What are Environmental Allergies?
Allergies come in all shapes and sizes. They can manifest as slight nasal congestion to not being able to breathe at all with anaphylaxis. Allergies are caused by the body's immune system being hypersensitive to what is normally an innocuous substance such as pet dander, tree pollen or a type of food like seafood. Food and insect bite allergies often cause a different response in the body than allergies such as hay fever. All of the responses are caused by white blood cells reacting to an allergen. Most allergies appear to have a genetic component. Allergies commonly run in families and relatives are likely to share the same allergies. Exposure to common antigens when young seem to also play a role in the development of allergies. Another pattern that has recently emerged regarding allergies is that they are more prevalent in industrialized parts of the world. Different Types of Allergies Many different foods can cause allergic reactions in people. Most all food allergies ...