Allergic Reactions
July 23, 2009
Allergy can be described to be the result of a disordered immune system, also referred as “atopy”. Allergic reactions can happen from usual and harmless ecological matters termed to be “allergens”.
Allergens are defined medically to be non-parasitic antigens that are
competent to stimulate a “type -1-hypersensitivity” or “immediate-hypersensitivity” reaction in individuals with atopic qualities.
The reactions happening in result of allergen contact are rapid, acquired, and predictable. These reactions cause by the result of excess activation by an antibody named “IgE” of some “white blood cells” termed as “mast cells” and “basophils”.
It results in a tremendous inflammatory reaction. Some common examples are “eczema”, “hay fever”, “hives”, “asthma”, and “food allergies”. And sometimes the source is as well venoms of stinging insects like that of bees,
and wasps.
Even certain substances can be a common cause to “contact dermatitis”, such as latex if gets into contact with atopic skin. Skin allergies commonly cause internal swelling, or inflammations, or rashes within skin.
Causes of such a reaction:
As discussed earlier, allergic risk factors can be categorized into host and environmental factors. Host factors can be including sex, race, age, and heredity, with heredity being the most significant of the hosts.
However, some recent massive increase in allergic disorders have happened which cannot be traced back to primarily genetic factors. Environmental factors have four major alterations responsible for allergic conditions, if an exposure happened in early childhood to an infectious disease, or levels of allergen, or polluted environments, and even dietary change can be reason enough for a person to get allergic in future.
If we go deep into the research and analysis done by some of our science practitioners in the recent past it can be found, that in reference to “hygiene hypothesis” allergic diseases are results of the immunological response that our body have to nontoxic antigens that are driven by a “TH2” intervened immune response.
A lot of viruses and bacteria show a “TH1” intervened response in immunity which in turn makes the immune response of “TH2” recessive. Primarily “Hygiene Hypothesis” has proposed that an insufficiency in the stimulation of “TH1” arm of immune system results in a vigorous “TH2” arm that leads to different allergies.
Hence, it can be stated that people who are used to an extremely sterilized environment fails to get an exposure to enough amount of pathogens so as to keep the immune system active.
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