I sneeze and I fly, I scratch too… Am I allergic to?


One in three French is allergic, while only 4% of the population was there 40 years. Asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, eczema, hives … Needless to suffer without action; solutions exist to fight against these painful experience daily events.

An allergy is an abnormal and excessive reaction of the immune system when it comes into contact with a foreign substance that it identifies as an enemy against which we must defend ourselves.

The allergic reaction is then manifested by various symptoms: runny nose and that mouth, watery eyes and tingling, difficulty breathing, sneezing fits, itchy, red patches on the skin…

DO NOT CONFUSE ALLERGY AND INTOLERANCE

But beware, any skin irritation or runny nose is not necessarily an allergy. This term is often misused by the general public. Take the case of food allergies: there must be a difference between true allergies and non-allergic intolerance.

A typical example is related to the excessive consumption of chocolate. Tyramine contained in chocolate causes when it is consumed in large quantities, the release of histamine, a substance naturally secreted during the allergic reaction: tyramine is a histamine liberator.

This food intolerance, in contrast to allergy, absorbed dose dependent: it may be ingested in small quantities without reaction, whereas in real allergy even a small amount may trigger a response.

WHAT TESTING WHETHER YOU ARE ALLERGIC?

To confirm the diagnosis of allergy, it is necessary to do skin testing to the allergist. The session usually begins with a thorough examination to determine the circumstances in which your body reacts to allergens. This information will guide the allergist to possible allergens that must be confirmed with skin prick tests.

These tests involve injecting under the skin of the arm or back, very low doses of several allergens. If, after 10 to 15 minutes, appear swelling, redness or itching at the same site of the bite, the practitioner may conclude that there has allergy.

The allergist can also make use of patch tests that are applied to the back and which can be interpreted after 48 hours. But rather the subject children or venom allergies and medications.

In case of discrepancy between the observed events and the outcome of the tests, the allergist may prescribe blood tests to assay the total IgE antibody or to a particular allergen.

I AM ALLERGIC, WHAT TO DO?

With the results obtained from the allergist, you will know clearly or allergens responsible. You can then adopt the best attitude of prevention.

– Avoid or allergens: the eviction of or allergens is the only treatment to fight against food allergies and skin allergies. For you to get to know your environment, the composition of food products, perfumes, cosmetics, maintenance…

– Reduce the symptoms with antihistamines and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids such.

– Do you desensitize: desensitization or by subcutaneous or sublingual (a few drops are applied under the tongue), is useful in cases of respiratory allergy, but it cannot be used in all allergic and cons all allergies.

Desensitization has proven its effectiveness in the treatment of allergies to dust mites, various pollens, certain molds, chat and Hymenoptera. Another advantage: it can change the evolution and development of new allergies.

And a study by WHO showed that 66% of children who have not been desensitized to mite allergy present new sensitization, while they are only 25% in the group that received this treatment. Conclusion: It is best to desensitize if monoallergie to avoid the emergence of new allergies.

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