What Are Allergies?

Welcome back to the Metro Screenworks blog! For the month of March, we are focusing on topics and products relating to allergies. Our online screen store offers specialty screen products that can help you alleviate your allergies. Pollen Screen and Allergy Guard are two screen products that can allow you to enjoy opening your windows to let fresh spring air in without paying for it later with an allergy flare-up.

Keep reading to learn more about these window screen products and how they can help you find relief from your allergies and enhance your quality of life. Be sure to shop Metro Screenworks.com for all your specialty window screen, screen door, and bulk screen roll needs.

What Are Allergies?

Allergies are a bodily reaction to exposure to certain chemicals, organic compounds, and other substances. According to WedMD, 1 in 5 Americans has allergies. The most common allergies are:

• Pollen
• Dust mites
• Mold spores
• Pet dander
• Food
• Insect stings
• Medicines

The system that is responsible for the body’s reaction to allergens is the immune system. The immune system is the body’s defense system against outside, harmful free radicals such as germs. However, an allergic reaction is the immune system’s response to usually harmless substance — an allergen. An allergen can be inhaled, eaten, or can even cause a reaction by just coming into contact with a person’s skin.

What Are Allergic Symptoms

When the body comes in contact with an allergen, it begins to make a protein called IgE, as well as a chemical called histamine. The IgE will latch onto the allergen and the histamine causes the common allergy systems such as:

• Itchy, watery eyes
• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Fatigue, or feelings of being ill
• Rash or hives

Other common allergy symptoms commonly associated with food allergies include stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. A severe allergic reaction that affects your entire body is called anaphylaxis (hives, itching, wheezing, shortness of breath, throat tightness, tingling in extremities) and is a serious, often deadly condition.

Who Gets Allergies?

Allergies can happen to anyone. However, it is most common for the sensitivity to be passed from one person to the other genetically. Often allergies can manifest when a person is a child and subside later, or the opposite can happen and allergies can develop or worsen later in a person’s life. The factors that can increase the likelihood of a person developing allergies include smoking, pollution, infection, and hormones.

Allergy Treatments & Solutions

To avoid allergies it can be easy to think that you just have to avoid the source of the allergies. This is easy to do in many cases; for example, you can avoid eating certain foods or touching your eyes after petting your friend’s pet. However, what about allergies caused by exposure to pollen, dust, and mold? How can you escape the effects of those allergens that you may inhale and seem to be all around you?

Staying inside and keeping the windows closed is one solution to avoiding the agony of a continuously drippy nose or watery eyes, but is it really the best solution? Stale air can also cause allergic reactions due to dust — how can you find relief?

Allergy Filter Screen and Pollen Screen: An Easy Solution

There are a lot of ways to treat allergies, including taking medication found at your local grocery store as well as more holistic approaches, nasal sprays and rinses, and simply staying inside with the windows closed. However, window screen technology can allow you to live a more full life by enjoying fresh air inside your home without the agony of allergies.

What is Air Filtration Screen?

Air filtration screen is equipped with specially designed mesh and/or coatings that can catch pollen and even other allergens and pollutants before they enter your home. Air filtration screen acts just as the name suggests — as a filter. These types of screens can provide other benefits in addition to filtering pollen and other pollutants as well. 

Pollen Screen

Pollen screen looks like a normal screen but is constructed with spun polyester mesh that is coated with a material that acts as a magnet for pollen and dust. This screen catches around 50% of pollen, dust and other allergens that come into contact with this screen. Pollen screen can allow you to open your windows, lower your energy bill by turning off your AC, and enjoy fresh air without the annoying and crippling effects of allergies.

Allergy Guard

Allergy Guard is an air filtration screen that is similar to pollen screen, but with even more benefits. This screen is a high-performance, nano-fiber window screen mesh that can not only catch pollen and dust, but can also filter bacteria, pollution, fly ash, hair, and agricultural and airborne dust. This screen type also offers other benefits in addition to filtering pollen and dust such as:

• Increased air circulation
• Excellent visibility
• UV and heat protection
• Durability
• Corrosive resistance
• Easy cleaning

Allergy Guard can block even the finest of materials as small as 300 nanometers — compare this to a regular screen that blocks much larger objects that are 2,000,000 nanometers. 

Which Air Filtration Screen Should I Buy?

If you’re considering buying an air filtration screen, you may be wondering which one you should buy — Pollen Screen or Allergy Guard. Though both can decrease your discomfort and enhance your lifestyle, one

Both can dramatically enhance your life. However, Allergy Guard is more effective and can offer more benefits than Pollen Screen. Though Allergy Guard is more expensive than Pollen Screen, the investment is well worth it and can enhance your home and your lifestyle.

Shop Metro Screenworks to learn about the air filtration screen solutions that are available for your home or your clients. Shop with the window screen experts online!