When it comes to your body defending itself against diseases, infections, and other threats, there are different ways of getting protection. Your skin is effectively a suit of organic armor against foreign objects, bacteria, viruses and other things that can harm you, and your immune system works to defend you when things get inside. This network of organs, proteins, tissue, and cells works by separating healthy tissue from foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses and neutralizing the threat.
It doesn’t always get it right however, and when this system turns on healthy tissue or harmless substances in the body, it creates allergic reactions that lead to a range of unpleasant but common symptoms for those with allergies. Many over-the-counter treatments can help with mild reactions, but immunotherapy is a method that helps to relieve the symptoms that allergies come with to help better manage the problem. To better understand how this process works, let’s explore the basics of allergies and what immunotherapy does to help the condition.
If you live in the Kissimmee or Orlando, Florida area, and you’re struggling with allergies, Drs. Wade Han, Elvira Livigni De Armas, and their team of medical professionals at the Florida Ear, Nose, & Facial Plastic Surgery Center can help get you relief.
Your immune system looks for substances that don’t belong in the body to remove them, but when you suffer from allergies, this system actually targets harmless proteins called allergens and overreacts to their presence. This leads to the production of histamine, an allergy cell formed when your body makes antibodies that bind to mast (allergy) cells in various areas that attach to receptors resulting in allergic reactions.
Millions of people deal with a wide range of allergies that stem from food, inhalants, medications, latex, and insect bites or stings. The allergens in these substances cause the symptoms most people experience, like sinus problems, sneezing, swelling, hives, itching, nausea, and vomiting.
Many over-the-counter medications work by reducing symptoms for short periods of time, but the goal of immunotherapy is to gradually alter how your immune system responds to the allergen causing the reaction. Ultimately, this should result in no response, eliminating symptoms altogether. There are three ways to apply this method:
Whichever method works best for you reduces asthma and allergic rhinitis incidents, decreases the symptoms of allergies, and causes you to experience less severe allergic reactions. If you’re ready to have less problems with allergies, make an appointment with Drs. Han, Livigni De Armas, and their team at Florida Ear, Nose, & Facial Plastic Surgery Center today.
