• Question: why do some people have allergies to natural foods such as nuts?

    Asked by 0lliemang0 to Arttu, Ceri, James_M, Monica, Philip on 16 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by jabby.
    • Photo: James M Monk

      James M Monk answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      I don’t know about foods, but I do know about pollen a little because I have hayfever. My immune system reacts to proteins on the surface of the pollen – it tries to attack the pollen and in doing so makes my eyes and nose sore. The anti-histamine drugs that help prevent allergies block some of the chemical signals telling the immune system to attack. I guess it is very similar for food allergies.

    • Photo: Arttu Rajantie

      Arttu Rajantie answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      I am not an expert on this, but I understand that, as James writes, the immune system reacts violently to them for some reason. I don’t know why some people become allergic when most don’t. As a parent I have heard a lot of advice on how to prevent your kids having allergies, a lot of it conflicting, so I have just tried to use common sense.

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