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If someone were to ask you to explain what an allergy is chances are you wouldn’t start rambling off medical terms and descriptions. No, when the term allergy comes to mind people typically think of sneezing, watery eyes and a scratchy throat. For most that is the only explanation of an allergy they know. However, to effectively eliminate allergies naturally it’s vital to accurately understand what an allergy is and how it works.
The symptoms commonly associated with allergies are merely an end result of a chain reaction that begins with an external stimulus known as an allergen. This allergen might be pollen, animal dander, dust, or any other trigger that enters the body either by being inhaled or eaten. Once the allergen enters the body it makes its way into the bloodstream where it triggers the immune system. It is here that the allergic reaction truly begins.
A Look Inside the Immune System
Our bodies are designed with the perfect defense against foreign substances. It is made up of multiple cellular components and antibodies, each with their own job in eradicating toxins. In an allergic response those cells include basophil and mast cells and the IgE antibody. They each play their own role when allergens enter the bloodstream and work together in a near poetic fashion.
Basophils are white blood cells that mediate inflammatory response. Mast cells contain histamine that is released when the cell is activated and IgE antibodies are produced when an allergen is detected and serve as an activator for the mast cell and basophils.
How it works is relatively simple to understand. The allergen is introduced into the bloodstream either by being inhaled or consumed. The immune system detects the allergen and produces antibodies, specifically the IgE antibody, which in turn attaches to the mast cells and basophils. This is where things start to short wire in the allergic person.
Instead of eradicating the allergen like a healthy immune system would it overreacts, producing an overabundance of these antibodies and flooding the surface of the mast cells. As the mast cells become overloaded with IgE antibodies they literally burst, releasing histamine into the bloodstream.
Once released the histamine travels throughout the body resulting in inflammation of various blood vessels. It is this response that leads to common allergy symptoms including:
- Sneezing
- Watery eyes
- Scratchy throat
- Wheezing
- Asthma attacks
What Does It mean for You?
But what does it all mean? It means a person with allergies is actually suffering from a hyperactive immune response. As a result effectively beating allergies naturally takes on a whole body perspective, focusing on both external triggers and internal responses of the immune system.
Finding relief can be challenging knowing your symptoms are a direct result from your own immune system. However clinicians agree that no matter how damaged the immune system is it can be repaired through nutritional support, stress reduction, improving your diet, environmental controls and immune therapy where appropriate.
Make no mistake that you can correct your body’s immune response naturally and eliminate your allergy symptoms by making a few changes in your lifestyle, your diet, and your maximum exposure.
About the Author:
Mikki Hogan lives in a quiet rural neighborhood in NC with her four children and granddaughter where they enjoy the softer side of life working in animal rescue. Having lived with allergies for more than 23 years she has come to appreciate the inner workings of the allergic response and in her studies has gained a vast knowledge on naturally reducing allergies, which is revealed in her own effective strategies of naturally reducing symptoms using allergy bedding, stress reduction, diet, and a high quality air purifier.
Mikki Hogan is a stay at home mom of 7. She currently lives in a quiet rural neighborhood of NC with her 4 youngest children and grand daughter. She works as a freelance writer and internet publisher of her own website on allergies.
