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Article: Deadly allergic reactions.(Health Hotline)
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Watery eyes, rashes or itching that won't stop are common symptoms of a mild allergic reaction, and allergies affect about 50 million people in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. An allergy is the immune system's response to a foreign substance; in the case of allergies these substances are called allergens, including pollen, mold, dust mites and animal dander.
Experts are not sure why substances trigger allergies in some people and not others, but many believe that family history plays a big role. If one parent has some type of allergy, the estimated risk of their child developing allergies is 48 percent; the child's risk ...