Introduction

Allergies are a condition where your immune system reacts abnormally (most especially over-reacts) to a foreign substance. These foreign substances are generally called Allergens.

Examples of Allergens

Common examples of allergens include dust particles, perfumes or other scents, certain foods (such as milk, peanuts, eggs), hay, pet dander (from cats and dogs).

An individual can have one or more allergies to these substances. Treatment usually begins with identifying the allergen and removing it from the environment.

 

Causes

Allergies can develop after an individual makes contact with the allergen. Contact with allergens are usually inhaled, touched or ingested as food/drink.

The tendency to develop allergies is often hereditary, which means it can be passed down through genes from parents to their kids. But this is not absolute. There is a 50-50 shot that a parent with allergies will transfer it to their kids.

Allergies are caused by a hyperactive immune system. In this situation, a substance which is harmless to other people could become harmful to you in a way that is worrisome or strange.

While genetic predisposition is strongly considered, dietary and environmental factors play a huge role in whether you will develop an allergy.

 

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​Who is at risk?

Anyone with a family or personal history of allergies is at risk, but environmental factors can also play a role. Also, those with a medical history significant for asthma have a higher risk of suffering from allergies. Environmental risk factors include inhalation of dust particles, animal dander, smoke, perfume, hay. Dietary risk factors include ingestion of milk, eggs, peanuts, etc.

 

Symptoms

Two main symptoms occur with allergic reactions: the first phase – immediate response, the last phase – delayed response. The immediate response occurs immediately after exposure to the allergen and maybe life threatening, in which case, will require emergency medical attention. The delayed response occurs hours after exposure to allergen.

Delayed response symptoms include:

• Rash or hives
• Itching
• Watery or red eyes
• Runny nose or sneezing
• Headache or stuffiness
• Passage of watery stools

 

Treatment

Our role as your care providers is to get a detailed history about this event. This is to identify the trigger and discuss ways to avoid the trigger in the future. We can also conduct an allergy test to identify possible triggers.

The most common tests include

• Blood tests, skin prick test, oral food challenge tests, Radioallergosorbent test (RAST).

Because allergies cannot be cured, it is usually managed. This means that treatment is with symptom relieving medications like antihistamines and decongestants. These drugs help to alleviate the inflammation that comes with an allergic reaction.