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| Allergy Facts |  Allergy is a term that defines an abnormal reaction that people display when they contact with dust, animal hair and pollen. Moreover, people can provoke by foods, medicine and many other substances, like latex. Actually, allergy represents a type I hypersensitivity reaction to specific substances.
This denotes that immunoglobulin E over stimulates the mast cells and the basophiles, this fact causes an inflammatory reaction. The symptoms that appear vary from swelling nose to anaphylactic shock. Therefore, allergy must be cured as soon as the symptoms are noticed. Asthma is a chronic health condition that is usually associated to various types of allergy. It has been estimated that nearly 60% of the allergic people develop asthma.
As a rule nose, eyes and skin get inflamed when a person has allergy. Besides, pain in the ears sometimes appears. Although headache is not a typical symptom, it appears as a result of drug allergies. Breath is performed with difficulty because the bronchia get constricted. Sometimes, when anaphylaxis is installed, the digestive system, the circulatory system and the respiratory system are affected. In this case, it is imperative to cure the allergy immediately, as it can result in hypotension and eventually to coma and even death. The proper cure resumes to injections of epinephrine.
The diagnosis of allergy can be provided in several ways. The tests perform certain results and show the exact cause of the allergy. The most efficient test is the skin prick test, because the results are very exact, when compared to the other tests. Moreover, it is very easy to be done and has a low price. The skin of the patient is pierced and then marked with a special ink. Before applying the ink, this must be tested, too, as it can lead to an allergic reaction. Then, allergens, which are also known as substances that may cause allergy, are either introduced under the skin or put on the areas that have been scratched. The allergic reaction can be visible in about 30 minutes. After this a steroid cream is put on the scratched area in order to relieve the symptoms.
Blood test is the second method to diagnose allergy. The main goal of it is to determine the general immunoglobulin E count. Colometric and radiometric immunoassays are used for measuring the amount of immunoglobulin that is found in the serum.
The cure is multifarious. It depends on the severity of the symptoms. In some cases immunotherapy performs the best results. Antibodies that neutralize immunoglobulin E are injected. Other such cures that are based on enzymes and beta-glucuronidase tend to become more popular.
Chemotherapy provides another possible cure for allergy. In actual fact, this method refers to the use of certain medicines that prevent or neutralize the action of the allergens. Antihistamines, epinephrine, cortisone and theophyline are some of the medicines that proved to be effective in the cure of allergy. Other treatments are based on herbs, homeopathy and kinesiology. The effectiveness of such alternative treatments is still questionable, because there is not adequate scientific evidence to confirm it.
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