About Allergy

It is well known that the immune system of our body protects us from foreign substances that it recognizes as harmful. Sometimes the immune system mistakenly recognizes a harmless substance as a threat to the body. The reaction which comes as a result of such a mistake from the immune system is known as Allergy. The harmless foreign substances which the body mistakes as being harmful to the body are called Allergens. The symptoms of the resulting reaction, Allergy, can be various like fevers, cold, cough, sour throat, rashes on the body, itching, diarrhea or more serious like asthma. Allergies can be induced in a person by family history.

Some commonly known types of allergy are:

Food Allergy/Allergy to medicines

The severity of food allergy can be ranging between very mild reactions like skin rashes to very serious condition that can need immediate medical aid to the point of hospitalization. The severity may be such that the reaction can cause swelling of the airway or very severe pain in the abdomen and need immediate intake of anti allergic treatment. Such allergy is commonly caused by some food items like fish, cocoa etc or some drugs such as sulpha.

Airborne Allergy

This is the most common type of allergy seen in many people. It is caused due to the fine particles contained in the air. The scientific name of this type of allergy is “allergic rhinitis”. This type of allergy can be triggered by various particles like pollen grains in the air during summer, some irritants like strong perfumes, smoke or the dust particles, dander of pets, dust mites in the house, fungi, mould spore etc. Air pollution caused due to certain gases like nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide etc can also cause allergy even in people who do not suffer from air borne allergies, by irritating the airway. The symptoms may be minor such as cough, cold or very severe such as asthma.

Protecting yourself from this type of allergy is very difficult as it comes through breathing the air which cannot be stopped at all.

Skin Allergy

There are two main ways that the skin reacts to allergens. Localized reddening or swelling caused by insect bites or a more severe reaction like eczema or dermatitis. This type of allergy can be caused due to insect bites, cloth fibers, cosmetic products like hair dyes, skin lotions/creams etc.

What ever be the symptoms, the most effective way of avoiding allergy is to avoid the allergen causing the allergy, which naturally is not possible in allergens such as air, so a proper medical treatment becomes a must.