Friday 14 October 2011

What is Skin Allergy and Infections

A laymans answer to a question, what is skin allergy can be any unwelcoming response of the body which is confined to skin after it gets in contact with any substance such as environmental irritants or any food items.

Skin allergy can show up various signs such as hives, rashes, or blisters in response to any substance that the skin or body is allergic or sensitive to. Hence, skin allergy is an over-active immune system’s response to a certain allergen.

You may have to undergo a thorough examination to detect a particular allergen that causes such reactions in you. Physician may ask allergy medical questions or specific skin allergy questions so that the cause may be determined.

You may ask yourselves questions about allergy as in, when do you see any skin irritations or changes,  how long does it take for the reaction to disappear etc. The best treatment as well as prevention of any skin allergy is to avoid the allergens identified to cause this unwelcoming response in the body.

Skin Allergy Causes:

The only underlying cause for an allergic reaction in skin is that it is a result of incorrect response of the bodys immune system to any substance. Immune system is responsible to arrest any foreign bodys invasion and hence, avoid complications.

However, in some cases, over-active immune system of the body misunderstands any food item or non-dangerous items as skin infections and gets ready to attack by initiating the sensitization process. This process takes a few weeks time span to bind the allergen to the mast cells that further release histamines and prostaglandins. These chemicals are responsible for causing skin redness and inflammation.

Skin Allergy Symptoms:

The symptoms of skin allergy may be mild or moderate and usually take 48 hours to show up, following an exposure of the skin or body to the allergen. Following are some of the most commonly noticed symptoms of skin allergy:

• Rashes – A non-infectious rash over the skin is the most common symptom of skin allergy and can be treated with over-the-counter medicines. Rashes may appear with itching.

• Itching – There can be itching sensation without any rash over the skin. However, if itching shows up alone then there may be other causes such as internal disorder of the body or any other skin problem.

• Swelling - In a few people suffering from skin allergy condition, swelling may appear in isolation or in combination with itching sensation.

• Skin Redness – This is common allergy symptom that appears immediately after the skin has come in contact with the allergens.

• Weeping or oozing may occur from some blisters and rashes especially after they are scratched.

Skin allergy is a response of an immune system for a false alarm that misinterprets a particular substance such as food items, metal, medicine, herbs or environmental irritants as invaders or foreign bodies and accordingly triggers antibodies to release chemicals that cause skin irritations, swelling and rashes. Now that you know what is skin allergy, understanding the symptoms can be easier.

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