CAUSES OF ALLERGY
|
A large number of substabces reach the body through breathing or inhalation. The fact that they are introduced through inhalation does not necessarily indicate that the symptms will be only respiratory; for example, inhaled substansces can produce hives, and conversely foods maycause asthma. Air borne pollenand molds produce seasonal hay fever. House dust is a very important inhalant antigen. Animal hairs are frequent offenders, and for this reason allergic patients should avoid contact witch or exposure to animals regardless as to whether they are skin sensitive to their hair. Contact with horses, especially riding behind a horse, or using horse blankets or being in the company of people who war riding habits may produce severe allergic symptoms. A little boy, a physician's child, was sensitive, among other things, to horse dander and had severe asthma. With treatment his condition improved. On two separate occasions,however, the child had severe asthma. Once he attended a children's party at wich one or two of the children were dressed as Indians, wrapped up in hourse blankets. The second time he was feeling will. He and hhis mother were walking along the street when they met some friends who had just returned from horseback riding and were in an automobile. The car was stopped, the window was lowered while the conversation was carried on. A brief period of exposure to these people and their riding habits contaminated by horse dander brorght about severe asthma. A social worker was also allergic to horses. Her failure of therapy indicated that though this intelligent patient had been warned not to go horseback riding or come in contact eith gorses, she did not realize that the horse saddle which she kept under the bed in her small apartment bedroomwas sufficient exposure to cause her to develop asthma, especially at night.
Infinitesimally small quantities of a substance can produce symptoms in an allergic patient. An egg sensitive patient may develop symptons if he uses a knife or fork that had previously been contaminated with egg and not washed properly. A child who was sensitive to potatoes could not enter the houde without diveloping asthma if potatoes were being peeled. Another sensitive to sardines would get severe hives if present when acan of sardines was opened, and still another would get severe sneezing and asthma if present when fish was being cooked. Hose dust is a potint inhalant antigen. This accounts for the fact that so many allergic people sneeze and cough and develop other sumptoms when they are exposed to house dust either though cleaning or sweeping. If a patient is sensitive to basement or attic dust, we suspect mold allergy. Feathers,especially old feathers, similarly are in these condions. Rabbit hair may be found in stuffed toys and cushions, and in variousfurs, mohir contains goat hair, alsi a frequent offender.until recently most cosmetic;it is no linger necessary to resort to specially highpriced so called non allergenic cosmetics in most common ingredient of which is pyrethrum. Among inhalants are insect emanations. This includes the caddis fly, moth, butterfly, mayfly, bee, and others, these indectsgiveoffcetain hairs to which some peope may be consistently sensitive. It is not uncommon, therefore, to find that there are people who develop manifestations in areas where sand flies predominate.
INGESTANTS (FOODS)
People may be sensitive to single or to multiple foods.Here again are some foods which are botanically related,so that if a patient is sensitive to one food in this grup,he is sensitive to the orthers.Examples of this may be cited in the case of cabbage,Brussels sprouts,and cauliflower.Many of the sea foods and fresh water fish are thus similarly related;so that if a patient is sensitive to one type of fresh water fish,he is likely sensitive to the orders.The most frequent allergy producing food are common foods,namely,milk,eggs and wheat,fish and nuts.it is unfortunate that this is the case because these also essential foods,and this avoidance becomes a serious problem in undernourished people and in children or infants.When a patient is difinitely sensitve to one or two foods only,it is not difficult for him to realilze it himself.The difficulty arises,however,when is allergy to many foods.Under these circumtanses he is likely to be come confused and than he needs a physician's hel.allergy to a fodds may be of various degrees of severity.Shymptoms of asthma or hives may not arise if only one food is eaten if the sensitivity is mild.However ,if a number of such foods are ingested at one time the symptoms may be pronounced another factor which is important in connection with the production symptoms is the readiness with which a food is absorbed from the gastro intestinal tract.The quicker the absorption,the more rapid will the symptoms devlopather eating.
In the case of sencitivity to eggs, the allgery , as a rule , is to the egg white and not to the egg yolk. Heating destroys, in many instances, the active part of the egg white by coa gulating it. For this reason some people who are allergic to egg may find it pssible to eat ard boiled eggs without developing symptoms. The same is true in the case of milk because heat destroys certain active print ciples in the milk and under given circumtances , some allergic people may find it possible to drink boiled milk. Patinses who are sensitive to egg ar milk or wheat find it impossible to take any foods which contains these various in grediens. The name of a pro prietary foods does not always indicate the prescream meringue icing covering for bonbons, and bread. Certain vaccines like the influenza vaccines are prepared an egg media and should be avoided by such patients.
Similarly milk sensitive patients should avoid milk containing foods cus tard,candy,cake,chese and bread nor can such people drink powdered or evaporated milk. Cereals include many subtances to which |
|
Author Resource:-
CAUSES OF ALLERGY
|
By :
Dayvis Ocampo
Submitted
2011-10-05 19:55:53 |
Article From Article Mayhem
 Ezine ready view |
|
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlemayhem.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlemayhem.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")