Health Articles

Gluten allergy symptoms can be a very serious indicator of an underlying condition: celiac disease. If you are reading this than it is quite likely you are concerned about your body’s reaction to your consuming gluten.

Despite the term gluten allergy symptom, it is important to recognize that celiac disease does not usually manifest allergic reactions like the kind we associate with hay fever or peanut allergies. Gluten intolerance is in fact more systemic. It is a condition that will wear your digestive tract down over time.

As your body overreacts to the gluten in its system, your immune response slowly kills off the villi in your intestines. These villi are tiny hairs which act to capture and help absorb the nutrients from your food. When they die off, you are less capable of digesting and processing your food and the nutrients in it.

Gluten allergy symptoms often begin mild, with intestinal discomfort such as bloating and flatulence. Then over time they both increase in number and type as well as become more severe. Intestinal discomfort, for example, would go from bloating and flatulence to constipation and diarrhea. Other common gluten allergy symptoms include headaches, fatigue and a lowered immune system (you become sick more easily and more often).

Later stages of celiac disease are similar to severe malnutrition, only people don’t think they could be experiencing malnutrition because they believe they’re eating plenty of healthy food. However, if you are unknowingly gluten intolerant and you are eating foods which contain gluten, no matter how healthy you eat you can become malnourished.

So it is vital that if you suspect you may be gluten intolerant you must immediately cut gluten from your diet. This may be difficult at first, but you will soon learn that many major grocery chains and manufacturers are becoming more and more helpful to people with gluten intolerance. You will find that dealing with your gluten allergy symptoms is easier than you initially expect.

Microscopic inhaled airborne allergens are responsible for most respiratory allergy (Table 2). In temperate climates, seasonal allergic rhinitis is induced by tree pollens in the early spring, grass pollens in the late spring and early summer, and ragweed in the late summer and early fall. Because of geographic differences in the US, clinicians must become familiar with the pollination patterns in their individual regions.
Hay fever is an inappropriate term for allergic rhinitis because these patients neither are allergic to hay nor have fever. Flowering vegetation, such as roses and fruit blossoms, rarely cause allergy because these pollens are too heavy to become airborne; their germination is facilitated by bees and other insects. Fungi (mold) spores may be important outdoor aeroallergens in humid climates throughout the year, but their numbers decrease once there is significant frost in temperate climates. Fungi can be important indoor perennial allergens in damp environments. In perennial allergic rhinitis, house dust, animals, and molds all may be significant indoor inhalant allergens. The principal allergens in house dust are the cuticles and feces of the microscopic house dust mite Dermatophagoides.
Animal allergens, such as epidermal danders, salivary proteins, urinary proteins, feces, and feathers, especially from pets such as cats, dogs, and birds are important because about 50% of households in the US have indoor animal pets. Food allergens are of lesser importance in the etiology of allergic rhinitis but cannot be ignored, especially in young children. Patients can be sensitive to one or multiple allergens. Certain individuals react to miniscule amounts of inhaled allergens, while others tolerate a large allergen dose before developing symptoms.
In addition to allergens, viral infections, aerosolized cosmetics, cigarette smoke, industrial fumes, and changes in temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure contribute to exacerbation of both upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms in the allergic child.
Psychologic and social stresses also can enhance symptoms. The importance of these additional contributory factors varies greatly from patient to patient but should not be ignored when evaluating any individual.
Symptoms of nasal allergy consist of frequent sneezing, nasal pruritus, watery rhinorrhea, and often, nasal obstruction. Patients also may complain of red, itchy eyes as well as itchy throat and ears. If there is nasal obstruction, the patient will be a mouth breather and snoring can be a bedtime symptom; smell and taste also may be lost. Increased symptoms frequently are noted with increased exposure to the responsible allergen, such as after cutting grass or sleeping on a feather pillow.
When an allergic reaction develops, clear nasal secretions will be evident, and the nasal mucous membranes will become edematous without much erythema. The mucosa appear boggy and blue-gray. With continued exposure to the allergen, the turbinates will appear swollen and can obstruct the nasal airway. Conjunctival edema, itch, tearing, and hyperemia are frequent findings in patients who have associated allergic conjunctivitis. Patients who have allergic rhinitis, particularly children who have significant nasal obstruction and venous congestion, also may demonstrate edema and darkening of the tissues beneath the eyes. These so-called “shiners” are not pathognomonic for allergic rhinitis because they also can be seen in patients who have chronic rhinitis and/or sinusitis. Thick, purulent secretions indicate the presence of infection, including the possibility of sinusitis.

The Main Symptoms of Allergies

Our immune system works hard, everyday to stop us from becoming ill and being attacked by toxins, bacteria and other nasty things. So why do we get so many symptoms of allergies?

It’s funny really, because it is our immune system attacking these allergens, which get into our bodies, that is behind what causes allergies. It’s not these things bringing us out in rashes, but our own bodies, that make ourselves come out in a rash, make us have difficulty breathing, cause us to tingle all over, or make our eyes water up our eyes and bodies become itchy.

Even some food stuffs cannot bode well with the interior of our bodies, just like rubbing up against a certain type of plant will make your skin irritable; plants ingested into the body will act in the same way. Remember though, it’s not the plants what cause allergies – it’s our bodies.

Allergies can suddenly develop overnight and they might be so mild that you never know that have them, or so severe that it could kill you (this is very rare). You are more likely to have more serious reactions to allergies if the are inherited, or you have a hypersensitive immune system. There is no scientific knowledge as to what causes allergies in different people.

One of the most talked about allergies at the moment seems to be the nut allergy. There is hardly a packet of anything edible that does not have written on it ‘may contain nuts. Even an extract or a piece of nut dust can cause symptoms of allergies, which can be so severe that people can die from it.

What about hay fever? Now there is an allergy that is becoming more pronounced, in this day and age. People who have never felt the annoying symptoms, which are caused by pollen floating around in the air are suddenly sneezing, blowing their noses and trying not to look like they are crying (which they are not), but pollen has been here since the dawn of time. It wouldn’t be a surprise to know dinosaurs even got hay fever. After all we are all allergic to something; it just depends to what degree.

What causes allergies can have such a violent reaction with our immune system attacking it, that people can die. Thankfully, this does not happen that often, but some people know that their reaction is so bad that they have to carry an EpiPen with them at all times, so they can give themselves a jab of epinephrine to counteract the allergy. This does not always work unfortunately, or it may only work for a short time, but usually it does stop the allergy from causing serious damage and an ambulance should always be called, just in case.

An anaphylactic shock is the harshest of symptoms of allergies. This can come from almost anything like some types of foods, bee stings, medication or even animal fur. The thing is with an anaphylactic shock is that there is not a lot anyone can do about it, they can give you water and keep your airways free from obstruction, but mainly it is a waiting game. Waiting for your body to finish attacking whatever it is that trying to harm you. The best thing to do when someone has an anaphylactic shock is call an ambulance, as they will have the right equipment to monitor and help a person suffering from an anaphylactic shock.

Some of the symptoms to look out for, when some is having an anaphylactic shock or even just an allergic reaction are, prickly heat, itchiness, watering eyes, swelling and a rash. The best and only thing you should do is call an ambulance and talk to them, tell them what is happening. Most allergic reactions are not this severe, but now you know the symptoms of allergies to look out for.