|
Allergies
are like a confusion of the immune system- a phobic
response to foreign material in the body.
Our
immune system has 2 ways of dealing with foreign matter in the
body.
The first way, or 'Active' immune response is usually reserved for viruses and bacteria that are harmful to the
body. They can't live in the body on their own and so
they invade cells.
The
way our immune system deals with these 'harmful' bacteria is
to send out killer 'T' cells that seek and destroy the
infected cells. This is called the 'Active' immune response.
A
common side effect of the 'Active' response is swelling,
hives, rashes, itching, sneezing, etc. - what we experience as
an Allergy.
The second way, or 'Passive' immune response, is the
process our immune system uses to remove non-harmful and
non-living material from the body.
It
sends out a macrophage cell
which engulfs the foreign matter and carries it out through
the body.
So,
an Allergy is a confusion the immune system.
When
you have an allergic reaction your immune system is sensing
the allergen as something harmful like a virus and so it sends
out an 'Active' immune response instead of it's normal 'Passive'
immune response.
The
immune system has accidentally linked the allergen to sickness
or stress and created a defense response to protect you as a
result.
It has conditioned in an 'Active' response
instead of the 'Passive' response. It then has a 'panic
type' reaction when it's around the allergen - even if it
isn't.
How
we develop Allergies...
Anytime
your immune system is depressed from either sickness or stress
(examples of stress would include: changing jobs, moving,
getting married, etc.) you are susceptible to developing
an allergy.
When
the immune system is weak, if you introduce a stimulus like
grass, dust, animal dander, pollen, enough times there is a
good chance your immune system will get confused and think the
stimulus, or allergen, is part of the cause or problem which
caused the stress or sickness in the first place.
It's
normal healthy response then to a stimulus or allergen that it
'perceives' is harmful to you is to create a defense response
- the 'Active' immune response.
For
example, if you're changing jobs and moving, which can be
stressful, and during that time you are doing a lot cleaning
and stirring up a lot of dust - you could accidentally
condition, or link up, dust to stress - which would then
cause your immune system to create an allergy to dust as a
defense mechanism.
Next
thing you know - you have an allergy to dust!
|
