What is an allergy?

by Valerie Coskrey

From the discomfort of a runny nose to the life-threatening emergency of full-blown anaphylactic shock, allergy symptoms range. The same person can have different symptoms to different allergic triggers, the specific alle...read more

by Debby Bolen

Many people think of allergies as nothing more than sniffles. However, nothing could be more far from the truth. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, allergies are the sixth leading cause ...read more

by Libbie Reed

Allergy - An "Illegal" War! The human body has an amazing defense system that knocks the United States' armory into a cocked hat. It can respond to a foreign attack in a matter of minutes with an arsenal of mechanisms ...read more

by Pinaki Goswami

Last morning, I was rudely awakened...by a sneezing fit. Within minutes, I broke out into rashes, all over my face and neck. Thinking 'Biblical plague!', I rushed to the doctor, all alarm bells ringing. While I was in dram...read more

by Eleanor O'Donnell

WHAT IS AN ALLERGY? Simply put, an allergy is the result of the immune system mistaking a substance as harmful or poisonous. In the case of a food allergy for example, the body will react as though you had literally in...read more

by Aldo Bonincontro

Allergy is a disease of the immune system, featured by excessive reactions made by certain ANTIBODIES (Reagins or IgE) towards substances normally innocuous, like the pollen. This disease is SPECIFIC, being caused by a ...read more

by Teresa Rodak

An allergy is an abnormal reaction from a persons immune system against a normally harmless substance. A person without allergies will not react to the substance, but a person with allergies will. When someone with aller...read more

by Claire Kernaghan

Allergies are all too common in today's society. More than 20 million Americans have some sort of allergic reaction to airborne or inhaled allergens such as cigarette smoke, household dust and pollens. In the US the cost o...read more

by Stacy Zahn

Allergy Symptoms. Sometimes it may be difficult to determine whether or not you have an allergy to something such as a substance in the environment or to a particular food you eat. There's a slight difference between h...read more

by Dr.Kapoor

Allergy is the defense reaction by immune system in the human body to some specific substances called Allergens. Allergens are found every where irrespective of a particular country. Allergies are mainly caused by air (pol...read more

by David Ortiz

I am one of those annoying people who never get allergies. But a couple of family members are allergic to various things. I got curious about this and decided to do a little research on allergies. I found out that t...read more

by Samantha Enns

"What's allergic' mean?" Daniel had just told his kindergarten teacher he was allergic to peanut butter, and most of his classmates didn't have any idea what he meant. "Well," the teacher tried to explain, "it means ...read more

by Ethel Smith

For me an allergy means a stuffed, yet runny, nose which sneezes interminably and uncontrollably during the summer months, has associated pounding headaches and makes me feel very cranky. That's my allergy and it's more co...read more

by Natasha L. Kohlhoff Polak

An allergy is a condition when the immune system over-reacts to a substance that comes in contact with the skin, or by inhalation or ingestion. These substances are referred to as allergens, and can be found in any facet ...read more

by W Thomas Payne

Allergies: You either have one, or you know someone who does. They are common, and sometimes lethal. But what is an allergy? Why do some people have allergies, and others seem to be completely free of any symptoms? ...read more

by Baby Irene Tumbaga

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,...read more

by Angela S. Young

An allergy is a signal that your body is working like it's supposed to. The problem is that it works too well and doesn't recognize that the allergin is not an 'invader'. For some reason, some people's bodies see certain...read more

by Tiffany Frontz

An allergy is an abnormal response by the immune system to a foreign substance (called an allergy) that is normally harmless. Often, allergies begin in childhood but can develop at anytime. An estimated 50 million people h...read more

by Steve Holder

Alice's five year-old daughter Amy has an allergy to nuts. Walnuts, pecans, and the like cause a reaction so severe that Amy's throat will swell almost shut making it nearly impossible to breath. When Amy was a toddler, ...read more

by Shelly Mcrae

Our immune systems work to protect us against foreign substances that could harm us, such as bacteria or viruses. But what happens when a harmless substance, such as pollen, causes an overreaction of the immune system, set...read more