Article: Aaaaachoooo! Seasonal allergies are back.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Ah, the sounds of spring: children playing, birds chirping, lawn mowers buzzing _ and miserable people sniffling and sneezing away. If you're among the 36 million Americans with seasonal allergies, you're probably just itching to get some answers to your allergy questions.

Well, put down that handkerchief and read on:

Q. What is an allergy?

A. An allergy is an abnormal reaction to an ordinarily harmless substance.

For people who are predisposed to allergies, exposure to a foreign protein causes their immune system to produce an antibody known as IgE, said Dr. Michael J. Waickman, chief of allergy services for Akron General Medical ...

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