Allergen tests
Allergies, alas, are becoming an increasingly common disease. According to some very alarming data, a large part of the population suffers from allergies in one form or another - more than 60%, and in large cities this figure is still considered optimistic. Such is the price to pay for civilization and for the triumph of the chemical industry, which has made our lives much more comfortable, taking away health in return. Analysis for allergens in such a situation becomes the number one necessity, according to some, and not very useful, according to others. Let's try to understand the issue.
Allergy is an excessive reaction of the body to the penetration of an active foreign substance into the body, which the body is unable to cope with using the provided mechanisms. Researchers claim that defense systems are quite successful even with harmful substances when they "recognize" them. This process has been perfected for thousands of years, and it is quite effective. But recently, the human immune system has been faced with so many foreign agents - allergens, whose attacks are so constant that defense mechanisms fail, and allergies begin.
Before carrying out tests for allergens, it is worth considering that any substance that penetrates the body from the outside, and in severe cases even the body's own tissues, can become an allergen. Therefore, it is completely impossible to identify all existing allergens and protect yourself from them, the maximum that can be done is to identify the substance to which your immune system reacts individually, and to minimize contact with it, and ideally to exclude them altogether.
Allergen tests are usually carried out in two versions. The first is allergy tests - an express method in which a suspected allergen is applied through a scratch on the skin, after which the reaction is monitored. This method is quite risky, since if the substance is really an allergen, then the reaction can be very violent, up to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Therefore, despite the simplicity and availability, allergy tests are carried out only in inpatient clinics that have everything for emergency care.
The second type is laboratory tests for allergens, for which blood is taken for research. This is a completely safe method, in addition, it allows you to check not one, but dozens of allergens at once during one study. However, experts say that it is necessary to conduct such a study only when the allergy is confirmed by clinical manifestations, since it happens that laboratory data indicate the presence of an allergic reaction to a certain substance, which actually does not exist.
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