Carlos Bastarache: allergies-uproxx.jpg

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

allergies-uproxx.jpg

Uproxx

Allergies are becoming more and more common, and dealing with them is becoming more and more confusing. Should we stuff ourselves with allergens at an early age? And do they last forever? The answer to the latter, increasingly, is “no,” as a new test seems to prove. But if many allergies are temporary, what’s happening?

First, we should know what an allergy is. Essentially, an allergy is your immune system going after certain chemicals in your environment. That chemical could be anything, introduced to your body anywhere. Pollen you inhale, metal you wear against your skin, food you eat — it could be anything. And while the more dramatic reactions, like going to shock or having your airway swell shut, are rare, the truth is, most of us have some form of allergy.

What’s not clear is why, exactly, we get them. It’s widely believed that allergies are a bit like the appendix or our fight-or-flight response. Just because we no longer live in caves doesn’t mean our bodies have gotten that particular memo. Or perhaps it’s the body fighting off a food that’s dangerous to those suffering allergies for other reasons.

The good news is that figuring out whether you’ve shed a food allergy is easy. NPR has reported on a study that’s being called the new gold standard, and it’s fairly simple. You eat a crumb of what you’re allergic to, in a doctor’s presence. That last part is important, since you’ll need benadryl, or epinephrine in extreme cases, so don’t try this at home. If you’re fine, you eat a bigger portion, and work your way up to a whole part of the food in question. If you can eat a whole egg or a slice of peanut butter toast without trouble, you pass. It was successful, to boot; 86% of those taking the test passed it with flying colors, which also means our methods of testing for food allergies without needing a shot of epinephrine handy are useful.

This is great news for families dealing with such allergies, and a useful, simple test is exactly what’s needed, medically. But it still leaves open how we form allergies, not to mention why our allergies shift. Just like kids can grow out of allergies, adults can find themselves allergic where they were fine before. Part of the problem is that allergies are similar to other food-related problems. For example, if you drink milk and are suddenly cramping, farting, and sprinting to the toilet, you could have a milk allergy. Or you could have aged into lactose intolerance. You won’t know unless a doctor checks you out.

In short, if you have an allergy, and you can test yourself for it, make a habit of doing so. Tracking your allergies regularly will mean that you can figure out just when, or if, you’re outgrowing them. Or, in some cases, track them before they get bad enough to learn about them the hard way.

(via NPR)