Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to get rid of allergies. An allergy is the reaction of the immune system to substances your body thinks are harmful to you. Once the body detects these foreign substances (which are called allergens), it releases a chemical into your bloodstream (the most common being histamine) and these chemicals cause the familiar allergic reaction you get: the runny nose, the watery eyes and the rashes on your skin. The more severe allergies are called anaphylactic reactions and can cause you to have chest pains, breathing difficulties or even loss of consciousness.

Because the body will always react the same way to allergens every time, you can't really do anything to permanently get rid of an allergic reaction. You can, however, prevent allergies from happening by avoiding allergens that affect you. If you're already affected, you can get rid of the allergic symptoms instead. In the case of allergies, the saying "prevention is the best cure" really applies.

First, identify your allergens. Everyone has different allergic reactions to different allergens, so it is impossible to treat someone's allergy based on another's reaction. For this reason, it is imperative that you identify which allergen you have a reaction to. You can accomplish this through the process of elimination. When you develop symptoms of allergy, try to think of the immediate things around you that could have triggered it. Things like the food you ate, the material of the clothes you wore, or even the things you touched are perfectly good suspects. The hard thing about allergies is that anything can be an allergen. It is only through experiencing one personally that you can start identifying it.

When trying to pinpoint your allergens, keep a list of the common allergens. You can find them in medical books or on the Internet. This way, the process of elimination will be easier. Since you can have allergic reactions to multiple allergens, a list can also be helpful to keep track of all the possibilities. If you still can't identify your allergens on your own, enlist the help of a doctor. An allergy testing can be done, which usually involve scratch tests that bring out reactions that point to specific allergens.

Once you've identified your allergens, get rid of them. The simplest way to get rid of the allergens is to get them out of your environment. For example, if you are allergic to peanuts or to shellfish, remove them from your diet. If you're eating out in a restaurant, ask the waiter about the ingredients of the food so you won't have an embarrassing attack in the middle of the restaurant. Likewise, if you're allergic to certain animals, like cat or dog fur, get them out of your house or steer clear of them.

Be sure to clean your house or environment regularly. Remember that allergens are not usually rooted in one place. Therefore, if someone brought a cat over and you're allergic to cat fur, you are still at risk from any fluff the cat may have left behind, even if the cat's long gone. Also, one of the more common allergens is dust, so regular house-cleaning will ensure that you're relatively safe, always.

If you can't get rid of an allergen (say, the allergen is a pollen from one of the flowers your next-door neighbor has), then the best course of action would be for you to get pharmacological help.