I have a ton of allergies, antihistamines don’t work for me at all, so I asked my doctor to prescribe me actual medicine, she said that the antihistamines is all there is, with immunotherapy showing very little success rates and only fitting better for specific allergens.
I am shocked – it’s the 21st century, why can’t we cure allergies? Or at least have a medicine that would completely remove the symptoms?
In: Biology
Allergies are just your immune system reacting to something it’s not supposed to. Your body thinks it’s dangerous when it’s not.
Antihistamines are turning off one of the immune responses to those allergens (turning off histamines, specifically). Steroids are another option, but not a long term solution, as long term use of steroids causes a whole host of other issues.
Your immune system is good for you, so the only real cure to allergies would be to turn off your entire immune system, and that a very bad idea. Being immunocompromised is much more dangerous than having allergies. If you have a life threatening allergy, then you have an epipen to turn off your immune system in a pinch. It’s still less dangerous than having no immune system at all.
The only time you would be on immunosuppressants for your entire life would be if you have a donated organ or a dangerous autoimmune disease. In both cases, it’s to prevent your immune system from attacking important things in your body that are keeping you alive.
Often times, you will grow out of allergies as you get older. It’s no guarantee, but eventually, your immune system can learn that allergens are not dangerous.
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