Allergies are a reaction of your immune system to any foreign matter, such as pet dander, pollen or bee venom, and not everyone is affected in the same way.
Antibodies are substances produced by your immune system to protect you from harmful invaders that can cause infections or make you ill.
The immune system produces antibodies when it comes into contact with allergens. Your immune system can recognise any allergen as threatening even if it s not. As a result, your skin, airways, digestive system or sinus gets inflamed.
Allergies can vary greatly in severity from mild irritations to anaphylaxis (a likely life-threatening emergency). Allergies are mostly incurable; however, there are various treatments available to alleviate allergy symptoms.
Causes-
Common triggers of allergy include:
Airborne allergens, such as mould, dust mites, animal dander and pollen.
Certain foods, especially milk, eggs, shellfish, fish, soy, wheat, tree nuts and peanuts.
Insect bites, such as wasp stings or bee stings.
Medications, specifically penicillin-based antibiotics or penicillin.
Latex, or any allergen you touch, causes skin infections.
Symptoms-
Symptoms of allergy depend on its type.
Hay fever (allergic rhinitis) symptoms include:
Sneezing
Itching of the roof of the mouth, eyes or nose
Stuffy, runny nose
Swollen, red or watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
Symptoms of food allergy include:
Tingling mouth
Swollen throat, face, tongue or lips
Hives
Anaphylaxis (a critical, deadly allergic reaction)
An allergy caused by insect stings can manifest in symptoms such as:
Swelling at the site of the sting
Hives or itching
Breathing problems, wheezing, coughing or chest tightness
Anaphylaxis
A drug allergy can lead to symptoms such as:
Hives
Itchy skin
Rashes
Facial swelling
Wheezing
Anaphylaxis
Atopic dermatitis (skin allergy) symptoms include:
Itching
Reddened skin
Peeling or flaky skin
Treatment-
Treatments of allergy include:
Avoiding Allergens: Your doctor can help you take necessary steps to recognise and avoid the allergens that trigger allergies. This is usually the most relevant step in the prevention of allergic reactions and reduction of symptoms.
Medicines to Lower Symptoms: Eye drops, nasal sprays or oral medications are commonly prescribed to reduce reactions and alleviate symptoms.
Immunotherapy: If the allergy is severe or other treatments fail to relieve symptoms, allergen immunotherapy is recommended. In this treatment, you get injected by a number of clarified allergen extracts over the years.
Emergency Epinephrine: If your allergy is severe, your doctor will provide you with an emergency epinephrine shot that you can carry with you everywhere. 

Allergies: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Dust mites belong to a family of ticks and spiders, and cannot be seen through bare eyes. They thrive in places which are warm and humid.

Dust mite allergies are the most common type of allergy found in many people. Patients suffering from house dust mite allergies may also face sneezing and a runny nose. The symptoms are just the same as asthma.

The best way to get rid of dust mite allergies is to make the house as much dust-free as possible.

In case a person is attacked by any of these dust mites, doctors may also suggest some medicines to suppress the symptoms and ease the condition.

Symptoms of House Dust Mite Allergy:

House dust mite allergy causing inflammation in the nasal passages may show signs like:

Watery eyes

Runny nose

Redness in the eyes

Sneezing

Congestion

Facial itching

Redness and skin spores opening

Face infection

If the allergy is contributing to Asthma, the following signs are observed:

Difficulty in breathing

Heaviness in the chest

Chest pain

Wheezing sound with cough and cold

Shortness of breath

The signs of a house dust mite allergy can be severe in some cases. However, allergies are not life-threatening, but prolonged symptoms may affect health. A mild allergy-like runny nose or sneezing are common. However, if a person is suffering from symptoms for a more extended period of time, he/she should consult an ENT specialist for the same.

Diagnose of House Dust Mite Allergy:

To diagnose this type of allergy, doctors check the patient physically and if the patient has problems persistently round the year, then he/she may be advised to take an allergy test. Allergy tests consist of skin prick tests and blood tests.

Skin Prick Test: Skin Prick Test, or SPT, is not a conclusive test for every patient. The doctors determine the result by comparing the conditions. In SPT, the doctors put a small drop of possible allergen on the skin and prick the skin with a needle to see the reaction. If a person is allergic to the allergen, he/she may observe a wheal, itching, or redness in the area. However, the doctors determine the results based upon the time and place of the symptoms he/she is complaining of.
Blood Test: Blood test is an excellent tool when the patient cannot give successful skin test. Blood tests are referred by the doctors in the cases when the patient is taking some medicines that interfere with the skin test or to the kids who cannot tolerate skin test. The blood sample is obtained by the doctors, and an allergen is added to the sample. The lab doctors observe whether there is any reaction in the sample due to the allergen.
Treatment:

The best way to fight house dust mite allergy is to avoid allergens. The doctors suggest measures to keep the surrounding dust free and use the covers or sprays that kill dust mites. The dust mites thrive in warm and humid areas. Hence, one should keep the surrounding cool and open to stop their growth. Many patients do not get complete relief from allergies with medicine, and in such cases, doctors provide special therapies and sprays to keep the dust mites away.

Conclusion:

There are many treatment options available depending upon the severity and condition of the allergy. However, it is best to consult a doctor before opting for any treatment or medicines.

House Dust Mite Allergy - All You Should Know!

Every year, the emergency rooms at hospitals get flooded by cases of allergic reactions from food. According to a census, about 15 million Indians suffer from some kind of food allergy. The symptoms of food allergy may vary from itchy mouth to potentially fatal conditions like anaphylactic shock. Other symptoms of an allergic reaction can present themselves as difficulty in breathing, swelling of the tongue, rashes and intestinal discomfort.

According to specialists, allergies to food can develop at any age, at any time. Hence, if you suspect a sudden allergic reaction to a food that you have consumed before without any problem, it is advised to consult your doctor.

Here is a list of the most common food allergies that people suffer from frequently-

MILK: Milk is the most common food that children and infants are allergic to. Milk allergy must not be confused with lactose intolerance wherein a person faces many difficulties in digesting the sugar present in milk. The two conditions are not related. Milk allergy is the hypersensitivity reaction that happens in response to certain proteins present in milk and can be potentially deadly. Most children are seen to outgrow their allergy to milk.
WHEAT: It is a common misconception to confuse Celiac's disease with a wheat allergy. Wheat allergy exclusively occurs due to the hypersensitivity to the protein present in wheat alone. In Celiac's disease, it is the gluten in the food they are hypersensitive to, which is also present in rye, barley and oats.
SOY: Soy is a very common allergic food and most children seem to outgrow it by the age of 10. Most of the time, soy allergy is not too severe and the symptoms presented are mostly mild. Although, cases of anaphylaxis in reaction to soy have been reported. Soy and soy protein are very common ingredients found in food, hence it is advised to check the ingredients present before consuming it.
SHELLFISH: This allergy usually does not go away and you are most likely to deal with all your life. Most people who experience allergies from shellfish are most likely to be hypersensitive to both crustaceans (lobsters, shrimps and crabs) and mollusks (mussels, oysters, scallops and clams). This type of allergy can become very intense and you must even avoid the steam produced from cooking shellfish. For some people, the mere contact with shellfish can trigger an allergic reaction.

4 Most Common Food Allergies

Your child is fond of nuts and has eaten a chocolate with nuts but shortly after that develops a skin rash and starts to itch. The rash may even spread to the surrounding area. This is an indication of food allergy to nuts.

What happens is simple - the body's immune system recognizes specific proteins in the food as harmful (antigens) and produces antibodies which can combat them. This leads to an allergic reaction which can vary from something as simple as a skin rash to severe breathing issues.
Though any child can develop food allergies, in most cases, there is a strong hereditary linkage. If parents have had a history of allergy to certain foods, then there is a strong likelihood that the child could have that food allergy too.

Some of the common foods that can cause allergies are as follows:
1. Cow's milk
2. Eggs
3. Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews or hazelnuts)
4. Soy
5. Wheat
6. Fish (salmon, cod and others)
7. Shellfish (lobsters, shrimps and others)
Of these, peanuts, seafood, and milk are the most common food stuffs that lead to allergies.

Because the child is yet to realize that he has eaten something that his system will not readily accept, the allergic reaction can be described in various ways, as below:
1. Scratching or itching on the tongue
2. Change in the voice - can become husky or hoarse
3. Burning of the tongue
4 tingling of the tongue
5. Funny feeling in the mouth
6. Feeling of something stuck in the throat
7. Itchy feeling or bugs in the ears
8. Throat going thick
9. Bump on the back of the tongue

These are some ways that a child can describe his allergic reaction. Some of the mild symptoms of a food allergy are as follows:
1. Hives (red, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)
2. Eczema of the skin (dry, itchy rash)
3. Nasal congestion
4. Sneezing
5. Itching of the tongue and the mouth
6. Nausea or vomiting
7. Stomach pain

Severe symptoms include:
1. Severe swelling of the lips and tongue that can block breathing
2. Inability to swallow
3. Difficulty breathing
4. Turning blue
5. Dropping of pulse
6. Drowsiness

As the parent identifies a similar reaction when eating the same food item, they can suspect allergic reactions and immediately reach out to the doctor. A detailed discussion will help establish the causative agent. Once that is known, then avoiding food allergies is quite easy. In fact, a well-informed child will know that avoiding certain foods is very beneficial. This will improve the quality of life of the child, help avoid missing school due to allergic reactions, and help avoid the child (and the parent) suffering.

How to Know if Your Child Suffers From Food Allergy

The number of allergens are many and knowing what triggers your allergies can get complicated. The common triggers that are known to trigger allergic rhinitis are:

Moulds
Fungi
Pollen, the most common cause for allergies
Dust mites, and the faeces of dust mites that can cause severe allergic reactions
Cockroaches
Animal dander, which includes cat hair, dog fur, and may also include little flakes of skin
Avoiding the above mentioned triggers is more of a general guideline for the management of allergies. The lifestyle changes that you make to manage allergies:

Keep yourself hydrated at all times. Drink about eight to ten glasses of water every day. This will allow the mucous to be expelled with ease, if you experience any nose block.
During seasons like spring, when the amount of pollen in the air is at its maximum, limit your exposure. Try to stay indoors to avoid exposure to pollen or dust in the air.
Make it a point to take a shower before going to sleep as the residues of pollen and dust stuck to your skin are likely to make your symptoms worse.
Use fresh bedding and clothes every day. This will help to reduce your exposure to allergens.
Remove your carpets. Carpets are home to dust mites and pollen grains which become difficult to remove even with vacuum cleaners. Remove the carpets during the allergy season, and replace with hard flooring.
Keep windows and doors shut to avoid dust and pollen grains from entering the house and possibly causing allergies.
Avoid staying around pets. It that is not possible, then wash them at least once a week to reduce allergies.
Prevent inhaling cigarette smoke or smoking cigarettes. The smoke can be very harmful and can increase the risk of asthma in kids.
Avoid outdoor trips during seasons when the pollen count is high.

Allergies - Lifestyle Changes That Can Help Manage it!

Food allergy is actually an abnormal response triggered by the immune system to food as if it is threatening. Food intolerance looks similar to food allergies. However, the difference lies in how each one of them affects an individual. Food allergy is extremely intrinsic and to an extent, affects the internal organs. 

On the other hand, food intolerance is less severe, mostly just affects the digestive system due to the inability to digest that particular food properly, leading to an upset stomach. Most of the people suffer from food intolerance only, but they confuse it with food allergy.

About ninety percent of all cases of food allergy are related to only eight types of food as per research statistics. These are milk, tree nuts, egg, peanut, soy, wheat, shellfish, and fish.

The Reaction:\

In order to understand how symptoms manifest, it is of utmost importance, in this case, to understand how an allergic reaction to food occurs. An allergic reaction is a bi-step process as discussed further.

Step1: On exposure to the food allergen for the first time, the body reacts abnormally and produces IgE antibodies against the perceived allergen. These circulate throughout the entire body with blood and attach themselves to basophils (found in blood) and mast cells (found in sites like the nose, lungs, throat, gastrointestinal tract, skin, etc.).

Step 2: The next time the body is exposed to a particular food allergen, it gets alert and alarms the tissue that releases histamine in large quantity. Depending on the site of release, allergy symptoms are caused, ranging from mild to severe to potentially life-threatening (for example, in anaphylaxis).

The time span for an allergic reaction manifesting into symptoms can vary between a few minutes to several hours post exposure to the food allergen. The site of mast cells for release of histamine greatly affects the location and timing of the reaction.

Who is at Higher Risk?

If a person has a family history of developing a food allergy, it creates even greater chances for him/ her to have the same or similar reactions. If both the parents have some kind of allergic reaction to food, it is very likely that the child would have that too.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of food allergies largely depend on the sites of mast cells that release histamines. It is possible that these sites are located in nose, ears, or throat leading to itching in mouth, having a trouble in swallowing and breathing, and swelling of lips and tongue. If the location is in the gastrointestinal tract, it may lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain. If it is in the skin, it might lead to hives, itching, decolourization, pigmentation, worsened eczema, etc.

Cross Reactivity:

If a person has an allergy to a particular food, it is advisable to abstain from similar types of food. For example, if somebody is allergic to crab, he/ she should abstain from shrimp, crayfish, lobster, etc. too as they might also trigger the reaction. This is called cross reactivity.

Treatment:

It is always advisable to abstain from foods which cause an allergic reaction in an individual. However, in case it has already occurred, there are two major types of medication which help in relieving the symptoms. Antihistamines are used for treating mild to chronic reaction, whereas adrenalines are used for severe reaction like in anaphylaxis.

Take Away:

Food allergy is usually a condition for life and cannot be permanently treated. However, symptoms can be relieved. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid the allergy, causing group of food.

Food Allergy - Everything About It!

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