Allergy Awareness Week
Allergy Awareness Week
It is Allergy Awareness Week in the UK from 24th April to 30th April. This week is a chance to raise awareness about allergies and highlight the challenges that people with allergies face on a daily basis. The event endeavours to help others understand how serious it can be to have certain allergies and to improve knowledge of potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. Allergy UK, the main charity dedicated to those with allergies, is the creator of this awareness week.
So, what exactly is an allergy? An allergy is a bodily reaction to a certain substance or food. For the majority of people, these substances pose no problems but for those who are allergic, their immune systems identify them as threats. As a consequence, the body can react with a response to try to combat the supposed threat. Reactions can range from mild, like itching, to the extremely serious, like anaphylaxis. Interestingly, allergies are more common in children but they can continue into adulthood. The theme of this year’s Allergy Awareness Week is ‘Childhood Food Allergy’. It will focus on the experience of parents of little ones with food allergies in an effort to combat anxieties and offer practical support.
Did you know that allergies are extremely common? They affect more than 1 in 4 people in the UK at some point in their lives. People can develop new allergies at any point in time. The most common allergies are: tree pollen and grass (hay fever), food (such as nuts, wheat and eggs), medicines like penicillin and dust mites. In fact, hay fever is extremely common at this time of year as the trees begin to bloom for summer. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can range from person to person but generally, here is what to look out for:
· Excessive sneezing
· Coughing more than usual
· Having a blocked or runny nose
· Developing an itchy, red rash
· Worsening of asthma or eczema symptoms
· Developing itchy, watery and red eyes
One of the main reasons that we love sheepskins here is because they are hypoallergenic and can actually reduce the risk of allergies. Some scientists in Germany conducted a 10-year study into this. They discovered that babies, who came into contact with sheepskins during the first 12 weeks of their life, were much less likely to develop asthma and other allergies by the time they were 10 years of age. So how does this work? It is believed that microbes found in sheepskins can help protect
against asthma and other allergies by markedly strengthening the immune system. Additionally, lanolin, a natural substance is found in sheepskin. Lanolin can actually help to heal inflamed or sensitive skin and rashes. Not only do sheepskins offer a supportive cocoon-like effect, they are also naturally gentle on your little one’s skin. Fancy learning more about the health benefits of sheepskin? Check out the following page on here: https://www.naturallysheepskins.co.uk/pages/health-benefits