Sneezing, red eyes and sore nostrils: allergy is an unwelcome guest who enters without knocking on the door. In a certain sense, it is the immune system that invites him to enter, which reacts disproportionately to certain substances known as  allergens . Let’s find out better.

>   Symptoms of the allergy

>   Causes 

>   Diagnosis

>   Allergy treatment

How allergy symptoms develop

Allergy comes from two Greek words: allos which means “different”, ergon which means  “effect” . The lexical combination refers to the spontaneous and exaggerated reactivity of the organism of  the allergic subject  to particular substances, which are instead harmless in 80% of the population. The terms  hypersensitivity  and  allergy  are commonly used interchangeably. 

Symptoms of the allergy

The symptoms of allergy can be different, depending on the triggering factor, and can present with varying intensity.

The most common ones are:

• stuffy nose
• itchy nose, throat, mouth and lips
• itchy and red eyes with swollen and watery eyelids
• runny nose and sneezing
• itchy skin with rashes and redness
• diarrhea associated with stomach pain, nausea and vomiting
• cough, shortness of breath, wheezing and asthma

Causes of allergy

Allergic diseases are atopic diseases whose characteristic is the presence of a particular class of specific antibodies (IgE) . Atopy refers to the hereditary tendency to an immediate hypersensitivity reaction to IgE antibodies.

Allergy is therefore caused by an excessive response of the immune system to particular substances known as allergens .

The allergen is a substance with antigenic power, that is, such as to cause the production of antibodies when it enters the body.

Allergens can cause an allergic reaction by entering the body in different ways:

• most commonly by air (such as dust and pollen),
• by food,
• topically,
• by injection.

The most common allergens in nature include:

• globular  pollen proteins  (male element necessary for plant reproduction), 
• insect poisons,
• dust mites,
• mycophytes (molds and yeasts),
• certain  foods ,
• some medications.

In reality, therefore, we cannot speak of allergy, but rather of  diversified allergic forms .

Diagnosis for allergy

The diagnosis for the different allergic forms is commonly made with the Prick Test . This is a skin test by which, through small incisions, a minimal amount of an allergen is brought into contact with the skin.

If a reaction occurs, such as localized swelling or itching, at one or more incisions, then the patient is allergic to the corresponding allergen. This means that he has the IgE antibodies active against that allergen.

There are also other tests, depending on the type of allergy to be diagnosed, such as the RAST test which directly looks for IgE antibodies in the blood and the Patch test , used mostly for the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis.

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ALLERGY TREATMENTS

Nutrition in case of allergy

The most common allergenic foods are milk, eggs, shellfish, nuts, wheat, soybeans and chocolate .

To ascertain the reaction to a food rather than another, there are so-called food provocation tests which consist in the ingestion of the suspicious food and are performed when the symptoms that occur regularly are related to certain foods and food additives.

Instead, pollen allergies are increasingly associated with an intolerance towards certain types of fruit or vegetables. An apple, for example, can be dangerous for those allergic to birch and melon for those who are sensitive to grasses. These cross allergies can sometimes be stemmed by cooking the fruit. 

Recent studies also highlight the beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing allergies in children .

Phytotherapy

The world of nature puts at our disposal the so-called adaptogens , so called because they allow to increase the resistance and adaptability of the organism to stressful agents and unfavorable conditions of any origin, through a complete cellular nutrition, thus being able to act not on the symptoms but on the causes that can give rise to imbalances.

We recall some of the most effective and important: ginkgo , rodiola , guarana , eleutherococcus .

You can learn more about the properties and uses of plants and medicinal herbs

Bach flowers for allergy

Bach flowers  harmonizing and balancing the emotional-anxious and irritating aspect that often accompanies allergic syndromes, can be of great help for all  these pathologies . Two flowers are particularly useful in this regard:

• Beech ,  which  acts on  the emotional aspects of allergies and intolerances both to food and to any other substance;
• Chicory ,  extremely indicated in allergic syndromes related to bronchial asthma.

The Chicory type in particular is afraid of losing love and consequently lives with a strong attachment to his love for people and things. The analogy with his way of suffocating love reminds us that this remedy is useful in case of allergy and bronchial asthma.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine  (TCM) in case of allergies there are two organs in poor balance: Liver and Lung . Respiratory-ocular allergy, seasonal, is the expression of a weakness of pulmonary energy concomitant with an excess of liver energy . In spring, for acupuncture, the liver is physiologically at its maximum functional expression while the lung, an organ of autumn, is in a natural moment of slight fragility.

A deficit of defensive energy ( Wei Qi) of the Kidneys and Lungs is also accompanied by a deficiency of the Governor Vessel ( Du Mai ) together with a chronic presence of Wind in the nose.

Medicinal mushrooms also come to the rescue from traditional Chinese medicine which, thanks to their anti-inflammatory, antihistamine and lung re-oxygenation properties, are useful  for treating allergies. 

Also discover the natural remedies for dog and cat allergies

Essential oils in case of allergic syndromes

In case of spring allergies, various essential oils can be used such as Roman chamomile oil , eucalyptus essential oil, lavender essential oil which is analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, calming, sedative , carminative, healing. In addition, the essential oil of lemon and the essential oil of rosa damascena or centifolia .

Homeopathy

In the event of an allergic syndrome crisis, a process must be carried out together with the homeopath to investigate the causes and solutions. The most commonly used homeopathic remedies, especially in case of pollen allergy , are Allum cepa 5 CH , in case of sneezing and runny nose; Ipeca 5 CH , in case of deep and dry cough; Euphrasia 5 CH in case the eyes water. You take 5 granules one or more times a day until the symptom improves.

Exercises

A sedentary lifestyle is harmful in any case, even in allergy sufferers. Sports activity is also recommended for people with breathing difficulties due to allergies; better to prefer disciplines that require constant effort such as swimming, a sport in which the increase in pulmonary ventilation is moderate and is achieved with a low respiratory rate and subordinated to the technical gesture).

Even yoga when you are allergic can be practiced: with due precautions, it can help you to live more peacefully with such unpleasant allergies.