Human Allergies
Currently millions of Americans and billions worldwide need to buy Hypoallergenic mattress covers to sleep, pills and spray medicines to breathe, injections to survive beestings or other common injuries, and special foods in order to eat. There are medicines that cannot be given, tests which need to be run, transplants that simply can not take place, and whole months of the year given over to miserable weeping eyes, sluggish movement, and difficulty breathing all because of Allergies. What are allergies and where do they come from?
Allergies are an affliction of the immune system, an amazing network of cells and proteins generated by every human being. This system, with staggered levels of defense and offence, works to cleanse the body from harmful substances or dangerous foreign bacteria and viruses. Most allergies are relatively harmless. Hay fever, for instance, is an allergy to pollen released in the spring or fall, resulting in immune responses in the eyes, skin, and throat. Eyes water and redden, skin may show hives, and the throat can close making breathing difficult.
More dangerous are allergies to medicines or other harmful substances like bee venom. These chemicals, if they are applied in large doses suddenly (as in a beestings or misdiagnosis) the effect of the allergic response will be far more harmful than the effect of the venom or medicine could ever be. Heart, lung, or throats may shut down, causing death.
Fortunately many with dangerous allergies wear special bracelets with the details of their conditions inscribed. Others carry epi-pens to shut down strong immune reactions. For mild symptoms there are still other medications or, often, simply removing oneself from the allergen is enough to shut down this troubling condition.