Allergies Cause More Allergies
Unfortunately, the science shows that individuals with allergies are at a higher risk of experiencing the symptoms of other allergies than those people without any allergies at all. In some cases, the reaction may be completely different from what they traditionally receive when a standard allergy response.
An example is the “atopic triad” of eczema, asthma, and allergies. People with one of the disorders are likely to develop another one in the trio, in a process known as the “atopic march.” Medical science is at a loss to explain how any of these conditions arise or which is most common in showing up first in the atopic march.
However, some experts believe defects in the skin allow environmental allergens to enter the bloodstream, sensitizing the body and creating the groundwork for the allergic response. Typically, the body produces IgE antibodies when it detects invading allergens.
Unfortunately, a buildup in the IgE antibodies continues the sensitization process in the affected individual. The IgE antibody is responsible for the production of histamine in the body. The body also initiates an immune response utilizing specific chemical signals to message immune cells.
It takes time for the chemical process to unwind and for the system to rest itself. It’s for this reason that allergists recommend the use of antihistamines for pretreatment protocols before the allergy season arrives.
What Is An Allergy
- An allergy is when your immune system reacts to a foreign substance, called an allergen. It could be something you eat, inhale into your lungs, inject into your body, or touch.
- An allergic reaction can cause coughing, sneezing, hives, rashes, itchy eyes, a runny nose, and a scratchy throat. In severe cases, it can cause low blood pressure, breathing trouble, asthma attacks, and even death if not treated promptly.
- There is no cure for allergies. You can manage allergies with prevention and treatment.
- Allergies are among the countrys most common, but overlooked, diseases.
Why Do Kids Get Allergies
The tendency to develop allergies is often hereditary, which means it can be passed down through genes from parents to their kids. But just because a parent has allergies doesn’t mean that their kids definitely will get them. And someone usually doesn’t inherit a particular allergy, just the likelihood of having allergies. Some kids have allergies even if no family member is allergic. Kids who are allergic to one thing often are allergic to others.
Some kids also have cross-reactions. For example, kids who are allergic to birch pollen might have symptoms when they eat an apple because that apple contains a protein similar to one in the pollen. And for reasons that aren’t clear, people with a latex allergy are more likely to be allergic to foods like kiwi, chestnuts, avocados, and bananas.
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Are Allergies Worse In Childhood Or Adulthood
Per the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and 2013 data, 28 million kids across the United States have allergies. As many as 50 million adults may get reactions to allergens as well.
While more adults have allergies in the United States than children, is there an age group that has it worse? Research that appeared in a 2012 article at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Massachusetts suggests that adults may be the most at risk for intense, serious symptoms. Adult behaviors such as taking certain medications and drinking alcohol may increase risk for severe anaphylaxis. Exercise and having asthma can also increase reaction severity. Of course, young children who cannot communicate symptoms can also have severe reactions which go unnoticed and progress to dangerous levels.
A severe allergic reaction, which can be triggered by foods or venom , is called anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening emergency condition in which the patient goes into shock, cannot breathe, and may have vomiting, nausea, and skin rashes. Anaphylaxis can occur instantaneously or sometimes minutes after eating an allergen or being stung. Epinephrine can control cases of anaphylaxis that are caught immediately. The longer the patient goes without treatment, the greater the likelihood that death can occur. For this reason patients with a history of severe anaphylaxis are encouraged to always have an in date epinephrine injector available.
Can Allergies Be Prevented
Unfortunately, you cannot prevent the manifestation of adult-onset allergies. As we mentioned, these allergies sometimes spring up where none existed before. Other times, exposure to the allergen triggers a reaction. For those reasons, its difficult to say with certainty which triggers you should avoid.
While you cant always prevent adult-onset allergies, you can treat them as they develop. If, for instance, you notice you get an adverse reaction after eating shellfish or peanuts, you should refrain from eating these foods right away. Instead, set up an appointment with an allergy provider who can test your to see what is causing your symptoms
In the case of food allergies, the best treatment is avoidance. For pet dander, pollen, and other standard allergy triggers, you can try medications, including steroid nasal sprays and antihistamines, to alleviate uncomfortable symptoms. You can also try to keep yourself away from these allergens via lifestyle adjustments.
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Here Are Some Examples Of Lymphoid Organs
1. Adenoids
Adenoids are the 2 glands that are located at the back of your nasal passages.
2. Appendix
An appendix is a small tube connected to your large intestine.
3. Blood Vessels
The arteries, veins, and capillaries are the three kinds of blood vessels. Each one of these blood vessels plays a particular role in the process of circulation.
4. Bone Marrow
Bone marrow is found in your bone cavities. It is composed of soft and fatty tissue.
5. Lymph Nodes
Lymph nodes are the small bean-shaped organs located throughout your body and connected through the lymphatic vessels.
6. Lymphatic Vessels
Lymphatic vessels are the network of capillaries and a large network of tubes found throughout your body that carries lymph away from tissues.
7. Peyer Patches
Peyer patches are small masses of lymphoid tissue in your small intestine.
8. Spleen
A spleen is an organ that has the same size as a fist located in your abdominal cavity.
9. Thymus
The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of your immune system. It is the two lobes that join in front of your trachea behind your breastbone.
10. Tonsils
Tonsils are the 2 oval masses located at the back of your throat.
Food Allergies In Children
No parent wants to see their child suffer. Since fatal and near-fatal food allergy reactions can occur at school or other places outside the home, parents of a child with food allergies need to make sure that their childs school has a written emergency action plan. The plan should provide instructions on preventing, recognizing and managing food allergies and should be available in the school and during activities such as sporting events and field trips. If your child has been prescribed an auto-injector, be sure that you and those responsible for supervising your child understand how to use it.
In November 2013, President Barack Obama signed into law the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act , which encourages states to adopt laws requiring schools to have epinephrine auto-injectors on hand. As of late 2014, dozens of states had passed laws that either require schools to have a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors for general use or allow school districts the option of providing a supply of epinephrine. Many of these laws are new, and it is uncertain how well they are being implemented. As a result, ACAAI still recommends that providers caring for food-allergic children in states with such laws maintain at least two units of epinephrine per allergic child attending the school.
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What Are Adult Onset Allergies
Adult-onset allergies are those allergy symptoms that manifest later in life. This could be anywhere from younger adulthood, such as in a persons 20s, to a persons senior years, when they are 70 or 80 years old. Typically, if you lived through your 20s and your 30s without any new allergies, the chances of getting adult-onset allergies diminishes.
The strangest part about adult-onset allergies is that you can wake up today irritated by an allergen that didnt bother you yesterday. You could have been in contact with said allergen every single day for years with no adverse effects. Now, you have a runny nose, itching eyes and uncontrollable sneezing around that allergen.
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Why Are Allergies On The Rise
Disorders where allergy may be involved affect about 1 in 3 of the UK population . Few allergists are trained in the UK even though allergies are the most common chronic disorder in children 6-8% of children up to the age of three years have a food allergy and it is estimated that one in 1,333 of the population in England has experienced anaphylaxis at some point in their lives.
Seven times as many people were admitted to hospital with a severe allergic reaction in 2000 than in 1990 and in the decade 2002-12 there was a doubling of admissions with anaphylaxis due to food allergy alone.
One in four people in the UK has hay fever which equates to about 16 million people. These people are four times more likely to suffer from other conditions driven by allergy, such as asthma, eczema and food allergy. Allergic rhinitis is greatly under recognised and poorly managed. The percentage of people diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, asthma and eczema trebled over 30 years. For the growing number of people living with allergic disease across the UK, their condition can be frightening, restrictive and places a very real burden on their everyday life.
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How Are Allergies Diagnosed
If you think you have allergies, don’t wait to see if your symptoms go away. When your symptoms last longer than a week or two and tend to come back, make an appointment with an allergy/immunology specialist.
Allergy skin testing may be used to identify the allergens that are causing your allergy symptoms. The test is performed by pricking your skin with an extract of an allergen, and then checking your skins reaction.
If a skin test cant be performed, blood work may be obtained. This test is not as sensitive as a skin test. The test evaluates the number of antibodies produced by your immune system. Higher levels of certain antibodies suggest possible allergy to that allergen.
Other types of allergy testing are available too.
Who Is At Risk For Adult
Most people who are diagnosed with allergies as adults probably had an allergic episode earlier in life that they don’t remember. Often allergies follow a predictable course: eczema and food allergies in babies and toddlers, then hay fever symptoms in mid-to-late childhood. Allergy symptoms may fade during the teen years, only to return when you’re an adult.
Some people, however, do experience allergy symptoms for the first time in adulthood. This most often happens in your twenties, thirties, and forties rather than in later years. “As we age, our immune system does weaken that is why more seniors get pneumonia than 20-year-olds,” says Anthony J. Weido, MD, president of Allergy & Asthma Associates in Houston, Texas, and the Gulf Coast area. “As the immune system weakens, the hyper-allergic reaction also weakens,” he says.
Any type of allergy can occur in adulthood, including hay fever, pet allergies, and dust mite and mold allergies as well as insect bite, drug, and food allergies. Again, experts aren’t entirely sure why this happens, but theories include:
- being exposed to allergens when the immune system is weakened, such as during an illness or pregnancy
- not being exposed to a high enough level of the allergen as a child but reaching that threshold in adulthood
- moving to a new location with different trees, plants, and grasses
- getting a pet
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When Does Allergy Start
For Judah Denburg, who heads AllerGen, Canada’s allergy research network, the big question now in his field is, “when does allergy first start?. Answering that question, is “really critical,” he said.
“That unlocks a lot of doors,” says Denburg, “because if you know that, you know something about the timing, the family, the maternal influences, the environment and, certainly, the genes.”
In pursuit of an answer to that allergy mystery, researchers in Canada, a world leader in allergy science, and elsewhere are now measuring infant lung function and studying infants’ immune systems long before they can be diagnosed with allergies or asthma.
Scientists have long known that genetics and the environment are part of the answer to why people get allergies, but only a part.
A child whose parents have allergies is more like to develop allergies. Scientists have been learning more about the association of certain genes with allergies, but what’s most important is to learn about the genetic interaction with the environment, said Denburg.
“Put the wrong genetic makeup into the wrong environment, and you get this explosive mixture that leads to allergies and asthma,” he said.
In order to determine which combinations of genetics and environment are the most likely to cause allergies, researchers are collaborating in global studies of populations with known susceptibilities to allergens in places where the exposure to things like pollens and pollutants is also known.
How And Why Do Allergies Develop Later In Life
There is still a lot of mystery surrounding allergies. How do allergies develop? Why do some people develop allergies later in life?
Less than a decade ago, the World Allergy Organization put out a warning that allergies were on the rise. They were quickly becoming a public health concern.
Allergic diseases include a wide spectrum of diseases. These include life-threatening anaphylaxis to forms of asthma to eczema and eosinophilic disorders. There are also a variety of types of allergies one can suffer from including food, insect, drugs, hay fever, and eye allergies.
About 300 million people suffer from asthma. Food allergies affect between 200-250 million people worldwide. One in ten people has drug allergies. 400 million people suffer from rhinitis and roughly 50 million Americans have allergies.
Moreover, one person can develop different allergic diseases in their lifetime. This can cause a significant impact on the quality of life.
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Dear Evolution Thanks For The Allergies
Watery eyes could be a good thing after all
Millions of people suffer from hives or shortness of breath when they encounter everyday exposures such as pollens or peanuts. In their most favorable light you could think of your allergies as a really annoying super power, with telltale wheezing signaling your body senses the presence of something that you dont see or consciously smell. Despite decades of inquiry, however, scientists remain unable to pin down why allergies occur.
Because allergic reactions basically mirror the way our body responds to parasites such as worms, working to expel them through sneezes, vomiting or watery eyes, the prevailing belief among allergy experts is that allergies are just an unfortunate misdirected immune response. A pair of new studies, however, takes a fresh look at why allergies occur and provides the first evidence that those bodily responses may be no accident at all. Rather, they could be the bodys way of protecting us against toxins in the environment.
Knowing more about why venom allergies exist and tracing the molecular pathway of the immune response it elicits could have implications for understanding allergies to other things, too, the authors say. Itching, coughing or vomiting as a result of exposure to environmental irritants could signal that the body is ramping up a response to help you survive these substances in the futureor to predispose you to avoid them.
How To Manage Peanut Allergies
If youve got a food allergy, avoiding it is as simple as not ingesting the problematic foods. But sometimes, that can be easier said than done.
One benefit of having a peanut allergy instead of other food allergies is that it is one of the eight allergens with labeling requirements under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. This means that any products you buy in stores that contain peanuts or have been manufactured in a facility containing peanuts must be labeled accordingly.
But to err on the side of caution, you should be very careful about what you eat. Ask restaurant staff about ingredients, especially in desserts, and let them know ahead of time that you have an allergy so they can make sure the chef works to keep your food separate.
Even though you might not be able to enjoy a proper PB& J, you may still be able to enjoy other nut butter and tree nuts. While you should talk to your allergist beforehand, you may easily be able to use hazelnut spreads, almond butter spreads, or other alternatives so that you can enjoy delicious foods instead of peanuts.
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Why Allergies Are So Common
Why are allergies becoming more common over the past century? There are a few suggestive reasons:
- Home environments may predispose people to allergies.
- In an experiment, infants whose mothers kept their homes clean of allergens and avoided allergenic foods developed allergies at a lower rate.
How Do Adult Onset Allergies Develop
If youre predisposed to a certain type of allergy, but youve never been around that allergen before, it can seem like your symptoms have materialized out of nowhere. Say, for instance, you never had pets growing up. Youre allergic to pet dander, but youd never know it. Then, your roommate decides to get a dog, and your allergies start going crazy.
So yes, even though it may seem like you just woke up with allergies one day, theres usually a medical explanation for why its happened. Unfortunately, that explanation can be difficult to pinpoint, especially when youre simply becoming aware of an allergy you may have had for some time.
In other cases, allergies do develop on their own. You may notice changes suddenly, or monitor a gradual shift in your reaction to a specific substance. Adult onset allergies typically develop differently in different people.
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