Are Allergies Rare?

No. Approximately 20% of the U.S. population has one or more types of allergy. Allergy symptoms account for more visits to the doctor's office than any other single disease and are a leading cause of school absenteeism in this country.

What Are Allergies?

Allergies are abnormal physical reactions you experience when you are exposed to substances (allergens) to which you have developed an allergy. These substances are usually harmless and do not produce symptoms in normal, non-allergic people.

How You Become Allergic

Your body produces antibodies to ward of infection and other diseases. When your immune system misidentifies a normally harmless substance, it begins building antibodies toward that specific substance. These antibodies in your blood trigger allergic symptoms when you are re-exposed to that substance. Measurement of these antibodies is the key to effective allergy diagnosis and treatment.

How You Get Exposed to Allergy Producing Substances

The air you breathe contains minute particles. The type of particles in the air will vary according to your location, the time of year, and moisture in your environment. Common causes of inhalant allergies are:

• Plant Pollens-Trees, Weeds, and Grasses

• House Dust Particles

• Mold Spores

• Animal Hair and Danders

• Insect Particles

Foods you eat can also cause allergic reactions but usually produce different symptoms. Substances you touch can cause allergic reactions and are usually evident in the form of a rash on parts of your body.

Are Allergies Inherited?

No. But the tendency to become allergic can be inherited. Studies show if one of your parents had allergies, you have a 50% chance of becoming allergic. If both of your parents were allergic, your chances of developing allergies are as high as 80%.

Allergy Symptoms

Allergy symptoms can take many different forms. Sneezing or stuffiness of the nose accompanied by redness or itching of the eyes are classic allergic symptoms, but are not always due to allergies; they can be caused by other conditions such as a constant low-grade sinus infection, temperature changes, or reaction to smoke or fumes.

Listed below are common allergy symptoms and areas of your body affected:

• Nose/Sinus-sneezing, post-nasal drip, itching, congestion, and watery discharge

• Eyes-itching, redness, swelling, and dark circles

• Ears-recurrent infections, fluid in the middle ear, itching of the ear canal, and hearing impairment

• Lungs-shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and coughing

• Skin-itchy welts (hives), rash, and intense itching

• Digestive System-stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms associated with food allergy

Other symptoms sometimes caused by allergy are fatigue, headache, hyperactivity, and depression.

How to Find Out If You Have Allergies

Allergies can be complex and sometimes very difficult to diagnose since the same symptoms produced by allergies can also be caused by non-allergic conditions.

Your doctor will evaluate your history and physical examinations when he is considering allergy testing. If the cause of your symptoms can not be determined through information from your history and physical, more extensive investigation will be necessary. Allergy tests can be performed by skin testing or by a sophisticated blood test called RAST (Radio-allergosorbent Test). RAST testing offers many advantages:

Convenience

A single blood sample taken from your arm will be

sufficient for performing all the needed tests. Excess blood is stored for additional tests in the future (if needed). Medications you may be taking will not affect the RAST test thus need not be discontinued for allergy testing.

Comfort

RAST requires only one puncture to obtain a blood sample. Skin tests require a puncture for each test performed.

Accuracy

RAST testing provides specific information regarding the level of allergy antibodies in your blood. Skin conditions which might make skin testing difficult do not affect the outcome of the RAST test.

Safety 

Skin testing can sometimes provoke an allergic reaction, while RAST testing is performed in the laboratory and does not present this hazard.

Cost Effective

Because of the accuracy, safety, and convenience of RAST testing, it has become an economical way to diagnose allergies. RAST testing may even be performed to "rule out" allergies so your doctor knows to further investigate other causes of your symptoms.

How to Treat Your Allergies

The best treatment for allergies is to identify the offending substances then carefully avoid exposure to them. This can be very effective for allergies to things like pets and foods, but is not possible for some allergies such as pollens, mold spores, and house dust.

Medications such as antihistamines, oral decongestants, nasal sprays, and broncho- dilators may be effective in controlling your allergic symptoms. Medications may be used along with immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy, commonly referred to as "allergy shots" is a program designed to desensitize you to those substances to which you are allergic. Repeated injections of a mixture (of those substances identified as causes of your allergies allows your immune system to build up protection against them.

After several months of weekly injections of increasingly stronger doses you will reach a maintenance dose and continue to receive that dose at regular intervals. The size of doses and length of intervals between doses depends greatly on your response to the injections. Some people will receive complete symptom relief by taking allergy shots but a true "cure" is rare.

An ongoing program of avoidance, medication, immunotherapy, or a combination of these methods, under the direct supervision of your doctor, is the best approach to controlling your allergies and allowing you to live more comfortably in your existing surroundings.