Category:Allergies and Immunization

This is the category for Allergies and Immunization. This includes allergies to food, pollens, perfumes, chemicals etc. Immunization includes vaccinations against diseases. Related articles can be found in Injections.

What You Should Know About Allergies.

The dictionary definition of an allergy is "a pathological condition peculiar to certain individuals of extreme sensitivity to particular substances."

Allergic reactions can be triggered by different reasons:

o breathing air containing allergens o eating food containing allergens o touching things containing allergens.

Air Allergens The most common complaint is by being exposed to allergens in the air. Here are some of the ways to minimise the risks:

1. Do not take part in any outdoor activity during the pollen season, especially on windy days. 2. House plants can trigger an allergic reaction when they are wet. Keep plants outdoors. 3. Dust and vacuum your bedroom frequently. Books, magazines, and ornaments gather dust. 4. Cut grass very short to reduce exposure to pollen spores. 5. Don`t allow cats in the living area for long periods, and never in the bedroom. 6. A cat`s litter box can be a prime source of allergens. 7. Vacuum rugs and carpets regularly, preferably every day. 8. Live Christmas trees can carry moulds which contain allergens. Use artificial trees. 9. Aerosol sprays can spread allergens. 10.If driving a vehicle during the day, keep the windows closed as much as possible.

Hay fever

Hay fever is a direct allergy to pollen, either from grass, flowers or trees. It is normally restricted to the spring, summer and autumn months when the grass is in seed and the flowers, trees and weeds are fully germinated.

What causes hay fever? Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen. Severity of symptoms depends on the amount of pollen in the air and the amount of pollen that the sufferer is exposed to. This varies depending on pollen count, heat, and time of day. One thing to bear in mind is the pollen shower, which explains why people usually find that their symptoms increase at night. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with an attack of hay fever or pollen asthma and wonder why this happens? The explanation is that warm air, rising up from ground level on a summer's day, takes pollen with it high into the Earth's atmosphere. When the air cools down after sunset, this pollen slowly descends again, creating an invisible pollen shower.

Symptoms Symptoms are similar to rhinitis, with sneezing and streaming, blocked , and itchy nose, throat and mouth, and often accompanied by red, itchy streaming eyes. Coughing or wheeze and shortness of breath can also be experienced and for many people the pollen can instigate asthma symptoms.

Allergens in food Another common type of allergy is a food allergy, which affects millions of people worldwide. Foods which can trigger allergies are: eggs, fish, milk, wheat, chocolate, coffee, potatoes, tomatoes, mustard, sugar, most berries, pork, peas, some types of alcohol, oranges and other citrus fruits, most types of grain, and nuts. Nuts especially can cause a severe reaction, proving fatal in some cases. Recently a Food Standards Agency random study found that hyperactivity in some children was attributable to allergens in additives in food and drink, particularly:

Allura red AC (E129) - Orange / red food dye Carmoisine (E122) - Red colouring in jellies Ponceau 4R (E124) - Red colouring Quinoline yellow (E104) - Food colouring Sodium benzoate (E211) - Preservative Sunset yellow (E110) - Colouring found in squashes Tartrazine (E102) - New colouring in lollies, fizzy drinks

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