Allergic Reaction: There is One Permanent Solution for Allergy

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An allergic reaction is a reaction where the immune system unnecessarily mounts an exaggerated immune response to relatively harmless antigens (Proteins, pollen, foods, chemicals, etc.).

The allergic reaction comes with lots of discomforts because it is mostly accompanied by inflammation and so there can be cell damage.

Alternative Names for Allergic Reaction

An allergic reaction is sometimes called allergy, anaphylaxis, immediate type of hypersensitivity, or type 1 hypersensitivity. This reaction occurs as soon as you are exposed to an allergen (Antigen that triggers allergy).

Mechanism of Allergic Reaction

Firstly, if you have an allergic reaction today, it means this is not the first time that you are being exposed to the allergen that causes it. Allergic reactions have two phases.

The sensitization phase and the effector phase. The reaction that gives you discomfort happens in phase two i.e the effector phase. Let’s briefly discuss the two phases here:

Sensitization Phase

During this phase of an allergic reaction, the allergen interacts with the cells of the immune system ultimately leading to the production of IgE antibodies. The IgE is then attached to the mast and basophils (Cells of innate immunity).

The attachment is through the crystallizable fragment (Fc region) and remains as such in the blood circulation. At this point, we say that your immune system has been sensitized to the allergen.

In a different way, this process is also referred to as priming of the immune system. During this phase, you will not have any signs and symptoms nor will you even notice that this process is happening in your body.

Effector Phase

This phase happens during subsequent exposure to the same allergen. Do you remember that we said that IgE antibodies are attached to the mast cells and basophils?

The allergen will this time around attach to the antigen binding site of IgE and cause cross-linkage between different attached IgE antibodies.

The cross-linking will cause degranulation of the mast cells and/or basophils where many pharmacologically active molecules are part of the granules. These molecules include histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and many others.

They are all inflammatory mediators and can trigger inflammation. It is this release of the molecules that causes allergic reaction’s clinical manifestation where you have the signs and symptoms.  

These signs and symptoms may include irritation, sneezing, coughing, high temperature, and swelling depending on the route of exposure to the allergen in question.

Treatment of Allergic Reactions

Your doctor (Allergist) will not be able to tell what triggered your allergic reaction. The doctor will mostly rely on your narration of how it happened. The more accurate your account is, the better the clinical actions the doctor will take.

They will then give you antihistamine drugs like Cetirizine (Zyrtec®), Desloratadine (Clarinex®), Azelastine (Astelin®), Loratadine (Claritin®), and Fexofenadine (Allegra®) among others. This is to bring down the signs and symptoms as the allergen dose goes down to make you fully recover.

The next time you are exposed to the allergen the process will repeat itself and the suffering will also repeat itself. The question of whether there is a permanent solution to such a problem then rages.

Let us now answer it in the next section.

Permanent Solution for Allergic Reaction

Yes, there is a permanent solution to allergy. However, the solution will surprise you. It will emanate from you, not your doctor. The way to deal with allergic reactions once and for all is to identify the allergen and avoid it altogether.

This is a process that requires you to monitor the situation very closely. Every time you or your child has an allergic reaction, you’ll have to sit down and evaluate your lifestyle’s activities for the past one to two days.

Identify the Allergen

You may need to recall what you’ve eaten differently from the routine food. You may have to recall the chemicals, you have used on your body, hair, or just exposed yourself to during your routine work.

Sometimes it is about what you’ve inhaled, maybe in a new environment or at your home. If you suspect that your allergy is because of a certain allergen, it may be helpful to flush back to see whether there is consistency that every time you have had the symptoms you had been exposed to the suspect allergens.

Avoid the Allergen Completely

If you arrive at such a conclusion, you may want to go and discuss your findings with your doctor or allergist. To be sure, the allergist may now deliberately expose you to the suspected allergen in a controlled dose while monitoring your response.

The confirmation that the suspect allergen is responsible for your signs and symptoms will mark the end of your suffering. You will need to avoid the allergen completely. This is what I am calling a permanent solution, isn’t it?

Well, you may still react to other antigens in the future but at least for that allergen, the problem is solved. You’ll use the same approach to identify and avoid other allergens in the future.

Induction of Tolerance

After identification of the allergen and avoidance of the same, your doctor may suggest that they want to induce tolerance to your immune system. Let’s say the allergen is a type of food.

You may be given this allergen in very small doses over a long period of time until you develop tolerance and can no longer react to the same. During that time, you’ll be given antihistamines to ensure you have only minimal clinical manifestation.  

Conclusion    

If you have an allergic reaction, it means that it is not the first time that you are interacting with the allergen. The permanent solution for allergy is avoidance of the allergen.

The process of accurate identification of the allergen is more about you than your doctor. Your immune system can be trained to tolerate the allergen until you become tolerant so that exposure will not cause an allergic reaction.

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