What Causes Allergies?
The immune system of a person with an allergy tries to combat allergens. It looks upon the small driftwood of everyday life – house dust, pollen, animal dander, and mold – as outsiders that are sure to do some dreadful damage.

In order to recognize and capture these strangers, it is important that people know who the culprits are. They should try to educate themselves on how allergies work and what causes them because these are the only means to find the solution to the problem.

Basically, allergies are agitated reactions of the immune system to certain foreign substances to the human body. These stuffs are known as “allergens.”

Allergens are then classified into four categories based on where they have come from. By knowing these four classifications of allergens, an individual could identify where he is allergic.

The four classifications of allergens are physical, biological, mental, and chemical. All of these four resources of allergens trigger even the slightest allergy in the human body. There are some people that heavily react to these allergens while others do not even realize they are having an allergic attack.

The first classification of allergens is physical. Here, allergens can come from technological devices such as infrared, microwaves and radio, atomic radiation, visible light, X-rays, ultraviolet light, etc.

The allergens that can be derived from these sources would bring on an allergic reaction to an individual who responds whenever they get in contact with any of these devices.

The second classification is the biological sources. Allergens can be derived from infections, food and beverages, plant and animal proteins, etc.

In this classification, biological sources are the main resource of allergens. Usually, the known culprits are the animal proteins in the animal dander or flakes of dead skin, urine, or saliva of the animal. These proteins are usually spread throughout the house wherever a pet roams.

Hence, even if there is no cat present in the room, a person who is allergic to these kinds of allergens will have an allergy attack because of the remains of the animal’s proteins.

The next classification is the allergens that come from mental sources. The allergy attack usually happens when the allergens are too excessive that it devastates the immune system. Hence, it is having difficulty to cope with its normal function.

No wonder why excessive emotions can also trigger an asthma attack, a known disease caused by allergies

The last classifications are those that come from chemical resources. There are people who are allergic to some types of medications. That is why it is extremely important to test the product first before administering it to the patient to avoid more serious problems that might even cause death.

Knowing all of these causes of allergies is definitely important in order to avoid further problems. The first step in preventing contact with the numerous allergens is to figure out what they are.

After figuring them out, the next step is to stay away from them as much as possible. Ignorance of allergies and allergens will definitely cause serious trouble, especially if the problem is really risky.

This should be resolved because there are people who are not yet aware what causes their allergies. There are also instances wherein they do not know that allergens are already present in their home, and they do not know how to combat them.

For this reason, it is also important to submit a person for allergy testing, especially those who are showing visible signs of allergic reaction. This is when an allergy test can yield much useful information.

Normally, if a person is having persistent allergic symptoms, but he cannot isolate the allergen, it is a good idea to see an allergist, get tested, and find out what the allergens are. In this way, people can easily find out what causes their allergy and resolve the problem.

Who is at risk for allergies?
Among all known diseases, allergies are placed among the most universally manifesting diseases among humans. It does not discriminate among the individuals to be infected. People of all ages, gender, culture, nationality and skin color have equal chances of developing them.

Perhaps, the determining factor in the emergence of the symptoms characteristic of a specific type of allergy is the level of exposure to certain allergen.

Allergic people develop characteristic symptoms which are not found in a normal individual should they be exposed to a certain allergens.

For example, an individual allergic to dust develops typical condition such as sneezing, shortness of breath, abnormal or increased production of nasal and bronchial mucus enough to suffocate an individual.

Allergen is a type of antigen. Antigen is a particle which the body recognizes as foreign and attacks it via its own biological machineries.