Allergies are very common. Usually the symptoms are mild and annoying but for some people, allergies can be life threatening. Most are familiar with common allergy symptoms like itchy and watery eyes, stuffy nose, rashes, and runny nose but not everyone understands what an allergy is or what causes it.
Allergy sufferers react to allergens in different ways. Some reactions will be mild while others are severe. The symptoms can vary too. One person may have a rash or develop eczema while someone else will have an asthma attack. Overall, the most commonly experienced symptoms associated with allergies are itchy and watery eyes and sneezing. However more serious symptoms like hives can occur and sometimes the allergic reaction can be so severe as to be fatal.
Allergens are the things that trigger your allergy attacks. There are a lot of different things in the environment that can act as allergens. Many people are allergic to dust and dust mites. Other people have allergies to dogs or cats. Severe allergic reactions are associated with certain insect stings and allergies to foods like peanuts. Food allergies are pretty common however and not all of them are dangerous.
You can have an allergy all throughout your life or one could come on suddenly. You may have a genetic predisposition to allergies or you may become allergic after a long period of exposure. For example, if you are continually around house dust the effect could be cumulative until one day you develop allergy symptoms and find out that dust mites are the cause.
Common allergic reactions are hives and conjunctivitis. These are aggravating symptoms but not usually serious or fatal. Hives are red welts that appear on the skin. Conjunctivitis is swelling of the eyelids and eye membranes that is common with hay fever and other various allergies.
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 treatments that work well at keeping symptoms in check and reversing an attack once it is underway.
