Why am I allergic?

Health: Fact vs Fiction Its the most common chronic disease in Europe. One in four of us here in the UK will have to deal with an allergy at some point in our lives. And as we find out in this episode its all down to your immune system making a mistake and attacking harmless proteins or pollen. Presenter Anna Richardson talks eczema asthma hay fever and food allergies with Dr Helen Brough from HCA Healthcare UKs The Portland Hospital. Listen to the full podcast episode here : What we learn in this episode: Fact: An allergic reaction is your immune system making a mistake. Helen explains that an allergy is the body treating a harmless protein like peanut or pollen as an invading pathogen. By doing this it releases histamine to fight the protein and this causes hives and swelling. Fact: The rate of death due to anaphylaxis related to a peanut allergy is very low. In fact Helen tells us that statistically only two in a million people die from a peanut allergy per year. Fiction: Hay is a fever caused by hay. Helen says the name dates back to the 1800s when symptoms of a runny nose and itchy eyes emerged during the hay harvesting season. It is of course pollen in the air not hay which causes the allergic response and hay fever seldom causes a fever Fiction: Allergies are not genetic. In fact Helen tells Anna that if one of your parents has an allergy then you are 30-50 more likely to have an allergy yourself. If both parents have an allergy then you have a 60-80 risk of having allergies yourself. Fact: Giving your child peanuts from a young age can help prevent them from developing peanut allergy. Helen talks to Anna about her research into childhood allergies which suggests that oral exposure to peanuts from a young age can actually decrease allergy risk whereas exposure through the skin to peanut can increase the risk of peanut allergy. Its important to note that in children under 5 nuts should be ground up and mixed with other foods not eaten as whole nuts due to risk of choking. Dont miss out on our latest posts : Subscribe on Youtube : Join us on Facebook : Follow on Twitter: Connect with us on Linkedin: ,

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