- Allergies can be caused by just about anything.
- The concept of "allergy" was originally introduced in 1906 by the Viennese pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet, after he noted that some of his patients were hypersensitive to normally innocuous entities such as dust, pollen, or certain foods.
- Pirquet called this phenomenon "allergy" from the Ancient Greek words ἄλλος allos meaning "other" and ἔργον ergon meaning "work".
- The severe or life threatening kind of allergies are known as anaphylaxis and they give multiple symptoms such as breathing difficulty, difficulty in swallowing, dizziness or sometimes even loss of consciousness, the lips swell along with the tongue and throat.
- Common allergic reactions include eczema, hives, hay fever, asthma attacks, food allergies, and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees.
- An allergist is a physician specially trained to manage and treat allergies, asthma and the other allergic diseases.
- The substances that cause allergies are known as allergens.
- A variety of tests now exist to diagnose allergic conditions; these include testing the skin for responses to known allergens or analyzing the blood for the presence and levels of allergen-specific IgE.
- Some of the most common foods that cause allergies are peanuts, seafood, shellfish, milk, eggs, nuts etc.
- Symptoms of food allergy include abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, itchy skin, and swelling of the skin during hives.
- Substances that come into contact with the skin, such as latex, are also common causes of allergic reactions, known as contact dermatitis or eczema.
- The substances found in air are pollen, dust mites, mold spores and animal dander. These are some of the most common allergens and the hardest to avoid.
- A few examples of plants that cause allergic reactions are poison ivy and oak.
- The various chemicals in cosmetics and detergents sometimes cause people to break out into a rash, which is usually itchy.
Fast facts about allergies
