Learning About Allergies

Chain Reaction

An allergy (say: ah -lur-jee) is your body's immune reaction to certain plants, animals, foods, insect bites , or other things. These are called allergens (say: ah -lur-jenz). When your immune system reacts to one of these allergens, to the point that you get symptoms, you are allergic to it.

Allergies are caused by your body's immune (say: ih- myoon ) system. Your immune system protects you from diseases by fighting germs like bacteria and viruses, but when you have allergies, it overreacts and tries to "fight" ordinary things like grass pollen or certain foods when you come into contact with them. This causes the sneezing, itching, and other reactions that you get with allergies.

What Causes the Sneezing and Wheezing?

You can be allergic to many things. Some of the common allergens include:

• dust mites (tiny insects that live in dust)
• a protein found in the dander (dry skin), saliva (spit), urine (pee), or other things from some animals
• grass, flower, and tree pollen (the fine dust from plants)
• mold and mildew (small living things that grow in damp places)
• foods, such as milk, wheat, soy, eggs, nuts, seafood, and legumes (say: leh- gooms ), which include peas, beans, and peanuts
• latex (stretchy stuff that some of the gloves doctors and dentists use are made of)

Allergies to most of these allergens can cause sneezing, a runny nose , itchy eyes and ears , and a sore throat. Food allergies may cause hives (a red, bumpy, itchy skin rash), a stuffy nose, stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea . Less often, they can cause breathing problems like wheezing and shortness of breath. Hay fever is an allergy that people get during specific seasons, when certain plants and grasses bloom in summer or fall.

Why Do Some Kids Get Allergies?

People may be born with a genetic (say: juh- neh -tik) tendency to have allergies, which means they are more likely to get them than other people are. Many allergies are hereditary (say: huh- red -ih-tare-ee) - passed to kids in the genes they get from their parents - so you have a better chance of having allergies if your mom or dad or other people in your family have them. People can develop allergies when they are babies, children, teens, or adults, although allergies often decrease in older people.

Many people outgrow food allergies. Other allergies can last your whole life, although they may not be as severe throughout your life.

Colds vs. Allergies

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a cold and an allergy because the symptoms can be similar. If your cold symptoms last more than 2 weeks, you might have an allergy instead of a cold.

There are differences between colds and allergies you can look for. "With allergies, your nose and eyes itch. Colds don't itch," explains Kathy Trzcinski, a nurse practitioner who works with kids who have allergies in Delaware. The mucus, the stuff that comes from your nose or that you cough up, is different, too. "With allergies, it's clear like water; with colds, it's usually yellowish and thick," she says.

How Do I Find Out if I Have Allergies?

If you sneeze and itch a lot, wheeze, or often get sick after eating a certain food, your doctor may want to check you for allergies. He or she will ask you a lot of questions about your health, about the animals and plants in your home, and about the foods you eat. Your answers will give the doctor ideas about what you might be allergic to, and he or she may ask you to stay away from a pet or stop eating a certain food to see if your symptoms go away.

Your doctor may send you to an allergist (say: ah -lur-jist), a special doctor who helps people who have allergies. An allergist may give you a skin test by inserting a tiny bit of an allergen into your skin; this test only hurts a little bit. If you are allergic to that allergen, the spot becomes bumpy, itchy, and red.

Some doctors may also test your blood to look for IgE, a substance called an antibody (say: an -tie-bah-dee) that signals an allergic reaction. If you have large amounts of this antibody in your blood, you are probably allergic to the allergen.

Taking Control

Your doctor will probably suggest ways to stay away from the allergen or prescribe a medicine for you to try. Allergy medicine can be pills, liquids, or even sprays for your nose. If your allergies aren't too bad or if you can avoid the allergen completely, you might not need to take medicine - staying away from the allergen might be enough to control your allergy.

If your symptoms don't get better by staying away from allergens and taking medicines, an allergist might recommend allergy shots. These shots make your immune system less sensitive to the allergens and can make your symptoms better.

Unfortunately, shots and medicine don't help with food allergies. People with food allergies have to learn to avoid any foods that have the ingredients they're allergic to. Your parents and your doctor can help you read the ingredients on food labels . Luckily, many kids outgrow allergies to milk and eggs. But allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood often last.

Fighting on the Allergy Front

You may not be able to control your allergies completely, but there are some things you can try to help you live with them. Avoid anything that causes your allergy symptoms. For example, if you are allergic to animal dander, keep pets out of your bedroom and have someone bathe them once a week. Having a pet live outside is another way you might be able to deal with an animal allergy. In some cases, finding a new home for the pet might be the best answer to the allergy problem.

Also, your mom or dad can use special covers for your bed and wash your sheets and blankets in hot water to get rid of dust mites. They may be able to get a special kind of air cleaner for your room, too. Keeping your room neat (with toys and stuffed animals in boxes) and cleaning it often will also help.

If you have food allergies, always read food labels to check the ingredients and learn the different names for the food allergen. If you're not sure if a food has something in it that you're allergic to, don't eat it. Ask your mom or dad to give you special safe treats for parties or other activities, like cookies without nuts for a sleep-over birthday party. And if you're allergic to peanuts, you might ask your parents to talk to your school about setting aside a special peanut-free table in the lunchroom.

You don't have to be miserable with allergy symptoms. Your doctor and parent can help you learn to deal with and prevent your allergies. So soon you'll stop all that sneezing and wheezing!