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Article: Allergy myths snuffed out
- Article from:
- The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL
- Article date:
- March 10, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Have you ever had a stuffed-up nose or itchy eyes and assumed it
was a cold? It may have been an allergy. Many people mistake allergy
symptoms for those of a common cold or sinus problems because they
are not familiar with allergies or buy into some commonly held
allergy myths.
So, let's dispel some myths, starting with the basics.
An allergic reaction is your body's reaction to what it perceives
as a harmful substance. The substance - allergens - may be inhaled,
swallowed or come into contact with the skin. Your body's immune
system over-aggressively identifies the substance and attacks it by
creating an antibody called immunoglobulin E. Immunoglobulin E
activates other cells, which cause ...