Tuesday, January 29, 2008

What Happens When You Are Allergic To Something


When you are allergic to something you will get unpleasant hypersensitivities to things that other people wouldn't get  hypersensitivities to. If you get exposed to antigens in insect venom, pollen, animal dander, or food you will get these unpleasant hypersensentivities. for bee stings the hypersensitivity you may experience is a bee sting reaction. For other antigens you may experience hay fever or asthma. these responses happen because the antigens start the production of antibodies that kind of stick with blood and tissue cells. The blood and tissue cells have a lot of substances with chemicals like histamine. Histamine is a mediator which has effect on the tissue and organs in the body. Mediators also make more white blood cells active. When the antibodies tell the cells to release the histamines you could start to sneeze, become itchy, and get teary eyes. Histamine can also make some muscles contract and begin to make blood vessels swell which in turn causes the airways in the lungs to tighten making it hard for the person to breathe. For people with allergies, they have antihistamines to reduce these symptoms. If you are really allergic to something you could get anaphylaxis which is the combination of allergic symptoms that could be life-threatening. 

Symptoms of Some Allergic Reactions:
~For the skin, it could turn red and become pretty itchy. The skin might start to swell, start to blister, crust, a rash might also occur, and you might even get hives which are itchy bumps or welts. 
~For the lungs, you might experience wheezing, tightness, cough, or shortness of breath.
~For the head, you could get swelling on your face, eyelids, lips, tongue, or throat. You could also get a headache.
~For the nose, it may become stuffy or runny. You will probably sneeze quite a bit.
~For the stomach, you might experience pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.   

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