While environmental allergies enter our body through the nose and mouth, and can be avoided or removed, the reaction to the food allergy happens inside the body and that is what makes it much more dangerous.  As the person eats the food he is allergic to, he might feel an itch in his mouth, then when the food is in the stomach he might start vomiting, when the allergens reach and travel trough the blood stream it might cause a drop in blood pressure.

The histamines that are released into the blood can attack the ears, and they will itch, the skin and the body will develop hives or if the attack happens in the stomach it may manifest itself as pain or diarrhea.

The foods that are most common to cause allergies are shell fish (shrimp, crab, lobster), eggs, nuts and peanuts.

In small children the allergy can be caused by milk, eggs and peanuts and they can outgrow them. Adults who develop an allergy to certain food will keep it for the rest of their lives.

Not all intolerance for food is considered allergy. Lactose intolerance affects about one in ten people. It is caused by a different substance. The body doesn’t have enough enzymes to break down the milk. Instead the bacteria in the stomach feasts on it, creating gas and bloating.

The most dangerous for children is the peanut allergy, especially in the United States. It’s interesting to note that different countries have problems with different food allergies. In the United States the peanuts in it’s various forms as peanut butter is highly popular. In japan the most common food allergy is to rice. In Scandinavia it is to cod fish.

The danger in peanut allergy for kids is a severe drop in blood pressure, swelling of the throat up to almost a complete closure that might be fatal. The main treatment is to avoid those foods all together because the allergy might be triggered by a very small amount of the allergy causing substance.

People with severe food allergies have to be able to treat themselves when they accidentally ingest a minimal amount they were not aware of. They should carry with them, always, a syringe with adrenaline and be prepared to self inject when they think they are getting a reaction for something they ate. The symptoms can come about in a matter of minutes.

A normal reaction to a bite will be redness in the bite area, some swelling of the affected area and pain.

The more sever reaction can be swelling that extends beyond the bite area. While it looks frightening it is usually not much worse than a normal reaction.

An allergy to sting and bites will manifest itself in a more serious way; difficulty in breathing, hives that appear on the skin, swelling of the throat and face, rapid pulse, dizziness and a sharp drop in blood pressure.

The bigger problem is that it can lead to a shock, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. All that in the span of no more than 10 minutes. And the next time they are bitten or stung the reaction might appear much quicker.

The way to treat an allergic reaction to a sting or a bite is my injecting adrenaline into the blood stream. In most cases the injection will prevent the symptoms from getting worse.

Those who are highly allergic need to carry a syringe with them at all times because you never know when you might get bitten and how long it would take to get medical attention. In some cases I.V fluids have to be administered and oxygen given to help the patient regain the levels of oxygen reduced by the constrictions of the lungs. In some cases one injection is not enough, so a person who is known to have sting allergy has to be rushed to a hospital for continuous treatment.

To avoid this unwanted consequence people have to recognized to what they are allergic and try to avoid activities in an infected area. When going outdoors, they need to protect themselves with long sleeves, long pants and closed toe shoes, avoid wearing perfume that might attract insects, never go hiking alone or engage in any other sport while unaccompanied. Most important – protect their living environment with screen on doors and windows, and apply insect repellent  (such as Deet).

Allergic reaction to insect bites can be prevented with a monthly shot. They are very affective, up to 97% of the cases will avoid allergic reaction if given the shot, and by increasing the dosage gradually it might stimulate the immune system to become resistant to future allergic reactions.

Allergy is when our body react to harmless intruders, such as pollen, as if it was an enemy. The body produces an antibody which attacks the intruder and binds with him. Our body releases a chemical into the blood stream called Histamine. This substance causes most of the symptoms we call allergy.

There are many kinds of allergies; seasonal allergies that are connected to pollen, dander allergy connected to reactions to animals like cats and dogs, food allergies and insect sting allergies.

When the symptoms are mild, the allergy goes almost unnoticed. Moderate allergy is when you feel like you have a cold or a flu. Severe allergies can be life threatening. Most symptoms of the mild allergy will go away after the source of the allergy is removed. In sever allergies the reaction of the body already started and only an antidote will stop the symptoms.

Most people are aware what triggers their allergic reaction and try to avoid it. The allergic reaction is unique to the person. A plant that causes watery eyes and itchy nose in one will not have the same affect on another.

There are a few way to fight allergic reaction. The abundance of over the counter medicines is a testament that many people suffer from allergies and that the drugs help lessen the affect. Another treatment is monthly shots that eliminate the necessity of the daily drug.

Yet another way to fight the allergy is to find out what causes it, if the source is not obvious. This is done by injecting small amounts of allergy causing material into the body and seeing to which one of those you are allergic. It is a lengthy process that sometimes requires a hundred shots to be administered before you find the one that triggers an inflammation. After that you can avoid the allergy causing element, or, and this is a new method, expose the body to small amounts of the allergen for a period of time until your body develops tolerance to substance.