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Allergy - The Facts

        . 18 million people in the UK have an allergy
        . In any one year 12 million people will be receiving allergy treatment
        . 6 million people will have sufficiently serious allergy to require specialist help
        . Hospital admissions for allergy increased three-fold during the 1990s

What is allergy?

Allergy is a “hypersensitivity” reaction, or exaggerated “sensitivity” to substances that are normally tolerated. Such substances are known as allergens. Examples of common allergens include: peanuts, house dust mite, grass pollen, cats and medicines.

These allergens trigger production of a harmful antibody known as immunoglobulin E (IgE). In an allergic reaction the interaction between the IgE and the allergen causes the release of inflammatory chemicals such as histamine and leukotrienes. In turn, these cause symptoms such as sneezes and itches, rashes and falls in blood pressure and airway narrowing which leads to difficulty breathing. Sometimes symptoms are caused by other mechanisms where IgE is not involved.

Special Interests:
Asthma, hay fever and allergic rhinitis, food allergy, allergy in penicillin, other antibiotics and drugs, wasp and bee anaphylaxis, urticaria and angio-oedema, anaphylaxis.Skin tests, challenges, desensitisation.