The Unseen Chronic Illness: Allergies

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022
Chronic Diseases
by Joycelyn Chi

Most people think of severe chronic illnesses when they hear “chronic diseases”—such as heart disease, arthritis, cancer— but allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic diseases and more than 50 million people suffer from allergies each year in the United States.

Allergies occur when the immune system reacts to a harmful, foreign substance, or an allergen, and causes the body to overreact to the allergen. Thus, the antibodies that are produced to react to the allergen is called an allergic reaction.

Figure 1 displays a summary for the symptoms and factors of allergies (VectorStock).

Allergens

There are various allergic reactions depending on the type and amount of allergen, as well as how the immune system will react to the allergen. Allergens may be:

medicine
food
insects
latex
mold
pets
pollen

Causes

Allergies may occur at any point in a person’s life though more adults have allergies compared to children in the United States. So yes, one day you may wake up and have allergic reactions to an allergen that you did not have the day before.

However, the chances of allergies occurring increases by family history. If one parent has an allergy, there is a 30 to 60 percent chance that the child will develop the allergy and doubled if both parents have the allergy.

Symptoms

Allergy symptoms are defined by any symptom that may be uncomfortable and varies on the allergy. Some examples include:

Runny nose
Watery Eyes
Sneezing
Rash or hives
Tingling in the mouth
Swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
Anaphylaxis

Treatments

Most allergy treatments involve taking over-the-counter or prescription medicine, though severe allergies use epinephrine injections. Another form of allergy treatment includes immunotherapy through allergy drops or allergy shots in which the goal is to retrain the immune system in recognizing the allergen as not dangerous. This method involves giving the patient small doses of the allergen and gradually increasing the doses to reach this goal.

Contact an allergist for allergy testing to discover allergies that you may potentially have.

Sources:

https://www.aafa.org/allergies.aspx

https://balance.media/seasonal-allergies-remedies/

https://www.carolinaasthma.com/blog/what-causes-a-person-to-develop-allergies/

https://www.inspiritvr.com/general-bio/human-biology/allergies-study-guide

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/allergies/symptoms-causes/syc-20351497

https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/allergy-infographic-concept-vector-14460998