Allergies
What is an Allergy?
An allergy is when the body has an inappropriate response to a substance which is not normally harmful to the body's immune system.
Our immune system is a highly complex defencemechanism which helps us fight infection and disease. However, when a person has an allergic response, it's when the body has wrongly identified a non toxic substance believing it's a foreign intruder. The body then it releases chemicals in order to protect itself, although in this instance it is an abnormal response. This abnormal response causes a reaction(s), otherwise known as an allergic symptom(s). In some extreme or severe cases the white cells (leucocytes), the cells in the immune system, overreact causing or creating more damage to the body whereupon the allergic reaction becomes a disease. Severe allergic reactions such as anaphaylaxis, is a severe, potentially life threatening allergic reaction, occurring within minutes of exposure to an allergen. This reaction must be addressed immediately by emergency medicine.
Substances that provoke allergic responses are called allergens. The most common symptoms are itching (skin rash), nasal congestion, headache, fatigue, shortness of breathe, hives, and coughing.
The most common allergens are pollen, (flower and tree), grass, dust, mold, **specific foods, animal hair, dust mites, and medications. Chemicals found in shampoo, washing powder and soap in addition to organophosphates ie, chlorphyrifos, benzoic acid, sulfites/sulfur dioxide formaldehyde resin, allethrin, Pentachlorophenol (PCP)and xylenes,
The difference between a food allergy and food intolerance.
An intolerance is the body's inability to digest and process food correcty. This may be due to a lack of correct enzymes. On the other hand, an allergy occurs . when the immune system produces an antibody response to food. The ingested food is seen as a threat and is mistakenly treated as a potential harmful substance, triggering a protective response.
**Highly allergenic foods
Chocolate, corn, eggs, peanuts, rice, shellfish, strawberries, tomatoes, wheat, yellow food dye…
Functional medicine, simple blood tests and NES health are able to identify and treat allergies and intolerance.
Practitioners:
Dr Damien Downing, Dr Rajendra Sharma, Christina Barton, Linda Crawford.
