so with the advice of your healthcare professional. People with adrenal fatigue, especially, may see an increase in symptoms or suffer from an adrenal crash, depending on your stage of the condition.
If your allergies cause fatigue, here are a few things you can do to help alleviate the situation.
Always remember when considering any medication or natural supplement to do so with the guidance of your healthcare practitioner who will assess its benefits and recommend the correct dosage.
If you would like to know more about or need assistance with allergies that cause fatigue, the team at Dr. Lam Coaching can help. We offer a free** no-obligation phone consultation at +1-626=571-1234 where we will privately discuss your symptoms and various options. You can also send us a question through our Ask The Doctor system by clicking here.
You may be affected by different allergies due to numerous reasons. All these allergies can cause fatigue in different ways. These include the medications you use, the effect of the other symptoms like congestion, and how allergens cause inflammation in your body. Taken together, these may leave you tired, anxious, and unable to function correctly.
