In this article you will find about:
What Are Allergies?
Allergic illness is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the world. Your immune system is where allergic reactions start. It may overreact to something that is normally harmless by attack the allergen when a person comes into contact with it, causing the different symptoms of allergy.2
Allergy triggers
Allergy triggers, also known as allergens, can exist anywhere. Here are some examples:3
Mold.
Fur, dander, and skin flakes from pets.
Medications, most commonly penicillins.
Plant pollen.
Household chemicals.
Latex or other allergens you touch.
Insect stings and bites.
People can also be allergic to certain foods or their components. Gluten, fish, milk, peanuts, eggs, and soy are just a few examples.3
Allergy symptoms
Several factors contribute to the allergy symptoms you experience. These include the type of allergy and the severity of the allergy. as the following:
Symptoms according to allergy type
Allergy symptoms can affect your airways, sinuses and nasal passages, skin, and digestive system, depending on the substance:4
Allergic rhinitis (Hay fever): sneezing, itching in the nose, eyes, or roof of the mouth, stuffy and runny nose, and watery, red, or swollen eyes.
Food allergy: tingling in the mouth, swelling of the lips, tongue, face, or throat, and hives. It can also cause nausea, fatigue, and other side effects.5
Insect sting allergy: swelling at the sting site, itching all over the body, in addition to a cough, tightness in the chest, wheezing, or shortness of breath.
Contact dermatitis: when skin contact with the allergen causes Itching, reddening, irritation, or burning of the skin.5
Symptoms according to allergy reaction severity
Allergic reactions can be mild to severe:6
Mild reaction: Local symptoms that only impact a small portion of your body and don't spread elsewhere. including a rash, itchy skin, watery eyes, and a stuffy nose.
Moderate reaction: symptoms that spread to different body regions. Itching, hives, swelling, and breathing difficulties are possible symptoms.
Severe reaction: Rare, life-threatening emergency condition known as anaphylaxis occurs when your body reacts suddenly and severely to an allergen. Within minutes, severe symptoms including edema, hives, and throat swelling start to manifest. You can also have mental disorientation or dizziness due to drop in blood pressure.
Why do allergies happen?
You could blame your symptoms on the triggers. However, the majority of those items are completely safe. Your immune system is what actually causes allergic reactions. It misidentifies harmless objects in your environment as a serious threat and attacks them, causing allergies.7
Your chances of developing an allergy begin with your genes, which give you a tendency. Even so, the circumstances must be ideal for something to cause an allergic reaction. For example, if you are weak and come into contact with an allergen, such as after a viral infection, you are more likely to develop an allergy to it.7
How Does an Allergy Develop?
Allergy development begins with exposure. Even if you've been around a trigger before without incident, your body may suddenly recognize it as an invader. If this occurs, your immune system investigates the allergen and develops antibodies against it. When you come into contact with that allergen again, your immune system reacts. Antibodies recognize it and activate special cells known as mast cells. These cells burst open, releasing chemicals like histamine, which cause symptoms.7
As an adult; is it possible to have allergies?
Although we frequently link allergies with childhood, many adults actually become aware of their allergies for the first time later in life, even if they have never previously had an issue with an allergy.8
Unfortunately, the exact cause of the immune system's unexpected reaction is unknown. But these are some possible causes:8
Allergies run in the family; the probability that an adult will develop an allergy increases when first-degree relatives have allergies.
Inadequate exposure to allergens during childhood.
Antibiotic overuse during childhood.
Environmental change, Moving to a new geographical area with different pollutants, or weather can expose you to allergens you were not previously exposed to.
Infections or traumatic events, physical or emotional stress, for example, severe illness or surgery, menopause, or divorce.
How to treat allergies?
Avoiding the allergen is the best way to manage an allergy, but this is not always possible. In these cases, medical treatment may be beneficial. However, drugs will not cure an allergy, but they can help a person manage the symptoms of a reaction.3
Examples of allergy treatments:
Antihistamines
These inhibit the action of histamine, which is released by the immune system during an allergic reaction.3 It is available in the form of oral tablets as well as topical nasal antihistamines.6
For example TELFAST drug is an antihistamine available in different dosage forms as the following:
Telfast 120 mg Tablet: It relieves the signs and symptoms of seasonal hay fever allergies for a full 24 hours such as runny nose and sneezing.10
Telfast 180 mg Tablet: It aids in the 24-hour treatment of hayfever allergy symptoms. In addition to reducing skin allergy symptoms such as itchy skin rash or hives.11
Naselfast allergy spray: Its steroid nasal spray, for treatment and prevention of seasonal hay fever allergies for up to 6 months. Plus its effect in treatment of year-round allergy.12
Other treatments
Other options includes:3
Decongestants: assist in the relief of a blocked nose.
Corticosteroids: Anti-inflammatory medicine can be taken as a pill, cream, nasal spray, or inhaler. There is a Naselfast nasal spray, for example, that is quite successful in lowering allergy symptoms and can prevent them from occurring for up to 6 months.
Leukotriene receptor antagonists: In case other treatments failed, these may help with some allergies. It works by inhibiting the type of endogenous chemicals that cause swelling during allergic reaction.
Immunotherapy: Doctors may prescribe it if your symptoms aren't adequately controlled by a combination of avoidance measures and regular medication use.6 since it can aid in the development of long-term tolerance. where the allergen will be administered in gradually increasing doses, either as a tablet or as an injection.
The bottom line
Allergy develops when the body's immune system fails to identify a harmless substance as a threat. As a result, when this substance came into contact with the body, the attack began, and patients experienced various allergy symptoms. These symptoms vary depending on the allergen and the severity of the reaction. Keep in mind that allergies do not just affect children; adults of all ages can develop them.
1. https://waojournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1939-4551-7-19 last visited 13th December 2022
2. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/allergies-and-the-immune-system last visited 13th December 2022
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264419 last visited 13th December 2022
4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351497 , last visited 13th December 2022
5. https://www.healthline.com/health/allergies ,last visited 13th December 2022
6. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8610-allergy-overview , last visited 13th December 2022
7. https://www.webmd.com/allergies/chronic-allergies-causes , last visited 13th December 2022
8. https://www.medicinenet.com/what_causes_sudden_allergies_in_adults/article.htm last visited 13th December 2022
9. https://telfast.com.au/products/telfast-60mg/ last visited 13th December 2022
10. https://telfast.com.au/products/telfast-120mg/ last visited 13th December 2022
11. https://telfast.com.au/products/telfast-180mg/ last visited 13th December 2022
12. https://telfast.com.au/products/telnasal-allergy-spray/ last visited 13th December 2022
Recommended Reading
Seasonal Allergies: Causes and Symptoms
Allergy season is different for everyone. That’s because different kinds of outdoor allergens — or irritants — get distributed into the air year-round. So your seasonal allergies happen from exposure to whatever pollen is being released by the local grass, trees, mold spores, and ragweed whenever that occurs.
Allergies vs. Cold: Understand the Difference
There are some similarities between allergies and the common cold, so it can be difficult to figure out how to relieve your symptoms. But there are a few ways to identify which is which.
How to prevent allergic rhinitis
Learn all the smart steps to prevent allergic rhinitis
Adult Outdoor Allergies Triggers, Symptoms, and Relief
Allergic rhinitis, often called hay fever, affects 19.2 million adults and 5.2 million children.
The most common outdoor allergy trigger is pollen, a powdery substance released for fertilization by trees, grass, and weeds.
In early spring, tree pollen gets blown around. In late spring and early summer, it’s grass pollen. And in late summer/early fall, it’s weed pollen. But that all depends on your location, climate, and the local greenscape. In temperate climates, pollination can happen year-round.
How To Stop Seasonal Allergies From Ruining Your Outdoor Workout
Working out with allergies can be challenging, but it doesn’t mean that you need to be trapped indoors all season long. With the right tools and allergy management tips, exercising outdoors with seasonal allergies is possible. Learn how to enjoy your favorite outdoor activities and achieve your fitness goals—without being slowed down by sneezing, a runny nose, watery eyes, or an itchy throat.