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Allergies

What is an allergy?

The word allergy is from the Greek word allos which means different and ergos which mean action. The term allergy was first used by an Austrian Pediatrician, Clemens Pirquet (1874-1929).
From the medical point of view, allergy is any reaction to a foreign substance that is introduced to our body. Reactions from allergy are signs that your body's immune system is functioning well. It could be found from our food intake, chemicals from perfumes, lotions and most commonly airborne like pollens and dust.
In a layman's term, most common form of allergy is COLDS. Upon introduction to foreign substance which is airborne, body's immune reaction is sneezing. It is caused by virus thus doesn't have a cure. Medical Science has introduced some medicines to sooth the symptoms but the Colds have to finish its course. So if you keep on sneezing, you are facilitating to get rid of the cold faster.
Everything around us is foreign. While you are a fetus, you are just getting nutrients, food and even sickness from your mother's womb. Upon birth, the air you breathe, the food you take, the clothes you wear, your toys, everything is foreign to your body. As we grow older, we reach the threshold of our immunity to certain foreign. That is the time we develop allergies. Our body will then produce antibodies that will react to stop our system from having further more sickness. It is some sort of a warning to our body. Allergy reactions are like a YELLOW LIGHT compared to the traffic lights. It is a WARNING, don't push it, your immune system has a limit, once you go beyond that, it will lead to more complicated diseases. Colds could lead to cough or even pulmonary bronchitis, skin irritations could lead to skin cancer, food poisoning could lead to death and there are more. So when you have an allergic reaction, hey say thank you, you are healthy and being warned.

Learn more about this author, Baby Irene Tumbaga.
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