Somewhere around 45 million American are affected by allergies. An allergic reaction is a response by your immune system to a substance it thinks is a harmful allergen. It reacts by releasing histamines which causes inflammatory reactions involving digestive, skin and/or respiratory systems. Always check with your personal healthcare professional on any matter concerning your health.

1. More than 35 million Americans suffer from "hay fever," which is technically "allergic rhinitis."

2. If you suffer, it isn't as easy as moving to another location. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), most people who move develop new allergies to the new stuff within a year or two. "Moving to another part of the country to escape allergies is often ultimately disappointing, and not recommended."

3. The top 10 "allergy capitals" in the US are ... 1. Louisville, KY
2. Austin, TX
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Charlotte, NC
6. Hartford-New Haven, CT
7. Nashville, TN
8. Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC
9. Harrisburg-Lancaster-York, PA
10. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, MI
Go here
(http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/news2003/top50allergycapitals.html ) to read the top 50 and how they were ranked.

4. Weather influences hay fever symptoms. Symptoms are worse when pollen moves around - hot, dry and windy weather. When it's rainy, cloudy or windless, the pollen doesn't move.

5. It's the pollen you can't see that does the most damage. Pollen are tiny, egg-shaped male cells of flowering plants. How tiny are they? Microscopic.

6. Do I have to give up my roses and zinnias? According to the AAAAI, pollens from plants with bright flowers are usually okay. It's the trees, grasses and low-growing weeds that have the small, light dry pollens so easily airborne.

7. What about your fingernails? While cosmetics and salon services are generally safe, Dr. Phoebe Rich, American Academy of Dermatologists, warns of the potential problem of allergic reactions. The most common ingredient that can create an allergic reaction is methylmethacrylate or MMA, which is used in the application of acrylic nails. Dr. Rich advises: "Although MMA has been banned by many states and the FDA has issued warnings about its hazards, the substance is still being used in some discount salons because it costs so much less than the safer acrylate alternatives such as ethylmethacrylate....If consumers notice a strong odor associated with acrylic nail application, MMA is probably being used and that salon should be avoided. Consumers should also report that salon to the state medical board."

8. Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis is on the rise. If your eyes are itching, burning, red, tearing or watering, and feel like sand-paper, and your eyelids are swollen, it could be allergic conjunctivitis. Viral and bacterial conjunctivitis can produce the same symptoms. Why should you know the difference? Because the treatment is different. One example - if it's bacterial, you may be given Neosporin drops, which (spore=mold) would make your allergic symptoms worse!

9. How do you know if it's a cold, or allergies? Read the distinction here (http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/news2003/coldsvsallergies.html )

10. Use a good neutraceutical to bolster your immune system to help you fight your allergies.

A product like Arbonne's DefenseBuilder, or Get Well Soon Dietary Supplement, scientifically proven to bolster your immune system can help against the onslaught, and help build you back up when allergies hit. Go here: http://susandunn.myarbonne.com . Arbonne also had lotions, shaving cream, and cosmetic with pure, safe ingredients, important because allergies are cumulative. Emotions also assault your health, so consider it's allergy season, you have a fight with your wife, eat bacon, and put a bunch of cheap drugstore lotion on your face and lips. Oh my! What you put on your skin gets absorbed into your blood stream. 10. Over 6,000,000 Americans suffer from food allergies. According to the FoodAllergyInitiative, "each year hundreds die from food and allergies and over 30,000 receive life-saving treatment in emergency rooms due to food-induced anaphylaxis [difficulty in breathing, heart failure, circulatory collapse and sometimes death]." Source: http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/ . Any food can cause allergies, but 90% are caused by peanut, shellfish, soy, egg, wheat, fish, milk and treenuts.