When your body detects a foriegn item entering, it might mistake it to be harmful, called an allergen. This causes your body to have an allergic reaction to it, which might be just irritable(like itching/rashes), or something more severe(like anaphylaxis). There are a variety of things that may cause an allergy.
Most allergies(like milk, nuts, etc) develop within 6-8 months after being born. Some others, your body may become allergic after a while. Some of the reactions may occur only when something else is also happening at the same time (such other things are called co-factors).
I mainly have an allergy to a specific protein called profilin. It is mainly present in some seafoods(like oyster), and also in melons. But I have eaten melons before, so the doctor said it might have been a cross-contamination. I am also allergic to certain types of pollen, mainly found in the West, which also majorly contain profilin. Another item that contains profilin is latex. So I must avoid latex gloves, and request any doctor (during checkups) to avoid the same. Alternatives are nitrile or vinyl gloves.
Previously I had known that I had an allergy to Amoxicillin, which belongs to the Penicillin class. I had gotten rashes for a month the last(and only) time I had taken Amoxicillin.
The reaction that occurs is called anaphyalxis. According to my doctor, what I have is not very severe, since only one “system” is reacting - I feel drowsy and feverish for about 5 min, and then I’m back to normal. I don’t have any rashes nor foaming near the mouth nor becoming unconscious.
The doctor has advised me to avoid seafood. Melons are okay, since I have eaten them before, and there is no reaction to it. She has given an emergency Epinephrine/Adrenaline injection, which is to injected in a severe case. The injection has to stored in the fridge(not freezer), and has a shelf life of 6 months. We can also use an Epi-pen, but those are unnecessarily expensive(over Rs 10,000 compared to Rs.250). In slightly less intense reactions, I have to take a pill(levocet and ivepred), which are anti-histamines. They have a shelf life of around 3 years.
Everyone has allergies. It’s better to know them, and avoid them, rather than to experience it.
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