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Why & How You Develop Allergic Symptoms (and what you can do about them)

Allergies bring itchy and watery eyes, runny noses, stuffy heads, and sneezing. In an attempt to combat these annoying symptoms, you run to the drugstore only to be overwhelmed by the variety of remedies from which to choose. Understanding allergies will make this choice much easier.

Upon its first encounter with an allergen (a protein your body recognizes as foreign), your immune system memorizes, attacks, and destroys it. It takes just one encounter with a new compound to imprint its unique three-dimensional structure on the memory banks of your immune system forever.

A structurally-unique antibody, known as IgE, is the byproduct of this encounter. Its singular mission is to remember what the invading protein looks like and attack it each and every time it enters your body.

IgE resides on mast cells in the linings of your nose, sinuses, eyes, and lungs. These cells are storage sites for the arsenal of chemical weapons your body uses to fight invaders. When IgE encounters an allergen, it signals the mast cell to release its contents - which includes a chemical known as "histamine."

Upon release, histamines work very quickly to produce many of the annoying symptoms you experience with seasonal allergies. Itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, and sneezing are a few of the results of your body's attempt to forcefully expel irritants.

Now that you know the specifics, here is the bottom-line of allergic reactions: allergies are ultimately caused by a breakdown in your immune system.

You don't have to suffer from allergies. We offer two ways of fighting them - a short-term approach and a long-term system building approach. To read the rest of this article, please click here.