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Allergy
Quiz Answers
1. NO!
While some people think their allergies represent a "weak immune
system," that is usually not the case. In fact, most
allergies are an overzealous immune response to an otherwise innocuous
agent such as pollen, pets or dust mites (see allergens).
If symptoms are compatible with allergies, then allergy testing
is often warranted. Depending on the nature of the reaction,
this testing may be done quite quickly in the office in a single
visit. Sometimes, additional laboratory (blood) testing is
necessary.
2. There
is no simple answer to this question. For food allergies,
there are some that often disappear after childhood (eggs, dairy)
and others that tend to be severe and lifelong (peanut and other
nuts). The safest way to determine if you still have
a food allergy is by consultation with an allergy specialist.
Sensitivity to airborne allergens (pollens, pets, etc) gradually
diminish as people get older. Hayfever symptoms are usually
much better by the time a person reaches the sixth decade (50's).
Asthma, however, is only partially due to allergies and often will
persist even when other allergies improve.
3. Most
people develop allergies at a young age and then outgrow them over
time. However some people become allergic well into adulthood.
Only 3 in 1,000 persons over age 65 develop allergic rhinitis.
More commonly, the elderly may develop a number of changes in the
lining of the nose that leads to a constant runny nose or nasal
congestion. This is not an allergy in the classical sense
in that the immune system is not involved. Allergy testing
will help determine whether an allergic cause exists.
4. Many
types of allergies are inherited including drug allergies, food
allergies, eczema and asthma. Still there is much that we
don't know about the genetics of allergic disease. The findings
in a recent study of 11,688 Danish twin pairs concluded that 73%
of asthma susceptibility was genetic but that a substantial part
of the variation was the result of environmental factors.
If both parents is allergic the likelihood of having an allergic
child is up to 70%. If only the father is allergic there is
perhaps a 30% likelihood that the child will have allergies while
there is a slightly higher risk if the mother is allergic. The
reason a woman is more likely to pass on the allergy may relate
to certain factors passed from mother to fetus through the umbilical
cord such as cigarette smoke or perhaps allergens. As
a result, many doctors advise that pregnant women avoid highly allergenic
foods such as peanuts.
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