Finding the Usual Suspects: Allergy Immunology



Allergy immunology is the study of the biomedical aspects of allergies and what causes them, what types of things people are allergic to, and what cures there are for those allergies. Many people benefit from allergy immunology because many people suffer from allergies or allergy symptoms, so we have a lot to be thankful for in terms of scientific discoveries when we are able to take a pill that stops hay fever or when we take a shot that lets us enjoy milk again. All of those cures are courtesy of the study of allergy immunology.

There are a variety of tests that scientists do to discover what people are allergic to and then a variety more that they perform to discover how to create an immunotherapeutic system to help cure us. In short, scientists find out what causes allergies and then, sometimes, flood our immune systems with exactly the thing we are allergic to in order to drive our immune system into resistance mode which naturally fights the cause of the allergy symptoms. This, of course, is only one part of the science behind finding the cures for various allergies but it is a popular method.

Immunotherapy is designed for those allergy sufferers that are not reacting to conventional medical cures. If the natural medications for symptoms do not work, many people turn to immunotherapy instead. This is a type of therapy that actually moderates and fixes the cause and direction of the allergic reaction and fixes the allergy itself, not just the symptoms. Immunotherapy does not work in everyone, however, and it generally recommended as a "last resort" by most medical professionals because of the expense and complication.

Immunotherapy

Basically, immunotherapy requires taking injections for three to five years that may or may not result in long term benefits for the allergy sufferer. This therapy is only recommended for those that have no choice but to be near their allergens or for those that are experiencing "extreme" allergic reactions. This therapy is commonly used on people with asthma as well and those that suffer from hay fever allergies as the allergens in that type of allergy are hard to avoid.

Allergy immunology makes it possible for those types of allergies to be cured because of the way science has dedicated itself to finding a cure for common allergies. To date, there are many cures for allergies and many more on the way.