Allergies, Hay Fever, and Asthma may be linked to PCOS
Allergies may be linked to irregular periods
Women's Health News
Published: Sunday, 29-May-2005
New research is suggesting a there is possibly a link between allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever and irregular periods.
In a survey of more than 8,500 wome, aged 25-42, a Norwegian team has found that rates of asthma and allergy were far higher in women who had irregular rather than regular periods.
The Thorax study points to metabolic problems, such as insulin resistance, as an underlying cause for both.
The team say their findings add further evidence to the argument that female hormones might play a role in allergic diseases.
The possibility that the trend might have been down to the allergy medication the women were using was discounted as the irregularity was also seen among women whose symptoms were not being treated.
Dr Cecilie Svanes and colleagues from the Haukeland Hospital in Bergen, Norway, in their study questioned the women about their respiratory health and menstrual cycles between 1999 and 2001.
About one in four women (23%) had irregular periods - 14% among those aged 25 to 42 and 37% among those aged between 43 and 54, and among the younger women, irregular periods were most common in those who weighed the most or were the shortest or tallest.
Among the older women, they were associated with smoking and the timing of the menopause.
The researchers found after taking into account a number of factors, that the rates of asthma and allergy were significantly higher in younger women with irregular periods than in those with regular periods.
They said irregular periods were often caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) - a condition where the ovaries have abnormal cysts.
PCOS has been linked to a disturbance of the normal metabolism that can be treated with drugs such as metformin to aid the processing of sugars in the body.
The researchers say several other studies have already reported the association between lung function and resistance to insulin - the hormone that regulates blood sugar - which also suggests a metabolic disorder might be the underlying problem.
Dr John Moore-Gillon, president of the British Lung Foundation, says the new research is very interesting and the foundation will follow closely any future developments.
Moore-Gillon says that the research suggests that hormones can play a part in a person being asthmatic or suffering with allergies is 'fascinating', and with more than eight million people in the UK suffering from a lung condition, including asthma and allergies, it is vital that research such as this is funded to ensure they have the best quality of life and treatment.
Asthma UK said further research was needed into possible reasons for the association between asthma and irregular menstruation.
That is very interesting as i got moderate to severe asthma along with hay fever plus pcos/IR
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This year for the first time, I have been completely non-functional due to allergies. No sneezing, wheezing, or eye problems...just EXTREME fatigue. Utter and complete fatigue.
As long as I take claritin-D first thing in the AM, and sleep with a hepa air purifier, I'm fine....
I think i've had issues for years, but this is the first time the fatigue was so bad, I had to get help.
I hate popping pills, but Claritin-d is a lifesaver for me. I've also lost a few pounds since taking it regularly. Maybe because I'm more active now that I'm not tired all time?
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Hey, SoulCysters! Need to eat more veggies, but can't find recipes??
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now THAT is interesting. I have "sports induced" asthma and always thought it was from my parents smoking and being fat. But haven't been around cigs in about 7 years and lost 62 pounds and still have probs...hmmm also am IR and irregular. Now if only they could fix it
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I had year round allergies as a kid. Once I stopped eating refined carbs it went away. I thought it was an allergy to grains, but maybe it was the hormones getting better that made the allergies go away. Very interesting to think there might be treatment for both.
Kat- my fatigue is worse this year, also. I still haven't gotten an air purifier yet. I don't think anyone in my side of the family has asthma, but tons have PCOS/IR/diabetes, etc. On DH's side the one confirmed cyster has 2 kids, both with asthma.
This year, my allergies have been out of control, and it's been driving me crazy. I never have summer allergies, but this year, I'm living on Zycam and Benadryl. I was also off my HBC for 3ish months waiting to get all of my tests finished up. Since I've restarted the BC, guess whos' allergies have become more manageable?
This year, my allergies have been out of control, and it's been driving me crazy. I never have summer allergies, but this year, I'm living on Zycam and Benadryl.
I took Benadryl for awhile (which helped with the fatigue a 'bit'), then Alavert (which helped some), and one day, purchased Claritin-D (even though I didn't consider myself 'congested' - which is what the 'D' helps).
BUT, it turnes out I 'was' congested. Within hours of taking Claritin "D" I was amazed at how much easier I could breathe!
Exercise was WAY easier, too.
Prior to "D", I couldn't ever get really 'deep' breaths while working out...
On days when I (somehow) forget to take the C-d, I'm absolutely WIPED OUT by 3 or 4 pm. Completely exhausted...
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Hey, SoulCysters! Need to eat more veggies, but can't find recipes??
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WOW I have had allergies to red dye til I was about 9-11...can't remember. Always had bad allergies to anything outdoors. Lived on benadryl growing up. Also Hayfever. Ugh! Everything would close up. Also Wheat. I'm not full blown Celiac though, yet.
I'm 26 now and just diagnosed with Asthma. I have had Asthma symptoms since birth. Insomnia my whole life, my Mom had to hold me up to sleep or i would stop breathing. And over my life she has had to do a lot of home remedies, cold/hot showers to open me up to breathe. TOO many ER visits to list. Often the same but Asthma was never caught. Sick huh!? I never knew how much I wasn't breathing until my first hit of Albuterol. Atleast not I can kind of sleep now.
I took Benadryl for awhile (which helped with the fatigue a 'bit'), then Alavert (which helped some), and one day, purchased Claritin-D (even though I didn't consider myself 'congested' - which is what the 'D' helps).
BUT, it turnes out I 'was' congested. Within hours of taking Claritin "D" I was amazed at how much easier I could breathe!
Exercise was WAY easier, too.
Prior to "D", I couldn't ever get really 'deep' breaths while working out...
On days when I (somehow) forget to take the C-d, I'm absolutely WIPED OUT by 3 or 4 pm. Completely exhausted...
Well Kat, thanks for the advice. I hadn't considered that I may be congested, maybe I'll give it a try. Anything's gotta be better than the groggy Benadryl feeling. Thanks!
I've had night sweats every single night for the past AT LEAST 2 years, but since taking Claritin-D daily, i've had ZERO night sweats. They literally stopped overnight (no pun intended )
I 'thought' the sweats were due to PCOS, or 'getting older', but today, I did a search, and night sweats can also be a symptom of, guess what? ALLERGIES.
So I guess the Claritin-D is helping that.
Quote:
Symptoms of allergy
General symptoms include pain, epistaxis, weight loss, night sweats (excluding hypoglycemia), temperature, tonsillitis, fatigue and frequent cold; sneezing, cough, itchy eyes, ears, nose and root of the mouth. Source: http://www.news2news.com/news/iris/2001/10/a_4_6.htm
And of course, there's 'fatigue' right there on the list...
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Hey, SoulCysters! Need to eat more veggies, but can't find recipes??
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this is very interesting to me as well. Several of my family members had severe allergies when I was growing up, but I was not allergic to anything. In the last probably five years I have suddenly become allergic to everything, including food allergies to corn and peanuts, and allergies to fabrics in shoes. I also developed severe hay fever and worsening symptoms of my chronic bronchitis. It was a very random to me but that's about the time my PCOS type symptoms started too.
Allergies, Hay Fever, and Asthma may be linked to PCOS 
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