Allergy symptoms
What’s an allergy?
We’ve heard it bantered around but what is an allergy? Is it any different from an intolerance? ie When someone says ‘I have a dairy allergy’, is it any different from someone with ‘lactose intolerance’?
Allergies develop as the body’s immune system reacts to different proteins we are exposed to (whether it’s via inhaling them, ingesting them, touching them or being exposed to them inadvertently eg via a bee sting). The triggers (these proteins) are called allergens. What happens in an allergic reaction is that the body reacts to these allergens as potential ‘threats’ and therefore unleashes antibodies (principally IgE – immunoglobulin E) in an attempt to counter them. It’s believed that allergic reactions in the past were reserved primarily for parasitic infections eg like worms, protozoa. However, in our increasingly ‘clean’ society where we’ve pretty much eradicated worms and the like from our system, scientists believe that we’ve therefore rendered that part of the immune system ‘unemployed’ and in so doing it’s started to pick out other protein elements to ‘attack’. Children living in rural communities have a much lower incidence of food and dust allergies – living in less ‘hygienic’ environments seem to be ‘good’. Whilst it’s not as simple as that, it is a likely explanation as to why children and adults living in urban city environments seem more likely to be allergic to something in some form or another. The hypothesis is that if you give the immune system something else to worry about (ie worms, bacteria, protozoa), then it’s less likely to pick on something like a food item or dust mites instead.
Allergy symptoms
Allergy symptoms can be seasonal – if you’re allergic to grass pollens then the symptoms will appear to subside in the cooler months only to be full blown unbearable in the warmer months.
- Sneezing and runny nose
- Runny and itching eyes
- Wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing (asthma type reaction)
- Headaches
- Skin rash, hives, welts (urticaria)
- Swelling
- Difficulty swallowing
- Feeling faint
- Sneezing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Allergy symptoms vary depending on the type of allergic reaction it is – food allergies would result in the vomiting, diarrhea (not always but it is common) which can extend to full blown anaphylactic reactions where the body pretty much shuts down (severe drop in blood pressure), difficulty breathing as the throat swells so much that you can’t breathe, wheezing. Adrenaline is usually administered in these instances and the patient is rushed to hospital.
See other medical symptoms.
<?php
require ("http://www.a-healthy-you.com/rss_reader1.php?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicalnewstoday.com%2Frss%2Fallergy.xml&num=5");
?>