Welcome to Allergy Advice.
This site has been put together to offer information on Allergy Advice and generally healthy living.
Allergies are becoming more and more common, many of them preventing ordinary people from living their lives as they should. Throughout this website we will be looking at the many different allergies that affect people and the potential traetments that are available that can allow people to start living their lives again.
What is an Allergy?
Firstly lets have a look at exactly what an allergy is. An allergy is generally a reaction to a protein in our environment, commonly found on animals, in pollen or in nuts. These proteins are called allergens and are usually harmless.
A person that has an allergy, reacts to a specific allergy by releasing histamine from mast cells in the skin, lungs, nose or intestine. This then causes inflammation and swelling.
The symptoms are generally itchy skin, swelling of the skin and wheezing. In extreme examples it can include anaphylaxis and death.
Some of the more common allergic reactions are:
- Hay Fever
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Urticaria
Allergic reactions can often be brought on by:
- Medication
- Insect stings
- Grass & Tree Pollens
- Foods
- Fungus & Moulds
- Metals, Rubber or Preservatives and hair dye
It is fair to say that everybody knows some body that suffers from an allergy or two. Some big some small, but the amount of allergies that affect people is massive.
What Causes allergies?
Some families have a natural proclivity to allergies which is known as atopy. Which over the last four decades has shown a huge increase.
There is no definite evidence why this is. It is undersdtood that some families are genetically programmed to develop allergies, however this isn’t the only reason. A thought would be, that things that promote allergies must have been added to our environment, while others that previously protected us against allergies must have been removed.
There is huge evidence that our never ending desire towards personal cleanliness and our constant fight against infectious diseases has definitely interfered with our immune system.
There is also over whelming evidence that global warming is a culprit, with increased pollen production and ever changing patterns of natural vegetation.
How do allergies develop?
Allergies develope in what would seem a very simple way. When we are born, depending upon our genetics and environment, our immune system decides to either become allergy prone(TH2) or non-allergy prone(TH1) .
TH stands for T helper type white blood cells. TH1 is good for fighting bacteria and viruses, and protecting against allergies. TH2 immunity is good at fighting parasite infections, but makes us more vulnerable to develop allergies.
If there’s a family history of allergies, a child is much more likely to switch on TH2 immunity. This promotes the manufacture of excessive amounts of allergy-related immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the bloodstream.
This IgE latches on to harmless allergens and triggers allergic reactions.
If an inhaled pollen micro-particle gets attached to IgE in the nasal membranes, for example, this combined IgE/pollen complex causes mast cells to release naturally occurring defence chemicals called histamine.
This leads to profuse nasal itching, tickling, sneezing and a watery mucus discharge.
Who Is At Risk Of Allergies?
Everybody to a degree is at risk of an allergy, however atopy in parents or siblings is almost a given indictor of allergy risk. It has been said that allergies are more likely to occur in atopic families, where the siblings have early exposure to certain allergens.
There is a thought that mother’s that smoke put their children at a huge risk and men are more likely to suffer from allergies.
Statistics state that:
- Siblings from non-allergic households have a 12 per cent risk of developing an allergy
- Risks increase by 20% if one parent has an allergy.
- Risks icrease to 40% if both parents have allergies.
- Risks can increase to 70% If both parents have the same allergy (such as asthma, hay fever or eczema)
It is easy to see there are a huge amount of allergies that affect an even growing amount of people in many different ways. Over the course of this website, allergy advice, we will look at as many different allergies as we can and provide potential treatments towards helping deal with those allergies. If we miss any and you feel you would like us to look into potential treatments for your particular allergy then please do not hesitate to contact us.
All of the articles that appear on this site are written by individuals who have a common interest and their expertise in their chosen fields. This expertise may come from having a commercial interest in that they promote or sell products or services related to particular allergy advice.
