Allergies are caused when your immune system attacks against an allergenic substance, called an allergen. Your white blood cells mistake the substance, such as a food protein, pollen, medication or an animal hair, as harmful and attack it with immunoglobulin E antibodies. This causes an immune reaction in your body, which leads to release of histamine and the symptoms of allergy. There are several factors that determine when allergies affect you.
Age
Allergies usually begin in childhood, according to the Mayo Clinic. This is due to the immature immune systems that children have, which are more likely to mistake an allergen as dangerous and fight it off. Although, most children outgrow their allergies, some remain allergic throughout their life.
Exposure
Allergies attack only when you are exposed to the allergen. This can happen by digesting, breathing in or touching the allergen. Foods and medications typically trigger a reaction when eaten, but they can also affect you when touched or breathed in. Pollen and other airborne allergens cause a reaction when breathed in with air. Some airborne allergens, such as animal hair and hay, or other substances, such as latex, can cause an allergic skin reaction when you touch them.
Health Conditions
Your mental well-being and other health conditions can also trigger or worsen your allergy. Stress and anxiety can worsen allergic reaction to some allergens, according to a study done by Ohio State University researchers. If you suffer from asthma, it may also increase your risk of developing an allergic reaction. Intestinal permeability is a health condition that allows large undigested molecules to enter your bloodstream through the intestine. These large unfamiliar molecules can trigger IgE release, and, according to a study published in “The Lancet” in 1981, food allergy can be associated with abnormal intestinal permeability.
Season
Many pollen allergies are seasonal and only attack when the pollen is in the air. Spring, when flowers and trees blossom, is an especially bad season for pollen allergies. Taking antihistamines and other allergy medications can help reduce your symptoms or prevent the reaction.
Prevention
Prevent an allergic reaction by avoiding the allergens that trigger the attack. This is fairly simple when you are allergic to food, medication or chemicals that you can just avoid. However, when you are allergic to pollen, you may find it very difficult to avoid. Close your windows and doors during the pollen season, use a high-efficiency filters in your air conditioning devices and wear a mask when outside. When you return inside, remove the clothes you wore outside and take a shower to rinse pollen from your hair.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Allergies; January 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Wheat Allergy; July 2011
- Ohio State University; Stress, Anxiety Can Make Allergy Attacks Even More Miserable and Last Longer; Earle Holland
- "The Lancet"; Intestinal Permeability in Patients With Eczema and Food Allergy; P.G. Jackson, et al.; 1981
- MayoClinic.com; Springtime Allergies: Nip Them in the Bud; April 2010
