Allergies are quite common nowadays. If you notice, you’ll be surprised to find that a good deal of people you meet are allergic to some or another thing. However, if the effects are mild, people don’t pay attention or sometime don’t understand that they have an allergy. The simple fact is that many of us don’t even understand what are allergies in any respect?
What are allergies?
Allergies are caused by hypersensitivity of someone’s immune system to a specific thing. For some individuals, their immune system over-reacts to matters which are completely harmless to other people. These items, which cause allergies in them, are known as allergens. Actually the body of an allergic person identifies allergens as harmful foreign materials and releases anti-bodies to combat them. Antibodies combine with these foreign substances or allergens and cause inflammation as part of the allergic response.
This can cause the individual only a mild discomfort or may even be dangerous sometimes. After understanding ‘what are allergies’, another question which may come to the reader’s mind is what the common allergens are. The most common factors causing allergies in people are dust mites, pollens, animals’ hair or dander, food things such as peanuts, milk or even some medications, latex, perfumes etc..
Allergens
Actually all the allergens are small proteins that cause the immune system of the contaminated person to over-react and begin the allergic reactions. Researchers assert that genetic factors have a large part to play in determining whether someone will be allergic or not. If a parent of a kid has some allergies, the chances that he will contract it is reported to be around 50% and should both have an allergy that the chances grow up to 70 percent.
However, hereditary isn’t the only factor in it. A good deal of people, having no such heredity, are found to deal with allergies. Also, someone could catch it at any point in his/her life. The cases of people catching allergies are on a rise nowadays. The genetic concept, of course, doesn’t explain this rise. Some researchers attribute it to the increasing sensitivity of our immune systems to the artificial chemicals whereas a couple of others think that human body is designed to combat viruses and bacteria etc. but in our contemporary world hygienic environment, nowadays, our immune system doesn’t get lots of them. Hence, it has become very sensitive.
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It treats any benign foreign object as harmful and begins fighting with it. Besides understanding’what are allergies’, it’s also important to comprehend how to treat them. The best way as indicate by specialists is to get tested for your allergies, understand your allergens and just avoid them to prevent the allergic reactions. Correct diagnosis and appropriate education is supposedly the most important role in treating an allergy.
