Thread: Allegeries

Ok this may sound stupid but i was wondering if your are allergic to something and exposed to enough of it would you no longer by allergic. I mean to my understanding if you have enough of something (ie herbs) you are grown a allergy to them. If i am wrong correct me. But is it possible vica versa? Thanks for your help

No I dont think so, there may be a maximum response whereby it would not get worse but that would have nothing to do with curing you.

Well it's called hyposensitization and is a form of immunotherapy that works for some allergens, there has been success in its use for bee venom allergies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy_immunotherapy

None, that I know of.

Aren't there theories that suggest that exposure to dust mites, pollen, venom and such like at a young age can prevent allergies fro developing in later life?

Yes it's to do with the developing immune system.

I have a minor allergy to dust...
If I'll sniff so and so dust will I eventually be immune to it??

No, and just to point out, many people who develop rhinorrhoea as a response to dust are not actually immune, its a reflex to the drying effect of the dust, its actually protective

Originally Posted by Demons are real, ask God

Aren't there theories that suggest that exposure to dust mites, pollen, venom and such like at a young age can prevent allergies fro developing in later life?

This is the hygiene hypothesis, which is supported by epidemiological studies but lacks a proper immunological explination. Dust mite allergens and cockroach feces have been found to increase rates of allergy development later in life, cat dander and the presense of dogs has correlated with decreased allergies. Moreover, living in a rural environment and having older siblings also correlates with lower incidence of allergies. Some have argued though that it is actually the higher rates of obesity and pollution in urban areas that causes more allergies rather than a high allergen area like a farm being protective against allergies.

Likewise, a couple years ago in Guinea they vaccinated children with mycobacterium and saw a decrease in allergies, which has lead to a lot of study into the effect of our bacterial flora on the development of our immune system since they play a large part in producing tolerance in the mucosal areas.

Originally Posted by Hanuka

I have a minor allergy to dust...
If I'll sniff so and so dust will I eventually be immune to it??

No, studies have shown that dust mites proteins are one of the most allergenic compounds we have identified, they seem to elicit a very high IgE response.

The theory behind the use of an allergen to treat an allergy is based on the concept that maybe exposure in small amounts is not sufficient to produce IgG memory cells, but triggers proliferation of IgE B cells in specific mucousal tissues. If you could induce formation of enough IgG and IgA B cells then they could neutralize the allergen before it encountered the allergic response effectors that are the IgE bound eosinophils.

You lost me at the first IgE... :?
I dunno such terms man... plz use complete words so I can at least guess what it means :P

But from what I've got from ya u say that with proper doses of dust I can become immune to it? or no?...

OK I'll start with some basic immunology, there are two types of immune responses, humoural and cellular, cellular is the type of response where a white blood cell actively kills an intruding pathogen, the humoural response is composed of substances released by white blood cells that float around your body and combat the invasion.

The humoural aspect is what is responsible for the allergic response, the mediators of the allergic response are the IgE antibodies (IgE means immunoglobulin E). There are white blood cells in your mucousal layers like the sinus called eosinophils, they have IgE bound to them and when that IgE recognizes something the eosinophils trigger the allergic response. So you have to have specific IgE against the allergen to be allergic to it.

Now the antibodies are made by a white blood cell called a B cell, when a B cell recognizes an allergen it starts to multiply and then it has to decide what kind of antibody producing cell it is going to be. The most abundant type of antibody is IgG that is found ubiquitous in the body, and it mediates the destruction of pathogens by other white blood cells among other more complicated things. IgE is meant to mediate against parasites, and to mediate the mechanical expulsion of pathogens and is usually found in much lower levels than IgG.

For some poorly understood reason highly allergenic substances like dust mites produce a more powerful IgE response (It seems to have to do with Toll like receptors and the cytokine milieu but I would have to get into complicated biochemisty and biology to start explaining this), so exposing yourself to more dust mites would just increase the amount of IgE you produce, thus making you more likely to have an allergic response.

Now there are other theories like the case with bee venom, where the theory runs that the dosage is too small to induce the formation of IgG memory cells, so if you increased the dosage you could cause a heavier IgG response. The IgG could then just prevent the allergen from comming into contact with the IgE and prevent the allergic response. This seems to work somewhat.

Now I hope this made sense >.>

I seem to have an allergy to alcohol

Whenever I drink it i always seem to find myself on some kind of ship in very stormy weather and with very bad sea legs and a terrible churning in my stomach.

Originally Posted by i_feel_tiredsleepy

OK I'll start with some basic immunology, there are two types of immune responses, humoural and cellular, cellular is the type of response where a white blood cell actively kills an intruding pathogen, the humoural response is composed of substances released by white blood cells that float around your body and combat the invasion.

The humoural aspect is what is responsible for the allergic response, the mediators of the allergic response are the IgE antibodies (IgE means immunoglobulin E). There are white blood cells in your mucousal layers like the sinus called eosinophils, they have IgE bound to them and when that IgE recognizes something the eosinophils trigger the allergic response. So you have to have specific IgE against the allergen to be allergic to it.

Now the antibodies are made by a white blood cell called a B cell, when a B cell recognizes an allergen it starts to multiply and then it has to decide what kind of antibody producing cell it is going to be. The most abundant type of antibody is IgG that is found ubiquitous in the body, and it mediates the destruction of pathogens by other white blood cells among other more complicated things. IgE is meant to mediate against parasites, and to mediate the mechanical expulsion of pathogens and is usually found in much lower levels than IgG.

For some poorly understood reason highly allergenic substances like dust mites produce a more powerful IgE response (It seems to have to do with Toll like receptors and the cytokine milieu but I would have to get into complicated biochemisty and biology to start explaining this), so exposing yourself to more dust mites would just increase the amount of IgE you produce, thus making you more likely to have an allergic response.

Now there are other theories like the case with bee venom, where the theory runs that the dosage is too small to induce the formation of IgG memory cells, so if you increased the dosage you could cause a heavier IgG response. The IgG could then just prevent the allergen from comming into contact with the IgE and prevent the allergic response. This seems to work somewhat.

Now I hope this made sense >.>

hello everyone,
Thank you so much for this information, it helps me understand allergies much better. As for the bee venom, I have heard that if you take bee pollen as a supplement you can help build a natural allergy resistance. I think it works for many outdoor allergens, and bee pollen contains many beneficial nutrients as well.
http://www.womens-health-fitness.com...-benefits.html
and...
http://www.alternativescentral.com/beepollen.htm

blue cross blue shield of north carolina

Originally Posted by Demons are real, ask God

Aren't there theories that suggest that exposure to dust mites, pollen, venom and such like at a young age can prevent allergies fro developing in later life?

It's called the hygiene hypothesis. At this time it wouldn't be considered solid enough to be called "theory", though it is likely that it has at least some merit. There's also some hypotheses regarding the co-evolution of our immune systems in the context of chronic diseases. It is only recently that we have purged chronic parasitic infection from the western world and evolution works much more slowly. In essence the idea goes that we are still adjusting to life free from constant attack.

I blogged a bit on the idea it after I heard a talk on the topic at an immunology conference last year:

http://thebiologista.blogspot.com/20...horsey_28.html

It's not very in-depth, but you get the idea.

Originally Posted by Selene

I seem to have an allergy to alcohol

Whenever I drink it i always seem to find myself on some kind of ship in very stormy weather and with very bad sea legs and a terrible churning in my stomach.

Much more likely to be an intolerance than an allergy.

Originally Posted by TheBiologista

Originally Posted by Demons are real, ask God

Aren't there theories that suggest that exposure to dust mites, pollen, venom and such like at a young age can prevent allergies fro developing in later life?

It's called the hygiene hypothesis. At this time it wouldn't be considered solid enough to be called "theory", though it is likely that it has at least some merit. There's also some hypotheses regarding the co-evolution of our immune systems in the context of chronic diseases. It is only recently that we have purged chronic parasitic infection from the western world and evolution works much more slowly. In essence the idea goes that we are still adjusting to life free from constant attack.

I blogged a bit on the idea it after I heard a talk on the topic at an immunology conference last year:

http://thebiologista.blogspot.com/20...horsey_28.html

It's not very in-depth, but you get the idea.

Ya definitely still very much hypothesis, I don't have all the references with me since I have them saved on the university computers, but there are some great articles on the subject out there

History of Hygiene Hypothesis. Garn-2007

Genetic factors of asthma and atopy. Ober-2006

"The potential of Mycobacterium to protect against allergy and asthma." Obihara-2007 (Interesting possibilities for treatments)

"Prevalence of hay fever and allergic sensitization in farmer's children and their peers living in the same rural community. SCARPOL team. Swiss Study on Childhood Allergy and Respiratory Symptoms with Respect to Air Pollution." Brauhn-Fahrla-1999

"Asthma prevalence, family size, and birth order." Goldberg-2007(Birth order seemingly does not affect rate of asthma, conflicts with hygiene hypothesis, conflicting studies, some found birth order does affect prevalence of asthma. Larger families with more than three children seem to have lower asthma rates.)

"Role of interleukin-18 in allergy and autoimmunity: an explanation for the hygiene hypothesis." Mojtahedi-2005

"Environmental factors and gene-environment interactions in the aetiology of asthma." Marks-2006 (Genetic explanations of asthma, and relation to hygiene hypothesis.)

“Is the hygiene hypothesis still a viable explanation for the increased prevalence of asthma?” Platts-Mills-2005

Ignore the personal notes next to the references.

Originally Posted by TheBiologista

Originally Posted by Selene

I seem to have an allergy to alcohol

Whenever I drink it i always seem to find myself on some kind of ship in very stormy weather and with very bad sea legs and a terrible churning in my stomach.

Much more likely to be an intolerance than an allergy.

Selene is just making a joke.

Originally Posted by i_feel_tiredsleepy

Originally Posted by TheBiologista

Originally Posted by Selene

I seem to have an allergy to alcohol

Whenever I drink it i always seem to find myself on some kind of ship in very stormy weather and with very bad sea legs and a terrible churning in my stomach.

Much more likely to be an intolerance than an allergy.

Selene is just making a joke.

Ah maybe. I have a friend who made a similar claim not as a joke which is probably why I picked it up that way. She would take a single drink and frequently become very unwell just from that. Mind you, this same person has made an astounding number of ill-health claims in her time.