An allergic reaction begins after the allergen enters the body and is accompanied by the production of immunoglobulins E. This disease cannot be cured, you can only interrupt the course, interrupting the interaction with the allergen. The consequences of this disease can be both mild and fatal. An allergic reaction is quite difficult to diagnose, since it manifests itself in the form of many different symptoms.
Common Causes of Allergies
The incidence rate does not depend on gender and age, but is often determined by a genetic predisposition. To date, the increase in the number of patients with allergies has increased as a result of abuse of chemically created products, as well as hygiene procedures. The body relaxes, losing the necessary load, and acquires special sensitivity even to what it had not previously. Allergies can also contribute to factors such as lack of sleep, movement, poor nutrition, and excess stress. The sensitive immune system of an allergy sufferer is susceptible to many climatic conditions: excessive heat, cold, dry air.
Symptoms
Symptoms of allergies can occur both instantly and with the accumulation of a large concentration of allergen. The most common manifestations of allergies include:
- skin rash;
- sneezing
- tearing and pain in the eyes, inflammation that occurs seasonally;
- edema;
- runny nose.
The group of rare and most dangerous symptoms includes fainting, Quincke's edema (accompanied by suffocation and swelling of the face, requires urgent medical attention), loss of ability to navigate in space.
Classification of Allergic Reactions
The most popular theory is authored by Jale and Coombs and is based on differences in the mechanism of reactions. According to the flow rate, reactions of immediate and delayed type are distinguished. Slow Type Hypersensitivity (GST) includes 3 subtypes.
- Anaphylactic (atopic), these include diseases such as atopic dermatitis, allergic asthma and rhinitis, Quincke's edema. They appear in a few minutes. Substances such as immunoglobulins E and basophils are involved in the reaction, amines are released. The sensitivity of the immune system occurs as a result of the formation of immunoglobulins in large quantities and is most often manifested in the form of food allergies. Food allergies most often occur in young children, which may be due to a lack of mother's milk. A child who has not received enough mother’s milk is more likely than others to experience inflammatory reactions in later adulthood. This can be explained by the fact that milk contains bifidogenic factors and bifidobacteria necessary for suppressing allergies.
- Cytotoxic (example - thrombocytopenia - platelet reduction, slowing blood flow in the vessels). It develops during the interaction of immunoglobulins M and G with an antigen on the surface of cells and leads to the destruction of healthy cells. By this type, the most common allergy to drugs.
- Reactions of immunity complexes (for example, the Arthus phenomenon, the reaction to the repeated introduction of a substance into the blood). They proceed on the basis of the formation of an excessive amount of antibodies M and G.
Type 4 includes a delayed-type allergic reaction, which is associated with acute sensitivity of lymphocytes. It appears 1-2 days after contact with an allergen. An example of HRT is the formation of granulomas (inflammatory nodular formations) against the background of infection with tuberculosis or typhoid. The presence of T-lymphocytes and their separation contributes to this type of reaction. An allergic reaction occurs under the influence of lymphokines generated by lymphocytes.
Allergy Mechanisms
The mechanisms and stages of the development of allergic reactions are due to increased sensitization, that is, an increased susceptibility to substances of various origins. Sometimes, in a broader sense, this term is called the allergy itself, but most often by sensitization it is necessary to understand the initial stage of the disease. In other words, the hypersensitivity of the body is formed at the first stage, and only then, with the subsequent ingestion or accumulation of the allergenic component, an allergy begins to appear. A person with hypersensitivity to a certain substance can be absolutely healthy until the moment of repeated contact with the allergen.
With active sensitization, the allergen enters directly into the body, while with passive sensitization, experimentally transfused blood or lymph cells from the body with heightened sensitivity.
Stages of the development of allergic reactions
As a result of body contact with the allergen, several successive stages of allergy develop.
- Immunological stage of allergic reactions. During this stage, the formation of antibodies or lymphocytes. In addition, at the immune stage of an allergic reaction, the body contacts the allergen component. This stage continues until the sensitization of the body.
- The pathochemical stage of allergic reactions includes the production of histamine and other substances with high biochemical activity. As a result of this, tissue, internal and external organs are injured.
- The pathophysiological stage of allergic reactions is a further course of allergy and the appearance of symptoms. At this stage, there is a metabolic disturbance, as well as a malfunction in the digestive, respiratory, endocrine and other systems.
It should be clarified that the stages of an allergic reaction of a delayed type are identical to the stages of an immediate allergy.
Diagnosis: allergic skin tests
To date, science has not yet invented a cure for allergies. The only way to get rid of an allergic reaction is to interrupt any way the body interacts with the allergen. For the calculation of allergenic components, there are a variety of tests.
All types of analyzes are divided into 2 groups:
- those that involve contact of the body with an allergen under medical supervision;
- tests related to the study of the patient’s blood.
The first method is considered obsolete and can lead to disastrous consequences in the hands of a lay doctor or if the patient is not under constant supervision during the experiment. The process of conducting this type of allergy test is the application to the skin of synthetic substances identical to the alleged allergen, then a puncture is made. A substance is recognized as allergenic if an allergy occurs at the incision site. It is assumed that the reaction caused in this way should proceed in a weak form, however, the body can react and is absolutely opposite to what the dermatologists predicted. Skin tests for allergies are prohibited for people with a weak immune system, young children, pregnant women and the elderly. It is also not recommended to use this method during exacerbation of allergic and other diseases.
Diagnosis: laboratory tests
Studies conducted in a laboratory are based on measuring the amount of immunoglobulins E in the patient’s blood, which are formed during an allergic reaction. Immunoglobulin provokes the release of histamine, which destroys skin cells and organs. In people who are not prone to allergies, the blood immunoglobulin is contained in extremely small quantities, while in allergy sufferers, even in the absence of symptoms, the level of these antibodies is elevated.
After testing for total immunoglobulin, it is necessary to test blood serum for specific immunoglobulins. Medical centers offer to examine the patient’s blood for one allergen, as well as for several, united in groups called panels. There are children's, food, inhalation panels and others. To determine which panel to choose, it is necessary to conduct an examination with a dermatologist who will recommend a specific panel depending on the patient's symptoms.
Before donating blood, you must not take any antihistamines, and especially hormonal drugs, for two weeks.
Classic treatment regimen
The first step in preventing an allergic reaction is to interrupt the body’s contact with the allergen. It is necessary as soon as possible to stop using an allergenic product or rid the body of already eaten with sorbents. With contact allergies, you will have to part with allergy-causing accessories, with hay fever (pollen allergies), you should remove the allergen from the surface of the skin, clothes and hair as quickly as possible, that is, wash clothes and wash as often as possible.
For a more detailed study of the topic, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video, where the ways of determining the allergen are explained in detail and with humor.
The use of antihistamines is suitable to prevent symptoms. It must be borne in mind that many of them affect the nervous system and have a pronounced side effect: dullness of attention, distraction, drowsiness. To facilitate breathing and relieve swelling of the bronchi, drugs that block the production of leukotrienes are used. In extreme cases, you can turn to the use of hormonal drugs, but they must be used under the supervision of a doctor. Adrenal hormones are actively fighting the allergic reaction, and treatment with the drugs containing them is very effective. However, it should be remembered that glucocorticosteroids have side effects from all organs, so they must be used in the system and with extreme caution. The abuse of steroids is fraught with the body becoming addicted to the drug and the subsequent occurrence of withdrawal syndrome, in which the body ceases to produce its own hormones and the patient worsens.
Is it possible to completely get rid of allergies?
The most effective method of dealing with allergies is hyposensitization. Allergy treatment is carried out in two main steps.
- Initially, tests are performed to identify allergens.
- Further, in the period of improvement, a specific allergen is introduced into the blood, starting with the lowest concentration with its gradual increase.
Thus, the body gets used to the allergenic component, and sensitivity to it decreases. As a result, an allergic reaction does not occur even with repeated interaction with the allergen. This type of therapy is by far the only way to treat allergies, the rest can only relieve symptoms.