Allergies are immune system reactions to foreign substances in food, the air, pollen, or pet dander that show up as inflammations in your sinuses, airwaves, skin, and digestive system. What triggers allergies is an individual thing rather than a universal response that most people have, but having allergies can make life miserable for you if you happen to be sensitive to certain allergens.
Why Allergies Develop
Allergies occur when your immune system recognizes a normally harmless substance as harmful and produces antibodies to combat it. As a result, you can experience symptoms that can be uncomfortable in the presence of certain plants, foods, chemicals, insects, or animals, and might include sneezing, itching around the nose, eyes, or mouth, swelling, or rashes.
You may be so allergic to certain types of food or insect bites that you can experience a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis that produces symptoms such as a loss of consciousness, severe shortness of breath, a drop in blood pressure, nausea, vomiting and eventually shock.
You can be exposed to allergy triggers in several ways:
- Through airborne particles of animal dander, pollen, dust mites, and mold
- By ingesting certain foods, such as eggs, milk, shellfish, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, or soy
- From insect bites from bees or wasps
- From medications such as penicillin or penicillin-based antibiotics
- By touching certain materials, such as latex
While anyone can develop allergies, you are more likely to be sensitive if you are a child, have a family history of asthma or allergies, or have asthma or another allergic condition yourself. With allergies, those who have allergies are likely to be sensitive to multiple substances. Allergies unrelated to recognized causes are on the rise, as a result of environmental pollution, allergen levels in the air, dietary changes, and even exposure to infectious diseases during early childhood.
Seeking Medical Attention For Allergies
Because allergies produce symptoms that detract from your quality of life or, in case of anaphylactic reactions, are life-threatening, you should seek medical help for the proper diagnosis, management, and treatment of your condition. Through several tests, the doctor can diagnose your allergies and determine if you need medication.
- The skin prick test, also called puncture testing, introduces small amounts of suspected allergens into sites on the skin. Within 30 minutes, you should experience symptoms if you are allergic to that substance. Even if you go to the allergist suspecting the source of your allergy, he will usually do this test to verify.
- The patch test measures delayed reactions to substances that contact the skin.
- The blood test is a simple needlestick that measures specific antibodies in the blood. It is safer and more comfortable for children, pregnant women, and those with other conditions
Treatment For Allergies
Once the doctor discovers the source of the allergy, he may offer you a treatment plan that consists of:
- Over-the-counter and prescription medication such as antihistamines, epinephrine, decongestants, or others.
- Avoidance of the sources of allergy that may involve measures such as staying inside when the pollen count is high, rehoming a pet, or avoiding wine that has sulfites.
- Immunotherapy, which introduces small quantities of purified allergen extracts over a number of years to build immunity.
- Emergency epinephrine, available in a pen for an immediate emergency shot.
Some allergies go away in time, while others can be so successfully managed with medical intervention that they will not affect your quality of life. For allergy testing and a treatment plan that can help you, request an appointment at Raintree Medical & Chiropractic Center at 816-623-3020.