Q: How many allergies are real and how many are just fashionable—and how can one tell?
As Snoopy used to say, “I think I’m allergic to morning.” There is no doubt in my mind that although many of us may also think we have this same allergy, this one is definitely not a true medical concern.
But what are true allergies? By definition, an allergy occurs when your immune system overreacts to a particular substance in the air, like pollen or dust mites, or something that we may ingest. This leads to our body trying to attack this foreign substance, causing symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose or skin rashes.
Many substances can cause allergies, including foods, drugs, animals, trees or grasses. Allergies can be minor and cause only slight discomfort, or they can be severe, leading to asthma or even a potentially deadly reaction called anaphylaxis.
Allergies can come and go throughout our lives, and some stay with us forever. I had a patient recently who never had any allergies until she turned 50. At that point, she had a severe swollen tongue after eating shrimp one night. Further tests revealed she was highly sensitive to scallops and crab as well, foods she ate with abandon in her 20s and 30s.
No one has yet explained why this happens, although genetics can play a role in certain allergies. Interestingly enough, there are also some theories that early sensitization to certain foods like peanuts may make allergies less likely than in kids who do not have exposure until later in life.
Diagnosing true allergies can be tricky. First, I always talk to my patients to see if they can correlate their allergic reactions to certain foods or other exposures like cats or dogs. But this too can be unreliable.
I remember seeing a patient who claimed she was allergic to cats and was absolutely sure of it. But when I tested her for allergies, I found out that she wasn’t allergic to cats at all, but actually had major allergies to trees and grasses. It just so happened that because her cats always spent time outdoors in the grass and trees, she confused the cat allergy with the grass allergy.
There are a couple ways of getting allergy tested. Doctors can do scratch tests on your back, which involves putting tiny amounts of the foreign substance on the skin of your back to see if you have a reaction. There are also blood tests that can be done to help determine whether or not you have certain allergies.
To make the matter more confusing, there is also a condition called non-allergic rhinitis, which has similar symptoms to allergies, like runny nose and watery eyes, but this is brought on by irritants in the air, like smog or cigarette smoke, or changes in barometric pressure. Please see a qualified primary care doctor or allergist to get a proper diagnosis.
So can the Santa Ana winds cause a true allergy? Sure … it’s entirely possible if the winds are blowing certain pollens that the person has an allergy to. But it also could be fashionable … she may have stayed up late and is therefore allergic to morning.
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