1.7 Views of allergies
Description
This article is from the Children Allergies and Asthma FAQ, by Eileen Kupstas Soo kupstas@cs.unc.edu with numerous contributions by others.
1.7 Views of allergies
There are a number of views about allergies. Most doctors agree
that not all allergies are "all or none"; you may be able to tolerate a
certain amount of an allergen without reacting. Once you exceed a
certain amount, your body reacts. NOTE: this is not true of all
allergens, especially peanuts and shellfish, which may cause quick,
life threatening reactions. For some allergens, any amount is too
much!
Your doctor may use various metaphors when discussing allergies. Most
have to do with some threshold amount of allergens that a person can
tolerate. Once this amount is exceeded, allergic symptoms appear. (
One common term is "glass of resistance" -- once the glass is full, you
react). The amount of allergens tolerated can depend on a number of
things: stress levels, the particular allergen, the combination of
allergens, illness, etc. As time goes on, an allergy sufferer can
determine just how much, if any, of what is ok. For food allergies,
some recommend a rotation diet in which various foods are eaten in
rotation so that no one food is ever eaten more than once in a
three-to-five day period. (The food juggling gets very complicated, but
some find that the rotation diet helps them. The best thing to do is
read about it [see references section] and decide for yourself.)
Continue to:
My Books
