SPECIAL ALLERGY




Natural supplements for preventing and combating allergies








It defines an allergy immune system disease characterized by excessive reactions brought by particular antibodies against normally harmless substances such as pollen, dust, cat hair ...

Allergens are very numerous and can be divided into animal allergens (dust mites, animal dander, larvae), of vegetable origin (flour, textile fibers, latex, pollen, seeds), derived from fungi and bacteria (antibiotics, enzymes) chemical (drugs, dyes, etc.). People are exposed to allergens mainly through inhalation or contact.

History:

The first to speak of allergy were in 1906 by the Viennese pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet and Bela Schick, who observed how the immune system could also play a harmful role with altered responses after administration of heterologous serum or smallpox vaccine for therapeutic purposes. Pirquet and Schick called this phenomenon "allergy" from the greek words ἄλλος, which means "other," and ἔργον which means "work".
Initially, all forms of hypersensitivity were classified as allergies, because you thought they were all caused by an altered activation of the immune system. In 1963, Philip Gell and Robin Coombs proposed a new classification scheme which provided for four types of hypersensitivity reactions, known as hypersensitivity grade I to IV: allergy was defined as the only type I hypersensitivity

Main features of the allergy are the specificity and speed.

Specificity: being due to the reaction of a type of antibody the disease manifests itself only in the presence of the substance to which the antibody is directed. Substances of the same kind but of different molecular structures generate different allergies. For example, a patient with an allergy to a certain pollen has no symptoms if it comes into contact with pollen of other families and structurally different.

Speed: The allergic reaction is immediate. From the moment of contact with the allergenic substance at the time of onset of symptoms exist from 5 to 30 minutes (average 15 minutes).


Causes of allergy:

Genetic Factors

An allergy is a disease influenced by genetic factors. It is not, however, the antibody which is inherited, but only the generic predisposition. In other words, an allergic parent, for example, to pollen allergic to dust mites can have children and grandchildren allergic to animal hair, and so on. Allergies resulting from alterations polygenic on different chromosomes of DNA, it is supposed that some of these are also the regulators of asthma, in both cases, has as a symptom the bronchial hyperactivity. The likelihood of developing an allergy in a child where both parents are allergic is around 40-60%, with no allergic parent is reduced to 5-10%. The risk of developing an allergy increases as the number of relatives affected by the disease.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors play an important role in the onset of allergy. A recent theory, called the "Hygiene Hypothesis", indicates hygiene in the excess of one of the causes that favor the onset of allergy. It is demonstrated that an overly sterilized environment is not healthy for the immune system becomes more prone to the development of allergies. Among the various observations that support that hypothesis it was found that in children living in rural areas or who have a cat at home (shown in the first two years of life), the probability of allergy is reduced significantly. In Western countries, the early use of antibiotics in children, the widespread use of chemical additives in foods and their sterilization, seem to delay the development of bacterial flora.

The predisposition to the development of allergy is also connected to the month of birth. In the spring, in fact, the plants release their pollen, while in autumn there is a greater frequency of mites, so premature exposure to one of these allergens leads to higher probability of future development of atopy.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the chances of developing asthma and respiratory diseases, there being no proof whether it is responsible for the development of allergies.

A diet of fatty acids seems to favor the development of allergy.

A statistical analysis performed states that are most affected by allergies those who belong to the upper classes, are only children, living in urban areas and maintain high standards of hygiene.

     


Symptoms:

Allergies are characterized by an inflammatory response to allergens; local or systemic. Local symptoms are typical:
  • Nose: swelling of the nasal mucosa sneezing and drain liquid (allergic rhinitis).
  • Eyes: redness and itching of the conjunctiva (allergic conjunctivitis).
  • Lower airways: irritation, bronchoconstriction, asthma attacks.
  • Mouth: Oral Allergy Syndrome (SAO) is manifested by itching and swelling of the lips and in the mouth (especially happens after eating certain fruits and vegetables that are in common with pollen allergens)
  • Skin: allergic dermatitis such as eczema, urticaria, atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis.
  • Body problems: diarrhea or constipation, sexual problems and relational, regurgitation ...


The systemic allergic response is called "anaphylaxis": depending on the level of severity, it can cause cutaneous reactions, bronchoconstriction, edema, hypotension up to anaphylactic shock which may cause coma, sometimes lethal.

The antibodies responsible for allergic reactions are the "IgE", also called "reagin". The main test for the diagnosis of allergy is the skin test "prick-test": administering a small amount of the allergen with the skin lightly scarified with the help of special hands: if the patient has IgE antibodies active against a specific allergen observe a reaction of localized swelling with itching (wheal) in correspondence of the substance which is the allergic paziente.Un Another test used is the RAST test (Radio Allergo Sorbent Test) that seeks IgE directly into the blood.


Remedies:

There is no permanent cure for allergies, but it is possible, a desensitisation to allergens. One solution is represented by the vaccine: providing the patient with the allergen in question, it promotes the formation of IgG that block the antigen before accession to IgE. This therapy is commonly used only for inhalant allergies.

You can also treat the symptoms with drugs that inhibit the histamine H1 receptors (antihistamines). For maximum effectiveness, this kind of medicine should be administered before exposure to the allergen.

Are also used by the action antiinflammatory drugs, including cortisone ("Prednisolone", "betamethasone") acting over a few hours.

Another category of anti-allergic drugs are cromones, such as sodium cromoglycate and nedocromil, products derived from a Mediterranean plant (Amni Visnaga) locally applied, administered as eye drops or nasal spray or aerosol sprays to the bronchi. Their action is to prevent the release of histamine and other irritants that would be released by certain cells (mast cells) on the occasion of allergic stimuli. The cromones are sodium cromoglycate and nedocromil sodium latest. Although these act when administered prior to contact with the allergen.




Natural supplements for preventing and combating allergies