Allergy season again, and all you want to do is curl up into a ball of misery

     Your eyes itch, your nose is running, you're sneezing, and you're covered in hives. It's allergy season again, and all you want to do is curl up into a ball of misery.

There has to be something you can do to feel better. After all, doctors seem to have a cure for everything, right? Not for allergies. But there are ways to relieve allergy symptoms or avoid getting the symptoms, even though you can't actually get rid of the allergies themselves.

What Are Allergies?
Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to things that are typically harmless to most people. When you're allergic to something, your immune system mistakenly believes that this substance is harmful to your body. (Substances that cause allergic reactions, such as certain foods, dust, plant pollen, or medicines, are known as allergens.)An allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system.



In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system produces IgE antibodies to that allergen. Those antibodies then cause certain cells in the body to release chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which is histamine (pronounced: his-tuh-meen).

The histamine then acts on the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or gastrointestinal tract and causes the symptoms of the allergic reaction. Future exposure to that same allergen will trigger this antibody response again. This means that every time you come into contact with that allergen, you'll have an allergic reaction.

Allergic reactions can be mild, like a runny nose, or they can be severe, like difficulty breathing. An asthma attack, for example, is often an allergic reaction to something that is breathed into the lungs by a person who is susceptible.

Some types of allergies produce multiple symptoms, and in rare cases, an allergic reaction can become very severe — this severe reaction is called anaphylaxis (pronounced: an-uh-fuh-lak-sis). Signs of anaphylaxis include difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, swelling of the lips, tongue, and throat or other parts of the body, and dizziness or loss of consciousness.

Anaphylaxis usually occurs minutes after exposure to a triggering substance, such as a peanut, but some reactions might be delayed by as long as 4 hours. Luckily, anaphylactic reactions don't occur often and can be treated successfully if proper medical procedures are followed.

Why Do People Get Allergies?
The tendency to develop allergies is often hereditary, which means it can be passed down through your genes. (Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad!) However, just because a parent or sibling has allergies doesn't mean you will definitely get them, too. A person usually doesn't inherit a particular allergy, just the likelihood of having allergies.

What Things Are People Are Allergic to?
Some of the most common allergens are:

Foods. Food allergies are most common in infants and often go away as people get older. Although some food allergies can be serious, many simply cause annoying symptoms like an itchy rash, a stuffy nose, and diarrhea. The foods that people are most commonly allergic to are milk and other dairy products, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts and tree nuts, and seafood.

Insect bites and stings. The venom (poison) in insect bites and stings can cause allergic reactions, and can be severe and even cause an anaphylactic reaction in some people.



Airborne particles. Often called environmental allergens, these are the most common allergens. Examples of airborne particles that can cause allergies are dust mites (tiny bugs that live in house dust); mold spores; animal dander (flakes of scaly, dried skin, and dried saliva from your pets); and pollen from grass, ragweed, and trees.

Medicines. Antibiotics — medications used to treat infections — are the most common type of medicines that cause allergic reactions. Many other medicines, including over-the-counter medications (those you can buy without a prescription), also can cause allergic-type reactions.

Chemicals. Some cosmetics or laundry detergents can make people break out in an itchy rash (hives). Usually, this is because someone has a reaction to the chemicals in these products. Dyes, household cleaners, and pesticides used on lawns or plants also can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Allergy facts

Allergy involves an exaggerated response of the immune system.


The immune system is the body's organized defense mechanism against foreign invaders, particularly infections.


Allergens are substances that are foreign to the body and can cause an allergic reaction.


IgE is the allergy antibody.


Allergies can develop at any age.


Your risk of developing allergies is related to your parents' allergy history.
Introduction

In this review you will learn how allergy relates to the immune system. You will begin understanding how and why certain people become allergic. The most common allergic diseases are discussed briefly in this article.


What does an allergy mean?

An allergy refers to an exaggerated reaction by our immune system in response to bodily contact with certain foreign substances. It is exaggerated because these foreign substances are usually seen by the body as harmless and no response occurs in non- allergic people. Allergic people's bodies recognize the foreign substance and one part of the immune system is turned on. Allergy-producing substances are called "allergens." Examples of allergens include pollens, dust mite, molds, danders, and foods. To understand the language of allergy it is important to remember that allergens are substances that are foreign to the body and can cause an allergic reaction in certain people.

When an allergen comes in contact with the body, it causes the immune system to develop an allergic reaction in persons who are allergic to it. When you inappropriately react to allergens that are normally harmless to other people, you are having an allergic reaction and can be referred to as allergic or atopic. Therefore, people who are prone to allergies are said to be allergic or "atopic."

Austrian pediatrician Clemens Pirquet (1874-1929) first used the term allergy. He referred to both immunity that was beneficial and to the harmful hypersensitivity as "allergy." The word allergy is derived from the Greek words "allos," meaning different or changed and "ergos," meaning work or action. Allergy roughly refers to an "altered reaction." The word allergy was first used in 1905 to describe the adverse reactions of children who were given repeated shots of horse serum to fight infection. The following year, the term allergy was proposed to explain this unexpected "changed reactivity."


Allergy Fact
It is estimated that 50 million North Americans are affected by allergic conditions.
The cost of allergies in the United States is more than $10 billion dollars yearly.
Allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies) affects about 35 million Americans, 6 million of whom are children.
Asthma affects 15 million Americans, 5 million of whom are children.
The number of cases of asthma has doubled over the last 20 years.