My life-long battle with allergies

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As long as I can remember I have had to deal with, at times, debilitating allergies and hayfever, despite being a fit, active and very out-going. My mother has pictures of me, around 5yrs old with puffy swollen eyes after being stung by a mosquito and memories of me sneezing for days on end due to hayfever and going back and forth to the Doctor to work out what I was allergic too and how best to deal with it.

I've tried everything from traditional medicine to homoeopathy, acupuncture and Chinese medicine and after years of slowly working out what my triggers are and what I'm allergic to and how best to avoid them, I finally feel like I have some kind of grasp on it. For me avoiding my triggers is key although it's something's that isn't always possible, I have a terrible dust allergy so anytime I spring clean the home within minutes my eyes start to itch and I know taking antihistamines at the first signs of my allergies flaring up is key but these can take a good 24hrs to kick in and get on top of them.

What many people don't understand is how draining it can be having to deal with allergies almost on a daily basis as it can be exhausting, especially as they can come on really quickly and if I get a bad bought my sinuses go into overdrive along with a headache, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and just feeling rather rotten it can really make simple tasks much harder, especially with your also a parent. There have even been times over the past few years when I have had to cancel work meetings or planned social dates with friends as my allergies have been so bad.

My main triggers seem to be pet hair and dust mites as well as insect bites and one or two kinds of food, well that's what I know for sure. When I was around 10yrs old I did a prick test at my GP and I know quite a few things came up as positive but neither my mother or I can remember them all and I would love to re-do a test now to know exactly what is best to avoid especially as you can develop new sensitivities.

What is great about having allergies in 2020 (yes there are some positives) is that technology has moved on and we don't even have to wait for an appointment with a GP and can undertake allergy testing safely right from the comfort of our own home which can save a whole lot of time and stress as well as being in a more comfortable environment.

The important thing when it comes to testing of any kind is to go with a trustworthy, professional and reputable company so research is key and you want to factor in things such as the reliability of their tests, ease of use, turn around time and customer reviews. I am really impressed with Klarify.me home allergy test and it's exactly the kind of thing I would and want to do. It tests for over 280 different allergens from pollen to pets and food, using sophisticated technology and will help give insight to what to avoid and how to move forward in your own allergy journey.

The tests are super simple and use a small blood sample which you send off to test for allergies. you are then provided with comprehensive and reliable results within 3 weeks which you can then take to your GP and talk through your options.

 Klarify.me also have their own app to help my your life even more allergy-free as it helps you track your hay fever symptoms as well as get daily pollen, weather and air quality data from any UK location along with personalised allergy insights and daily tips and for people who have to deal with allergy induce sinus congestion regularly this is a pretty neat feature to have and help.

I know I will always have to deal with allergies but I do feel I can be more prepared these days, through trial and error I have found things that do and do not work as well as being aware that my symptoms can change and adapting to those changes. I feel in general I have made some real improvements over the past few years to reduce my symptoms and hope to carry on with that in the future.