An allergy can be an overreaction of one’s immune system to a normally harmless substance called an allergen. If you are allergic to the dust mite, you are sensitive to a very common inhaled allergen trigger: house dust mites as well as their faeces.
Other common inhaled allergen triggers include dust, pollen, animal dander from cats and horses, mould and mildew, feather and down, in addition to chemical smells. Ingested allergens include a multitude of foods – peanuts, dairy, wheat, eggs and numerous others. Another group of allergy triggers include medications, latex and insect stings.
On your first exposure, the inhaled allergen enters the nasal passages lined with mucous membrane.
Here the allergen is taken up by the antigen presenting cell which presents it to the T cells, recognising the allergen as being a foreign body.
These T cells instruct the B cells, a type of white blood cell, to produce antibodies called IgE (immunoglobulin E) against the allergen.
These IgE antibodies sit on the top of the mast cells. The mast cells have granules containing chemical mediators like histamine and prostaglandins.
On exposure, the allergen binds to the IgE antibodies present on the mast cells, cross linking them. T cells, B cells and mast cells combine to ignite the body’s immune system reaction to an allergen.
If you are re-exposed to exactly the same allergen, it attaches itself to antibodies that are stuck outside the mast cells.
This results in the production of histamine, prostaglandins along with other mediators into the surrounding tissue, communicating between immune cells.
The histamine binds to receptors on the blood vessels. These histamine mediators cause dialation of the surrounding blood vessels, increase their permeability and results in swelling, redness and inflammation.
The results are nasal stuffiness, runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and mucous discharge, allergic rhinitis, wheezing and breathlessness, unable to stop coughing, hives, headache and fatigue.
Primarily, histamine accounts for asthma and other allergy related symptoms. It is responsible for skin reactions to allergens such as chemicals found in personal care products, make up and off the shelf skin care products.
Antihistamines work by blocking the action of histamines, neutralises at its receptors, and therefore lessens the body’s reaction to the allergen.
Dust mite control helps you stop coughing and sneezing without the need for dangerous chemicals. Invest in quality dust mite bedding, like mattress protectors, and get welcome relief for your allergies.