A sniffle at the office invokes the question: “Catching a cold?” Often, the answer is: “No, it’s just my allergies.”
The allergic attribution that is habitually made is almost as common as the “cold” misnomer. Rhinitis can be either allergic or non-allergic and although it is “common”, it should not be coldly discredited or underestimated.
Asthma is another dominant respiratory condition in modern society. The MEPS from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Qualities provides a statistical insight to the growing manifestation of asthma. The data shows that asthma remains the leading condition of expenditure from 1996 to 2006(1).
The top expenditures include heart conditions, cancer, mental disorders, trauma-related disorders and, of course, asthma. The amount of people with asthma-related expenditures during the years discussed, climbed by a substantial 8.3 million. The only other group of infirmities showing such a notable increase was mental disorders; which soared up by an almost incomparable unprecedented 16.9 million people(2).
For more statistical information, visit: http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/allergy-statistics.aspx or http://www.healthfinder.gov/scripts/SearchContext.asp?topic=32
The Triggers
Allergic reactions may be the attributed reason for the onset of asthmatic and rhinitis conditions; but what is attributed with the onset of the allergic reactions? Exploring the precursors to allergic reactions can greatly improve the possibility for treating the subsequent disorders.
Medication and Food
Some medications, such as penicillin,can incite an allergic reaction. Other allergic precursors include various food types. Milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish are only some of the foods that correlate to allergic reactions and immunodeficiencies(3).
Symptom-treating medications for the common cold are a leading profiteer for the pharmaceutical industry. The diversity of rhinitis and the underlying reasons for its development are seldom a topic discussed for sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching over-the-counter medications.
Systemic immune disorders are at the core of asthmatic and rhinitis allergies. The immune system’s inability to properly cope with unavoidable air-borne irritants is not circumstantial relative to predisposition. Toxic foods disrupt the natural balance of a person’s immune system making it difficult for the body to attack the inhaled or contacted allergens.
Although it has been accepted that internal chemical reactions are unique and can be vastly dissimilar from patient to patient; it has not always been convenient for physicians to detect particular IgE.
Research further on allergies and health problems at: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/default.htm
Allergen Antibody IgE
Recently, more convenient blood tests have been developed to detect IgE specific for many allergens. Diagnosing specific allergies is the first step in a program of patient health recovery, which can include immunotherapy, lifestyle management and permanent elimination of reactive foods.
Immuno Lab’s Airborne & Food Allergy IgE detects serum IgE specific for airborne allergens and foods. The procedure involves incubation of serum with airborne and food allergenic extracts covalently bonded to a solid surface. Specific IgE (if present in serum) binds to fixed allergen.
Enzyme-labeled antiserum to human IgE is added and incubated. A photo-reagent substrate is added and an enzymatic reaction produces luminescence corresponding to the reactive antigen. The luminescence of each band is measured using an illuminometer. The degree of transmittance is directly proportional to the allergic specific IgE. Antibody level is computer calculated and expressed in classification units, which correlate with RAST classes.
