The Cause And Symptoms Of An Allergic Reaction
Posted by Bronchitis - 25/08/10 at 10:08 amAllergies are annoying and bothersome. They make you feel wrung out, and have symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, rashes, stuffy nose, and watery eyes. Although nearly everyone is familiar with allergy symptoms, many may not know what an allergy actually is.
Not everyone with allergies responds to these allergens and the chemicals they produce in the same way. Everyone has different symptoms and some people have a mild reaction while others can develop asthma. Other people end up with skin conditions like rashes or eczema. The most common symptoms with allergies are sneezing, itchy and watery eyes but more severe symptoms can include hives or even a fatal reaction.
Allergens are the things that cause your allergy symptoms to flare up. There are all kinds of allergens and you could have more than one. You could be allergic to dust mites, cigarette smoke, or suffer from a pet dander allergy. More serious allergic reactions are commonly associated with insect stings and food allergens to peanuts.
You may have a tendency towards developing allergies if you have a genetic condition known as atopy. However, in many cases allergies develop suddenly or develop after a long period of repeated exposure. This commonly happens with dust mite allergies where long term exposure to dust has a cumulative effect that triggers allergy symptoms after a time.
Another common type of problem caused by allergies is conjunctivitis, which is when your eye membranes and eye lids swell. This type of allergic reaction is one that people frequently get when they have hay fever or others allergies. Hives is another common symptom of allergies. These reactions are not usually fatal.
Almost everyone has some sort of allergic reaction to all allergen and some can be severe. A bee sting, for example, can cause swelling and pain in some but for others it can lead to anaphlyactic shock, which can cause problems with breathing and circulation and can be fatal sometimes. This reaction comes on suddenly and causes blood pressure to drop, problems breathing and a rash on the skin. If treated quickly with epinephrine or cortisone, the reaction can be stopped.
To find out if you have allergies and what your triggers are, your doctor may advise that you have an allergy test. Allergy testing has come a long way in recent years and so has treatment. While there is no single cure for allergies, there are many allergy treatment options that work well at keeping symptoms in check and reversing an attack once it is underway.
