Allergology is one of the most subtle and interesting medical sciences. There are practically no people on the planet who have not had an allergy to any substance at least once in their life. The issues of allergology become especially relevant in the spring and autumn seasons, which is due to the flowering of many plant species.
Allergies occur in people of completely different ages, and completely different allergens can provoke an allergic reaction. In order to correctly identify and prevent the occurrence of an allergic reaction, it is necessary to understand what allergens are and what they are. It is this issue that estet-portal.com offers to sort out.
The main types of allergens that can cause an allergic reaction in humans
Allergen is one of the basic concepts of modern immunology. Allergens are called antigens that can cause allergic hypersensitivity reactions in the human body. Most allergens are proteins or glycoproteins in their structure, having a molecular weight of 10 to 40 kilodaltons.
Often, allergens have no or very little toxicity, while due to their ability to induce lgE-mediated immune responses, they can cause very serious and sometimes even life-threatening reactions in the body.
Main allergens:
- which airborne allergens can cause an immune response in the body;
- The main types of food allergens that can cause an allergic reaction;
- how can pharmacological agents become allergens for humans.
What airborne allergens can cause an immune response in the body
Airborne allergens are among the most common types of allergens. Such allergens are in the air, and daily enter the respiratory tract of a person. Under certain conditions, some people may develop immune reactions in response to the penetration of airborne allergens into the body. Aeroallergens are fairly large particles with a complex structure.
In this case, not the whole particle is actually an allergen, but only some of its constituent substances. Most aeroallergens are able to stay in the air for a long time without losing their allergenic properties. They are highly soluble in water, due to which they quickly spread throughout the human body. The main airborne allergens include:
- plant pollen;
- molds;
- micromites;
- insect and plant particles;
- algae;
- cells of the epidermis of animals.
The main types of food allergens that can cause an allergic reaction
Food allergens are also one of the main causes of allergies, because an allergic reaction in the human body can occur to almost any food consumed, and reactions can occur in various forms and can even cause fatal anaphylaxis.
Food allergens are generally resistant to temperature, acid hydrolysis and proteolysis. It is often quite difficult to identify the cause of a food allergy, since cross-reactions between different products often occur, as well as between food and air allergens that simultaneously enter the body. Among all foods, almost 90% of all allergic reactions are caused by:
- eggs;
- cow's milk;
- wheat and corn;
- peanuts and tree nuts;
- fish;
- crustaceans and mollusks.
The main types of food allergens that can cause an allergic reaction
Drugs are the third most common cause of allergic reactions in humans. The allergenic properties of various pharmaceuticals depend on their chemical structure, molecular weight and the complexity of the molecule itself. Most drugs are simple organic substances with a small molecular weight, and the occurrence of an allergic reaction to their use is due to non-allergic hypersensitivity of the body.
Some pharmaceuticals only become allergens if they bind to body proteins. Complete antigens among drugs include serum, chymopapain, streptokinase, asparginase and insulin.
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