6 votes

Is it logical for someone to be allergic to the water molecule, but be perfectly fine with drinking milk since it's only 87% water molecules?

Short answer Aquagenic urticaria is though to be caused by dissolved allergens in water and not by water per se. background Aquagenic urticaria is a rare condition in which urticaria (hives) develop ...
AliceD's user avatar
  • 52.3k
5 votes

Is there evidence that children should play in dirt to get healthy?

This answer focuses primarily on allergies, for which there is more reliable research, but touches on general immunity towards the end. It is certainly true that the prevalence of allergies is ...
Robert Gregson's user avatar
4 votes

Why don't allergies cause fever?

The short answer seems to be that fevers help combat microbes (a term I take herein to include viruses for brevity), which aren't a part of the threat addressed in an allergic reaction. While there's ...
J.G.'s user avatar
  • 2,484
3 votes
Accepted

What chemicals/substances exist in green capsicum (peppers) that do not exist in red capsicum?

Your limited understanding is indeed correct - the different colours indicate different stages of maturation, even though different colour cultivars exist (e.g. some that remain green even if fully ...
AlexDeLarge's user avatar
  • 2,878
3 votes
Accepted

How is tolerance to an allergen developed?

The allergy shot in itself is a form of therapy called allergen immunotherapy (AIT). In it's essence, we're trying to get someone to develop immunologic tolerance to a given allergen such as pollen, ...
CKM's user avatar
  • 8,091
3 votes
Accepted

Is it possible to be allergic to the yolk of an egg but not the egg white?

The protein composition of the egg white and egg yolk differ appreciably. Hence, it is plausible for one to countenance symptoms of indigestion when consuming the egg yolk as opposed to the albumen, ...
Epistemonaut's user avatar
2 votes

Exactly what biochemical factors control the intensity of an allergic reaction?

Network of possible factors that contribute to the variability of the immune reaction between individuals is still not well investigated. Type I hypersensitivity is mediated by IgE antibodies, which ...
hibernicah's user avatar
1 vote
Accepted

Why do alpha-gal allergies only occur after a tick bite if alpha-gal is already present in red meat?

In order for the immune system to respond to an antigen, beyond recognition of that antigen, there needs to be a signal that there is something wrong. Co-stimulation can take a few different forms, ...
De Novo's user avatar
  • 8,751
1 vote
Accepted

Allergy vs. Immunity

First line of wikipedia > Immune system The immune system is a host defense system comprising many biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease First line ...
Remi.b's user avatar
  • 67.9k
1 vote

Why does cut grass cause allergies?

www.allergicliving.com claims that the cause to such an allergy is not the grass but is actually mold: Often patients will have allergy symptoms with fresh cut grass...That's not grass pollen ...
courtmartial's user avatar
1 vote

Allergies - congenital situations or created and developed over the years?

Allergies are caused by one's immune system. If you had never been exposed to the allergen, you would not experience any symptoms. So they are not innate or inherent. Why do people develop food ...
mdperry's user avatar
  • 3,517
1 vote

Why is the penicillin/ceftriaxone hypersensitivity test only done once?

Because developing a hypersensitivity takes time. If you get exposed to an allergen, the body first has to produce those antibodies that then get used in the hypersensitivity response at the second, ...
YviDe's user avatar
  • 2,258

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