Allergies

Your immune system is responsible for producing antibodies to help fight infections and protect you from harmful foreign substances. Sometimes, your immune system creates antibodies that consider a particular substance as harmful even when it is not. This condition causes allergies.

Common foreign substances that your immune system may consider as harmful allergen includes pollen, pet dander and bee venom.

There are several different types of allergies and the severity of each allergy differ from person to person. Hence, there are no fixed group of symptoms. Different allergies affect different parts of your body and display varying symptoms such as:

Hay fever symptoms

• Sneezing
• Itching of the nose, eyes or roof of the mouth
• Runny and stuffed nose
• Conjunctivitis

Food allergy symptoms

• A tingling sensation in the mouth
• Swelling of the facial features and throat
• Hives
• Anaphylaxis ( a life-threatening medical emergency)

Insect sting allergy symptoms

• Swelling
• Hives
• Coughing
• Tightness in the chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Anaphylaxis

Drug allergy symptoms

• Hives
• Skin itching and rashes
• Facial swelling
• Wheezing
• Anaphylaxis

Common allergy trigger includes pollen, animal dander, dust mites, molds, certain foods like peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, eggs and milk and sting from an insect such as a bee or wasp.

Your healthcare provider will develop a personalised plan for your to treat your allergies. He/she will you to identify your triggers and ways to avoid them. Your treatment protocol may also include medication and immunotherapy to help boost your immune system.