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Allergy treatments research

What is an allergy?

Allergies are basically what happens when your immune system responds incorrectly to a foreign "invader". Your immune system is designed to defend you against foreign invaders such as allergens, but the immune system’s response to such invaders often causes disruptions or irritations within your body’s complex system.

Remember, allergens are substances that do not belong in or around the human body, so we can’t really blame our bodies for not knowing how to deal with allergens and the allergies they cause. That is why when you come into contact with an allergen, your body can have an allergic reaction.

Some allergens are simply impossible to avoid. You cannot live a normal life and completely avoid pollen, dust, and certain other common triggers of allergic reactions. Many allergy sufferers use medications such as antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays to suppress their symptoms, and these medications are very effective in most. For people with very severe symptoms, and those who cannot take allergy medications, immunotherapy is an alternative.

Anything can be an allergen. Common dust, pollen, plants, medications, certain foods, insect venoms, viruses, or bacteria are examples of allergens.
Reactions may be in one spot, such as a small skin rash or itchy eyes, or all over, as in a whole body rash.
A reaction may include one or several symptoms.

In rare cases, an allergic reaction can be life threatening. Each year in the United States, over 400 people die from allergic reactions to penicillin, and over 50 people die from allergic reactions to bee and fire ant stings.

Most allergic reactions are much less serious, such as a rash from poison ivy or sneezing from hay fever. The reaction depends on the person but is sometimes unpredictable.

When to Seek Medical Care

Because allergic reactions can progress and worsen in minutes, medical attention is always recommended for all but the most minor and localized symptoms.

If the symptoms of your reaction get worse over a few days, or if they do not get better with recommended treatment and removal of the allergen, call your health care provider.

Allergic reactions can be dangerous. Sudden, severe, widespread reactions require emergency evaluation by a medical professional. Call an ambulance if you or someone around you has any of the following with an allergic reaction:

Sudden, severe, rapidly worsening symptoms
Exposure to an allergen that previously caused severe or bad reactions
Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
Wheezing, chest tightness, loud breathing, or trouble breathing
Confusion, sweating, nausea, or vomiting
Widespread rash
Collapse or unconsciousness

The allergy sufferer may first assume he or she has a cold. A skin or blood test, however, will quickly determine the allergies involved. The medical professional generally has three approaches to helping allergy sufferers. First, doctors advise the allergy sufferer about ways to avoid the very allergens that cause the allergic reaction. Second, doctors prescribe medication to relieve the systems and, finally, doctors give allergy sufferers a series of allergy shots.

Allergic Reaction Treatment

Avoid triggers! If you know you have an allergic reaction to peanuts, for example, do not eat them. Go out of your way to avoid foods prepared with or around peanuts. Self-care at home is not enough in severe reactions. A severe reaction is a medical emergency.

Anti-allergy medications are of many types. The choice of medication and how it is given depends on the severity of the reaction.

For relief of long-term allergies such as hay fever or reactions to dust or animal dander, the following medications may be prescribed:

Long-acting prescription antihistamines, such as cetirizine (Zyrtec), fexofenadine (Allegra), and loratadine (Claritin), can relieve symptoms without causing sleepiness. They are meant to be taken for months at a time, even indefinitely. Most have to be taken only once a day and last for 24 hours.
Nasal corticosteroid sprays are widely prescribed for nasal symptoms not relieved by antihistamines. These prescription medications work very well and are safe, without the side effects of taking steroids by mouth or injection. These sprays take a few days to take effect, and must be used every day.

Prevention

Most people learn to recognize their allergy triggers; they also learn to avoid them.

An allergy specialist (allergist) may be able to help you identify your triggers. Several different types of allergy tests are used to identify triggers.

Skin testing is the most widely used and the most helpful. There are several different methods, but all involve exposing the skin to small amounts of various substances and observing the reactions over time.

Blood tests (RAST) generally identify IgE antibodies to specific antigens.

Other tests involve eliminating certain allergens from your environment and then re-introducing them to see if a reaction occurs.

Sincerely,
Your Web Doc

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