An allergy can refer to several kinds of immune reactions including Type I hypersensitivity in which a person's body is hypersensitised and develops IgE type antibodies to typical proteins. When a person is hypersensitised, these substances are known as allergens. The word allergy derives from the Greek words allos meaning "other" and ergon meaning "work". Type I hypersensitivity is characterised by excessive activation of mast cells and basophils by immunoglobulin E resulting in a systemic inflammatory response that can result in symptoms as benign as a runny nose, to life-threatening anaphylactic shock and death.

Allergy is a very common disorder and more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergic diseases. Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic disease in the United States, costing the health care system $18 billion annually (Allergy statistics).

History

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The term and concept of "allergy" was coined by a Viennese pediatrician named Clemens von Pirquet in 1906 ^*. He observed that the symptoms of some of his patients might have been a response to outside allergens such as dust, pollen, or certain foods. For a long time all hypersensitivities were thought to stem from the improper action of inflammatory immunoglobulin class IgE, however it soon became clear that several different mechanisms utilizing different effector molecules were responsible for the myriad of disorders previously classified as "allergies". A new four-class (now five) classification scheme was designed by P. G. H. Gell and R. R. A. Coombs. Allergy has since been kept as the name for Type I Hypersensitivity, characterised by classical IgE mediation of effects.

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@Chosenroyalty I'm better...this cold is reacting w.my allergies so I'm sneezing a lot.my nose nd eyes are goin crazy but I'm still alive
kaylamich3ll3 (KK) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:27:42 -0000
@Chosenroyalty I'm better...this cold is reacting w.my allergies so I'm sneezing a lot.my nose nd eyes are goin crazy but I'm still alive
's eyes are swollen again. i think i'm the only person i know who has winter allergies.
breanna82 (Breanna) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:27:16 -0000
's eyes are swollen again. i think i'm the only person i know who has winter allergies.
Gah! Allergies. Massive brainache. Not the business
ArtTran (Richard Tran) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:26:13 -0000
Gah! Allergies. Massive brainache. Not the business
Allergies-Can Chiropractic help You? http://bit.ly/7X4NZt
boisedc (Boise Chiropractor) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:24:59 -0000
Allergies-Can Chiropractic help You? http://bit.ly/7X4NZt
tomorrows agenda : Buy some zerteck and shit for these allERGIES. This is not cool!
SHHAMELESSxx (Gerale) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:23:25 -0000
tomorrows agenda : Buy some zerteck and shit for these allERGIES. This is not cool!
@LorettaN so much better on their digestive system. fewer hairballs, better for people's allergies, etc
oceanchick99 (Tina) Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:19:28 -0000
@LorettaN so much better on their digestive system. fewer hairballs, better for people's allergies, etc

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