With the amount of ozone damage that we are causing on a daily scale, it's perhaps no surprise that allergies are on the increase. The extra heat from the sun that shines through the depleted ozone layer has numerous side effects - more plants mean more insects, which means more pollen, one of the key factors in many allergies. Dust mites are also more common due to the increased warmth in households. For allergy sufferers, this extra burden can have such an impact that the allergy itself can lead to a far more serious panic attack. So how can you combat this potentially dangerous combination?

Obviously, the first thing that needs to be done is to differentiate the causes of your panic attacks. Since stress can be one factor, it would be relatively immaterial trying to control that type of panic attack with a treatment more suited to allergies. Therefore, make sure that it is an actual allergic reaction that is causing the panic attack in the first place.

Since most allergies are a result of an alien source making contact with the sufferer through either skin or breathing, it can be fairly simple to control the relevant allergy and its effect on you. If it's a pollen allergy, for instance, there are many sprays and inhalers that can help to stop the pores that cause the allergy from infecting your body. The most common kind line your nose and act as a blocking agent, allowing clear air in and helping you breathe. Since pollen allergies, more commonly known as hay fever, is one of the most common allergies around, it has by far the most treatment available.

When a panic attack happens, the first and most noticeable effect is that the sufferer's breathing becomes extremely laboured. Since your body is fighting the alien bodies that are trying to force their way into your system, it's a natural occurrence to happen. If you can imagine yourself fighting many different opponents at once, you can understand how your breathing would become heavier. Knowing that fact can help in the psychological battle against panic attacks caused by allergies, as well as the obvious physical one.

It's not just the immediate effects of a panic attack that can cause problems - sufferers experience such discomfort that they fear when the next attack is going to happen, and the result of this is yet more panic attacks. Imagine waking up each day in the summer, fearing that you're not going to be able to breathe, panicking that the pollen will cause an allergic attack and bring on all the related side effects of that. That's the kind of fear that sufferers of allergies and resulting panic attacks have to deal with each day.

Thankfully, there are treatments available, some pharmaceutical, others more intense and medically driven. Recently, much press has been given to the Linden Method, a course designed by a fellow sufferer and one that's meant to be extremely effective. At least with these treatments and more, controlling an allergy inspired panic attack can be that little bit easier.