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Allergies are your immune system’s response to an unknown or external substance. When your body identifies something as harmful—even if it isn’t—it produces antibodies, which can affect your skin, digestive system, or sinuses. Symptoms can range from minor irritations to anaphylaxis—a life-threatening response that closes airways. Therefore, if you notice you have an extreme reaction to something—whether it be a food, animal, or environmental factor, it’s worth discussing it with your family doctor.

What You Should Know About Allergies

What Causes Them?

Allergies can be triggered by anything, but the most common are pollen, dogs, cats, milk, and peanuts. It is generally believed that this response is caused by lack of exposure to the offending substance soon enough in life. However, it could also be that you came across the food or environmental circumstance during a time when your immune system was particularly weak and your body decided there must be a connection.

Regardless, family doctors warn that allergies can appear at any stage of life—or become more or less severe as we age. As a result, someone who was fine eating something that was prepared in the same factory as peanuts at one stage of their life may no longer be able to later.

Treatment

Minor allergic reactions can be treated by over the counter antihistamines. If you start to notice more severe reactions, make sure to talk to your family doctor, as prescription medication might be necessary to control your allergies. Usually, this comes in the form of an EpiPen®, which the person can inject themselves with after a reaction.

family doctorHowever, to take preventive measures with your health, or that of your family, consider going to an allergist for testing, so you know ahead of time what your triggers are. Not only can this help you take precautions at restaurants, but also at hospitals. For example, the contrast given to patients during CT scans contains shellfish, which can be dangerous to discover you are allergic to in the moment.

 

Serving Kenai, AK, the team of family doctors at MediCenter strives to provide convenient and affordable health care for families. Whether you need allergy testing or treatment, they have you covered—and can also help with other health issues ranging from women’s health to pain management. Learn more about their offerings by visiting their website. Then call (907) 283-9118 with questions.
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