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Allergies are very common. Usually the symptoms are mild and annoying but for some people, allergies can be life threatening. Most are familiar with common allergy symptoms like itchy and watery eyes, stuffy nose, rashes, and runny nose but not everyone understands what an allergy is or what causes it.

If you were to ask the question, “What is an allergy?” you would probably get a lot of responses. The basic answer is that an allergy is sensitivity to a specific allergen that causes an allergic reaction. To understand that explanation you must know what allergens are and what an allergic reaction is.

An allergen is a substance or particle in the environment that causes a reaction in an allergy sufferer but does not affect other people. Allergens cause your while blood cells to produce a substance known as Immunoglobulin E or IgE. When IgE attaches to your mast cells this triggers the production of body chemicals like histamines. Histamines are what cause allergy symptoms.

Not everyone with allergies reacts in the same way to allergens. Everyone has a unique body response and different symptoms as a result. Some may have a mild reaction while others can be quite severe. One person may break out in hives while another starts to wheeze. The most common allergy symptoms are sneezing and itchy, watery eyes but more serious symptoms can occur like trouble breathing and circulatory collapse that could lead to death.

Allergens are the things that cause your allergy symptoms to flare up. There are all kinds of allergens and you could have more than one. You could be allergic to dust mites, cigarette smoke, or suffer from a pet dander allergy. More serious allergic reactions are commonly associated with insect stings and food allergens to peanuts.

It is possible you can be more likely to develop allergies because of a genetic condition called atopy, but allergies can also come on suddenly or after being exposed to allergens for long periods of time. Dust in small amounts may not bother someone but if they are repeatedly exposed to dust mites they can develop allergies. This is from the cumulative exposure to the allergens and the build up cases the allergies to start producing symptoms over time.

Common allergic reactions are hives and conjunctivitis. These are aggravating symptoms but not usually serious or fatal. Hives are red welts that appear on the skin. Conjunctivitis is swelling of the eyelids and eye membranes that is common with hay fever and other various allergies.

Some allergic reactions can be fatal. Severe reactions are known as anaphylactic shock. This might happen after a bee sting or after eating peanuts if the allergy is severe. Anaphylactic shock causes problems with blood pressure, circulation, and breathing. If proper treatment is not received quickly, it can be fatal. Treatment involves taking cortisone or epinephrine so the reaction can be revered.

To find out if you have allergies and what your triggers are, your doctor may advise that you have an allergy test. Allergy testing has come a long way in recent years and so has treatment. While there is no single cure for allergies, there are many allergy treatments that work well at keeping symptoms in check and reversing an attack once it is underway.