Why Do Seasonal Allergies Make Us Tired
Seasonal allergies can do more than just cause a runny nose or coughwhen left untreated, they can lead to drowsiness and poor concentration, too.
Allergy fatigue is the result of your body working hard to fight off a foreign invader. Its similar to the way your body fights a virus like the common cold or the flu, which can also leave you feeling drained.
When you have an allergic response to something like dust, pollen, or pet dander, your body also releases proteins , which can cause inflammation in your nose. Chronic inflammation has been linked to fatigue and depression.
Allergies can also indirectly cause you to feel tired during the day by disrupting your sleep at night. Common allergy symptoms like coughing, sneezing, and congestion can make it hard to get a good nights rest, making it hard to stay focused the next day.
Treating seasonal allergy tiredness isnt always simple, either. Common medications like Benadryl often cause drowsiness as a side effect. Fortunately, there are ways to manage fatigue and stay alert during allergy season.
How Allergies Affect Your Mood And Energy Level
Many studies have shown that people with allergic rhinitis not only suffer from symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, and itchy eyes and nose, but from non-nasal symptoms, such as fatigue and depression as well.
Allergic rhinitis can make it harder to concentrate at work or school and affect your energy level and sleeping habits.
Unfortunately, some of these “extra-nasal” symptoms are more difficult to treat than the allergies themselves. Some of the major ones are:
- Fatigue
- Cognitive Effects
Should I Drink Coffee
That depends on how you feel when you drink it and what stage of adrenal fatigue you are in.
Coffee, or other drinks with caffeine, can be really stimulating for some people and if you are in the later stages it probably wont help you to feel your best.
Pay attention when you drink it- are you feeling shaky, extra sweaty, or on edge? If so, you may want to consider cutting down or eliminating coffee. When you are dealing with adrenal fatigue your body needs rest, healing foods, and loving care, so it will only speed your progress to cut out anything that overstimulates or irritates you.
If you dont feel that coffee affects you in that way- enjoy!
Don’t Miss: What Causes Fatigue All The Time
Fatigue Cause No : Hidden Uti
If you’ve ever had a urinary tract infection , you’re probably familiar with the burning pain and sense of urgency. But the infection does not always announce itself with such obvious symptoms. In some cases, fatigue may be the only sign. A urine test can quickly confirm a UTI.
Fix: Antibiotics are the cure for UTIs, and the fatigue will usually vanish within a week.
Tips For Getting Quality Sleep With Allergies
If your allergies are keeping you up at night or causing fatigue during the day, ensuring you take the proper steps to get quality sleep each night is always a good idea. Below are a few simple tips that can help you get a good nightâs sleep to feel rested and alert during the day, even if allergies are a problem.
You May Like: Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Cause Fatigue
You Have An Issue With Gluten
In case youre not familiar with it, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. In some people, gluten damages the small intestine and causes symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, gas, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and yep, fatigue, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases .
Celiac disease can also cause long-term digestive issues and keep you from getting the nutrients you need, and in turn, cause ongoing fatigue.
How to fix it: Celiac disease can be a tricky one to diagnose, but after doing a physical exam, your doctor may recommend you take a blood test and undergo an intestinal biopsy to look for inflammation in your small intestine. If you are diagnosed with Celiac disease, youll need to avoid foods containing gluten in the future.
You Have Multiple Sclerosis
This is an less-likely diagnosis, but its still worth mentioning. MS is a disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society .
Fatigue is a very common symptom in people with MSabout 80 percent of patients struggle with it, according to the NMSS. The fatigue can get so bad that it can significantly interfere with a persons ability to function, even if they feel good otherwise. The fatigue can be caused by treatable medical side effects of medication, or other causes, per the NMSS.
How to fix it: There are specific treatments to help people with MS manage fatigue, including occupational therapy to simplify tasks at home, physical therapy to learn energy-saving ways of walking and doing other tasks, a regular exercise program, sleep regulation, psychological interventions, and heat management strategies, per the NMSS.
Also Check: Fatigue After Pfizer First Dose
Cancer Can Also Be A Cause Of Tiredness And Low Energy
Another one to add to the category of unlikely, but worth knowing. Cancer-related fatigue is incredibly common: At least 80 percent of people diagnosed with cancer experience it, according to the American Cancer Society . While people can experience fatigue from cancer treatments, they can also feel wiped out from the cancer itself. Cancer leads to fatigue by various mechanisms, explains Dr. Khan. It overtakes almost all the metabolic pathways and sabotages the mitochondrial energy of the body, she says.
How to fix it: Don’t freak out that you have a serious health issue. But know that getting a proper diagnosis is important and, from there, proper treatment is needed to target the health issue, including a specific type of cancer. That’s why seeing your doctor to rule out a serious issue is key if you haven’t been able to shake your tiredness for a prolonged period.
Take Care Of Your Clothes
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, its especially important to put your clothes in the laundry room as soon as you come home. This way, pollen that might be clinging to your clothes wont have a chance to enter your bedroom. But caring for your clothes doesnt end there.
During seasons when allergies are most common, its recommended to avoid air-drying clothes so that it doesnt attract pollen. Instead, the best option is to use a dryer if you have access to one.
Allergies can be unpleasant, especially when they start to interfere with your daily routine and disrupt the quality of your sleep. However, ensuring that your bedroom is an allergy-free environment is one way to help you manage your allergy.
If you experience a severe or persistent allergic reaction, consult a doctor for medical help.
Read Also: Can Sinus Infection Cause Extreme Fatigue
The Symptoms Of Fatigue In Hayfever
Almost everyone is probably familiar with the grogginess that can accompany a bad night of sleep. When you feel tired, you are generally less aware of your surroundings and most of your energy is focused on keeping yourself awake and upright. This can lead to symptoms such as:
- Poor concentration
- Headaches
- Weakened immune system
Fatigue occurs when these feelings of tiredness become more persistent, affecting you on a daily basis. This can be a cause for concern as continuous fatigue can make you more susceptible to viral infections and usually has a negative impact on your general wellbeing, influencing our psychological and physical welfare.
You May Like: Reading Allergy Test Results
Do A Mental Health Check
Check in with yourself to establish what mental patterns may be causing low energy levels. Anxiety symptoms include feeling worried, irritable, and nervous. Symptoms of depression include feeling sad, restless, and hopeless. Both conditions can lead to unhealthy sleep patterns and cause tiredness.
Consider seeing a therapist for talk therapy, known as cognitive behavioral therapy . This method helps you to get to the root cause of emotional issues so that they can be addressed and overcome.
Read Also: Latest News On Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Can Allergies Make You Tired Treating Allergy Fatigue
5 mins readHow can you treat fatigue caused by allergies? Find out your allergens, Aronica notes that other conditions besides allergies may cause fatigue and brain fog, but is now all too common because of our lack of relaxation and other lifestyle factors, but the lavender oil group had less fatigue and confusion (Anushiravani et al, unhealthy food, and even omega-3 fatty acids.This study looked at people with chronic allergies, In some cases, Opt for What Should You Know About Allergies?Most often, And as with any other disease, as the chronic inflammation in the gutOral allergy syndrome can occur in kids as young as 3 or 4
Immunotherapy For Allergies To Pollen
In some cases, your clinical immunology/allergy specialist may suggest allergen immunotherapy which is also known as desensitisation. It involves a series of injections, tablets, sprays or drops given under the tongue of very small doses of the allergen over a long time. This can help to improve tolerance of the pollens that are triggering your allergy and reduce symptoms.
You May Like: Extreme Fatigue And Blurry Vision
Ace & Tates Contact Lenses
Anyone whos felt the frustration of cloudy glasses by caused face masks can now breath a sigh of relief. Thats because Dutch eyewear brand Ace & Tate has just released its first line of contact lens designed for irritation-free wear. The lenses come in the worlds slimmest lens sleeve for maximum sustainability and are engineered with Ace & Tates patented Smart Touch technology to deter the transfer of bacteria or debris.
Even better, the lens Smart Fit technology naturally orients the lens and its biomimetic material locks in moisture, making them easy to wear on even the most sensitive of eyes.
What Is Adrenal Fatigue
A relatively new term, adrenal fatigue was proposed as a new condition in 1998 by Dr. James L. Wilson, a naturopath and chiropractor. His assumption was that an overstimulation of the adrenal glands by long-term stress could lead to an inconsistent level of cortisol in the bloodstream.
In addition to this overload or improper stress hormone levels, people with adrenal fatigue often dont have enough DHEA, the parent hormone responsible for the creation of many necessary hormones in the body.
Dr. Wilson describes the unique progression of adrenal fatigue throughout the day as follows:
- You wake up and are unable to function without a significant amount of caffeine.
- You finally feel a boost of energy during the early part of the day.
- Then your energy levels crash around 2 p.m., rise around 6 p.m. and fall again around 9 p.m.
- Your energy finally peaks again at 11 p.m.
Is Adrenal Fatigue Real?
The major issue with recognizing or diagnosing adrenal fatigue is the inability to distinguish its symptoms and patterns from other disorders. The parameters for this condition are nonspecific, which, unfortunately, has led to a great controversy around this topic, even though the very nature of cortisol and bodily hormones is that the effects are far-reaching.
A diagnosis for this condition is difficult because stress hormone levels typically fall in what conventional medicine would call inside the normal range, although the symptoms are clear to those suffering from the condition.
You May Like: Symptoms Aching Muscles Joints And Fatigue
Youve Been More Sedentary Than Usual
While going hard during your at-home workouts can wear you out, the opposite is true too. The human body gets more tired with progressive sedentary habits due to generalized deconditioning of the body and, ultimately, muscle loss, says Sobia Khan, MD, assistant professor of general internal medicine and Director of Women’s Center for Comprehensive Care at Baylor College of Medicine.
Basically, your body takes a use it or lose it approach to fitness. And, if you dont exercise regularly, youre going to feel more tired when you actually do start moving, and during the time when you’re not expending energy.
How to fix it: This solution is pretty simpleget moving more. Just a reminder, the general physical activity recommendation is that you get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, along with two or more days a week of muscle-strengthening activity. Once you start moving again, itll be easier to get through your day-to-day stuff without being a zombie.
Fatigue Cause No 1: Cfs And Fibromyalgia
If your fatigue lasts more than six months and is so severe that you can’t manage your daily activities, chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia are a possibility. Both can have various symptoms, but persistent, unexplained exhaustion is a main one.
Fix: While there’s no quick fix for CFS or fibromyalgia, patients often benefit from changing their daily schedule, learning better sleep habits, and starting a gentle exercise program.
Recommended Reading: Best Protein Powder For Adrenal Fatigue
Can Allergies Cause Fatigue And Body Aches
Once patients ask and receive the answer to the question, Can allergies cause fatigue? they are apt to wonder if allergies might be behind other frustrating symptoms. One of these lesser-known symptoms of allergies is body aches.
Allergies cause inflammation not only in your nasal tissues but in other areas of your body as well, including the tissues in your joints. This inflammation can cause body aches, which can be compounded by fatigue. Allergy-related body aches may also stem from frequent snoring or coughing, which can create wear and tear on a patients body.
Can This Happen To Anyone
Yep, it sure can. Adrenal fatigue can be brought on by chronic or long-term stresses such as an unhappy marriage, job stress, or poor lifestyle.
It can also be triggered by an acute situation like surgery or a traumatic event.
It is believed that women are more prone to this condition, but men can experience it as well.
Don’t Miss: Vitamins For Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome
Natural Allergy Relief Options
What helps relieve allergies fast? Watching what you eat, getting plenty of fresh air and drinking enough water are some of the natural remedies that can relieve allergies by improving functions of the immune system.
It may take several weeks for your symptoms to subside, but they are likely to be better kept under control when you tackle the root causes. Here are nine ways to get natural allergy relief.
1. Eat an Anti-Inflammatory, Alkaline Diet
First and foremost, start eating an anti-inflammatory diet to reduce your risk for allergies and many other health problems. Caring for your body with nutrient-dense foods gives your immune system the ability to repair itself, bringing it back into balance so it can fight off common allergies in your environment.
Here are some of the best foods and ingredients to incorporate into your diet to help you beat allergies:
Although its not abundant in many foods, vitamin D is also important for immune function and may help manage allergy symptoms. In fact, certain studies have shown that children who live farther from the equator are more likely to develop allergies and suffer higher rates of hospital admissions due to allergic reactions.
You can get enough vitamin D by spending about 15 minutes in the sun most days without sunscreen and by eating foods like whole milk and some mushrooms for natural allergy relief.
2. Local Raw Honey
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
4. Quercetin
5. Neti Pot
6. Stinging Nettle
- Ginger
- Horehound
8. Probiotics
So Why Do Allergies Make You Tired
There are actually a few potential reasons why your allergies are wiping you out. And, when combined, they can lead to some serious fatigue.
Youre not breathing well.
When this happens, youre not getting oxygen as easily, and your body has to work a little harder to operate normally, which can wear you out, says Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist and immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Network.
The immune response is tough on your body.
Allergies cause bodily inflammation, and when your immune system is inflamed, your body uses up a fair amount of energy and resources to make an immune response, says Kara Wada, M.D., an allergist and immunologist at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Plus, when youre having an allergic reaction and histamines are released, that can make you feel tired, notes Dr. Monteleone.
Youre having trouble sleeping.
Seasonal allergies tend to cause nasal congestion, and that disturbs your ability to get a good nights rest, says Dr. Monteleone.
Your medication is wiping you out.
Certain allergy medications, including first-generation antihistamines like diphenhydramine can make you feel tired, says Stanley Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., division chief of Allergy-Immunology-Rheumatology at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Also Check: How To Treat Adrenal Fatigue With Supplements
Allergic Rhinitis And Fatigue
Fatigue is regularly associated with allergic rhinitis as the symptoms of the condition can make it difficult to get a good nights sleep. However, to help you tackle the problem head on, here our allergy advisor Louise Baillie discusses the problem in detail and offers some tips on the various.
Louise BaillieAsk Louise
Consider Immunotherapy Allergy Drops
While allergy medications provide short-term relief from symptoms, and often lose their effectiveness if overused, immunotherapy is a more long-term approach to allergy fatigue treatment. Immunotherapy slowly introduces the body to more and more of the allergen it is allergic to so that it builds up a tolerance and no longer reacts as strongly. Allergy shots are an older form of immunotherapy that are very effective, but this treatment has some associated risks and requires frequent office visits. Allergy drops are just as effective but can be done easily from home with daily drops under the tongue, making this one of the best ways to manage and eliminate allergies causing fatigue.
Read Also: Does Alcohol Withdrawal Cause Fatigue
