The Basics

So, continuing from where we left off, here's a short summary of the science of allergies.

First, what is an allergy? An allergy is an intolerance of the immune system in varying degrees towards different substances, be it in the air, or in food, or elsewhere.

When any substance enters into your body, whether it be through inhalation, ingestion, or absorption, your immune system regulates it. It's like the security system of your body. If it finds dangerous substances within, marked by foreign antigens, it will begin the defense reactionary response, called the inflammatory response. Thats pretty dense scientific verbiage, but essentially, the cells and molecules belonging to your body all have types of antigens (markers) on the outsides of their surfaces which are unique to your body system. If anything coming into the body has foreign antigens that aren't recognized or associated with any of the antigens in your body, then the immune system determines that this is a threat that must be eliminated. This is an amazing defense system, that, when executed properly, protects us from hosts of diseases by nipping them in the bud before they can go on to proliferate.

HOWEVER, this system isn't exactly a well-oiled machine for everyone. See, the issue for people with food allergies is that, sometimes, their bodies lack the associated molecules involved in the digestion of certain substances (these are called enzymes, like lactase, which is involved in the sugar lactose, found in dairy). Therefore, their immune systems have nothing to recognize and associate with cells in their own body when they eat substances for which their corresponding digestive molecules (enzymes) are missing. This leads to a host of issues, varying from person to person, but the most severe reaction is called Anaphylaxis (there will be an in-depth analysis of anaphylaxis in a future article).

The range of demographics this condition affects span from infants to people to later development observed as late as 80 years old. However, it is predominantly observed in childhood, and so therapeutic treatments over the past 20 years have been geared towards them in an effort to gradually buildup their tolerance; the idea being that early consistent exposure to the allergen in small doses may be able to desensitize the child's developing immune system. It has been the observable trend (Rogers 16) that around 60-80% of children with allergies outgrow them, and this is great!

Ok, we're done with the statistics. Here's the reality. While a majority of people with allergies grow out of them, there are the other sides of the spectrum, in which theirs's is a chronic condition that does not dwindle in severity beyond youth. There are also the people who, much later on in life, develop allergies, and those tend to be long-lasting as well. What are their options? To be quite honest with you, the best science has been able to do up till this point is keep a pricy supply of EpiPens in stock to distribute and advise them to generally stay away from reaction-inducing foods. It's even worse for infants with the condition because they, unlike children and adults, cannot convey their symptoms before it spirals out of control, leaving the parents to make a stressful rush to the emergency room, and stay there for hours. These are some of the gaping holes in treatment options today, but solutions for these all stem from this basic understanding of the innerworkings of the immune system.