Health Talk Allergies

Do you have sniffles? itchy eyes? headache? it could be spring allergies.

With baptist// hi, i'm dr. justin garner, i'm part of the otalaryngology team at baptist memorial hospital golden triangle.

I want to talk to you about spring allergies and it all begin with exposure.

Even if you've inhaled an allergen many times before with no trouble, at some point the body flags it as an invader.

During this particular exposure, the immune system studies the allergen and gets ready for the next exposure by developing special cells called anti- bodies designed to detect the allergen in the future.

You are now sensitized to the allergen.

The next time your body is exposed to the allergen your immune system kicks into action.

The antibodies recognize it and your body goes to work fighting off the invader by flooding your body with chemicals, such as histamine.

This is what produces your allergy symptoms. keep in mind that the amount of exposure matters.

There is a threshold or tipping point for people with allergies.

You can handle some exposure, but if it gets to be too much, the immune system is triggered to attack.

Some people, most often children, may outgrow an allergy completely.

For others, their symptoms get worse as they get older and the immune system gets weaker.

But once you have an allergy, it doesn't go away on its own.

Join us next time for health talk with baptist, when we will discuss some of the worst allergy triggers.

Mail your topic suggestions to health talk at wcbi dot com.

Health talk has been brought to you by baptist memorial hospital golden triangle.