Where Knowledge Rules

Health & Fitness:

Allergies & Asthma

Get a Widget for this title

Allergies: Symptoms and treatment

Overview

Sneezing, wheezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, you are discomforted beyond measure and you wonder why your neighbor is having a perfectly happy day. Your body is actually over reacting to certain allergens in the air or environment. Common allergens like pollen, mold, pet dander, dust, food, drugs, even jewelry or cosmetics can cause allergies in some people. You happen to be one of them. Although most cases of allergies are not life threatening, they are irritating, discomforting and downright annoying. And if you are one of the 20% of Americans plagued with this, you want relief. Fast. You want it wiped out, like a plague.

What Causes Allergies?

Certain people are more prone to allergies. Blame it on hereditary or the environment. Whichever the case, the body is hypersensitive to certain allergens. Allergens float around in the air or exist in the food or environment. Normally, those fortunate ones not susceptible to allergies will cope with these allergens just fine. But the allergy prone person will perceive these allergens as intruders. In a bid to protect the body, the body produces an army of antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) to fight the invasion. However, the production of IgE triggers off the immune cells to produce a variety of chemicals including histamine which can then produce a host of irritating symptoms.

Symptoms

Allergies affect different people differently but there are general characteristics, depending on the severity. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious disease, the most common of allergies are caused by airborne substances. Symptoms are often confined to specific areas like nose, eyes or lungs and are manifested in sneezing, coughing, itchy nose, eyes, even throat and/or conjunctivitis.

Typically, symptoms are dictated by which part of the body is in contact with the allergens. For example, spring time allergies are breathed in and therefore symptoms are typically respiratory. Food allergies can induce nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cramping, even diarrhea and it can be life threatening in extreme cases. If you are allergic to certain plants (remember the dreadful poison ivy episode?), skin rash is typical. Drug allergies usually affect the whole body and can produce a variety of symptoms.

It is important to note that sometimes people with allergies can develop asthma, hay fever or eczema.

Diagnosis

Is it allergy or a cold? Is your nausea and vomiting a case of food poisoning or food allergy? Only


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Allergies: Symptoms and treatment

  • 1 of 25

    by Sandra Staas

    It's quiet and peaceful in the library, people are reading and studying, and the sun is streaming through the long windows.

    read more

  • 2 of 25

    by Darlene Zagata

    What are allergies?

    Allergies are symptoms that result from the body's reaction to a foreign substance commonly referred

    read more

  • 3 of 25

    by Jeff Casto

    If you're an allergy sufferer, you know how miserable alergies can make you feel. But how is it that these tiny little particles

    read more

  • 4 of 25

    by Angeline Oppenheimer

    Overview

    Sneezing, wheezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, you are discomforted beyond measure and you wonder why your neighbor

    read more

  • 5 of 25

    by Laurence Newman

    Allergies are common. They are treatable. Their severity is dictated by the quantity of histamine that the body creates

    read more

View All Articles on:
Allergies: Symptoms and treatment

Add your voice

Know something about Allergies: Symptoms and treatment?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Are natural asthma remedies safe and effective?

Click for your side.

102314

Featured Partner

Appleseed

Appleseed, a nonprofit network of 16 public interest justice centers in the United States and Mexico, uncovers and co...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA