Knowing About Skin Allergies
Knowing About Skin Allergies
An allergy is an immune system response to a foreign substance that’s not commonly harmful to your body. These foreign substances are called allergens. They can include pet dander, pollen, or certain foods.
There are many different allergens, but they all share one thing in common, protein. Some allergens don’t contain protein, to begin with, but bind with protein once inside the body to provoke an allergic reaction.
Types of skin allergies include:
- Itching: there’s irritation or inflammation in the skin.
- Swollen eyes: Eyes may be watery or itchy and look “puffy.”
- Sore throat: The pharynx or throat is irritated or inflamed.
- Eczema: patches of skin become inflamed and can itch and bleed.
- Rashes: areas of skin that are irritated, red, or swollen, and can be painful or itchy.
- Burning: skin inflammation leads to discomfort and stinging sensations on the skin.
- Hives: red, itchy, and raised welts of various sizes and shapes to develop on the surface of the skin.
- Contact dermatitis: red, itchy patches of skin develop almost immediately after contact with an allergen.
Common allergens include:
- Plants, pollen from grasses and plants.
- Molds, such as mushroom and mold spores.
- Insects, such as dust mites, and the venom from bees, ticks, ants, and wasps.
- Animal dander, such as the fur and skin flakes from domestic pets such as cats and dogs.
- Chemicals, including industrial and household chemicals and chemical products such as latex rubber.
- Medicines, including prescription medications (such as penicillin), over-the-counter medicines (such as aspirin), and herbal preparations.
- Food, such as crustaceans, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, tree nuts (for example, almonds, cashews, pecans, and walnuts), sesame, and soy products.
Natural remedies
A lot of natural remedies and supplements are selected as a treatment and even a way to prevent allergies. Discuss these with your specialist before trying them.
Some natural treatments may actually be composed of other allergens and make your symptoms worse. That is to say, some dried teas use plants and flowers that are commonly related to plants that might be causing you serious sneezing.
The same is true for some essential oils, people use these oils to relieve common symptoms of allergies, but essential oils still contain ingredients that can cause allergies.