What Causes Allergies and Why Are Some of Us More Susceptible?

What causes allergies is a question that may frequently occur to those of us who have allergies and who often have their activities and life constrained by those allergies. An allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. To put it simply, the body overreacts to harmless substances, perceiving them to be harmful.

What causes allergies?

Many kinds of foods, dust, pollen, medications, dander from pets and other animals and insect bites are usually not inimical to the body. But those who have an allergy to any of these substances are unable to tolerate these ‘allergens’ and produce reactions that could range from the mild to the severe. The body mistakenly produces the reaction that it would normally have to harmful bacteria and viruses.

The white blood cells of the body, the body’s defenders, are activated and we see an allergic reaction. Mild reactions could be a runny nose and itchy eyes. Then there could be wheezing, skin rashes, hives and even more severe reactions.

In cases there could be a life threatening reaction to an allergen called anaphylaxis where many organs of the body may be involved including the respiratory system, the digestive and the circulatory system.

What causes allergies may differ from person to person – the triggers, allergens, the kind of allergic reactions and their severity and so on. Also allergies can show a predictable pattern at times. For instance it a person is allergic to peanuts, there is a higher likelihood that they may be allergic to other nuts as well.

Medical conditions can be causes for allergies

Certain medical conditions predispose a person to allergies. Having asthma, lung conditions such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequent infections of the respiratory system, having nasal polyps or having overly sensitive skin can mean that a person is more likely to have allergies.

1. Genetic element

Allergies do run in families, so one’s genetic makeup is certainly one of the important causes of allergies. If parents have allergies, their children are more likely to have allergies. If one of identical twins has an allergy, there is a 70% chance that the other will have the same allergy. Even among non-identical twins there is a 40% chance of both twins being allergic.

2. The hygiene hypothesis

In recent times the hygiene hypothesis has become a popular explanation for why allergies occur and why they seem to be increasing in recent times; particularly in developed countries.

The hygiene hypothesis postulates that as standards of cleanliness and hygiene improve, this reduces the normal expose of children to common dirt, infectious agents, microorganisms, parasites and so on. This prevents the body from developing normal immunity and makes the body more likely to produce reactions to harmless substances.

Since research has also show that the incidence of autoimmune and immunological diseases are more common in developed world (where there is greater likelihood of clean and aseptic environments) than in developed counties, the Hygiene Hypothesis is one of the plausible causes of allergies. A case in point is asthma: in the 19^th century it was a rare disease; today about 10% of the youth has it!

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