Read more in this overview of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of environmental allergies.
What Are Environmental Allergies?
Allergies are a chronic condition that occurs when your immune system reacts to a foreign substance. They can be caused by food, something inhaled into the lungs, through injection, or by touch.
Environmental allergies occur when the body’s immune system overreacts to substances in the environment that would otherwise be harmless, according to New York-based allergist and immunologist Dr. Payel Gupta, MD, FACAAI.
“Unlike seasonal allergies, environmental allergies can persist all year long,” she tells Verywell. “Substances that trigger environmental allergies include pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, house dust mites, pet dander, cockroaches, and mold.”
Common Causes
Environmental allergies can be triggered by several allergens, including dust mites. These are tiny bugs that live in bedding, carpets, and furniture.
Other causes of environmental allergies include pollen from trees and weeds outside, as well as dander from pets, mold, and droppings from cockroaches.
Irritants can also ignite environmental allergies. These include cigarette smoke, odors from cosmetic and household cleaning products, cold air and cold infections, as well as exhaust emitted from cars.
Symptoms
“Symptoms of environmental allergies tend to vary from person to person,” Dr. Gupta explains. “However, symptoms usually manifest as runny nose, congestion, sneezing, itchy nose, itchy and watery eyes, itchy skin, or rashes.”
More severe reactions are possible and may result in shortness of breath or chest tightness, and might trigger asthma, says physician assistant Rebecca Rosenberger, MMSc, PA-C, of the New Jersey-based Allergy Diagnostic & Treatment Center.
“However, environmental allergies caused by dust mites or pollen are usually not associated with anaphylaxis,” Rosenberger explains.
Diagnosis and Treatment
To diagnose and treat environmental allergies, Dr. Gupta recommends consulting with an allergy specialist to identify the cause of your environmental allergies.
To determine what is causing allergies, allergy specialists generally conduct two allergy tests: “A skin prick test,” according to Dr. Gupta, “exposes the skin to a tiny amount of an allergen to determine if signs of an allergic reaction occur, [and] a blood test confirms results of skin testing by testing a blood sample for immunoglobulin E (IgE), which are antibodies produced by the body during an allergic reaction.”
Once the cause of your allergies has been determined, you can talk with your allergy specialist about taking different measures to help your environmental allergies. These include over-the-counter medications such as oral antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays, antihistamine eye drops, or a nasal saline rinse.
Home Remedies
To keep your environmental allergies under control, Dr. Gupta advises cleaning your clothes and bedding often.
“Avoid line-drying your clothes and bedding outdoors when your local pollen count is high,” she recommends. “Also, be sure to change and wash clothes if they’ve been exposed to pollen.”
When to Seek Professional Treatment
If home remedies or over-the-counter medications aren’t helping manage your allergy symptoms, Dr. Gupta says, “It may be time to talk to your allergy specialist about allergy immunotherapy, which treats the underlying cause of environmental allergies using a person’s own immune system.”
Ways to Prevent Environmental Allergies
Thankfully, there are easy ways to manage environmental allergy attacks. To protect yourself from pollen, Dr. Gupta advises keeping windows and doors shut, especially in the early morning. “This can prevent pollen from entering your home,” she says.
If indoor allergens are triggering your symptoms, frequently dusting your home and washing sheets and bedding in hot water can also make a tremendous difference.
To really take control of your allergies, though, it’s always best to talk to an allergy specialist about potential allergy treatment options. This can be especially helpful if over-the-counter medications haven’t improved your symptoms.
A Word From Verywell
Environmental allergies are triggered by exposure to something within your home or close surroundings.
Triggers of environmental allergies include pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, house dust mites, pet dander, cockroaches, and mold. Environmental allergies can be treated with over-the-counter medications such as oral antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays, antihistamine eye drops, or nasal saline rinse.
However, if over-the-counter medications aren’t improving your allergy symptoms, it’s best to consult with an allergy specialist. These professionals can help you explore prescription options such as allergy immunotherapy, which treats the underlying cause of environmental allergies using a person’s own immune system.
