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It seems more and more people are suffering with allergies. Dust allergies, allergies to pets or pollen and more.

There are many products on the market that claim to cure or prevent an allergy but not all are beneficial to people who are sensitive in general. Here you will find information regarding allergies and how to prevent them.

What is an ALLERGY?

Allergy is the word used to describe an adverse (bad) reaction that the body has to a particular substance in the environment. Most substances that cause allergies are not harmful and have no effect on people who are not allergic.

An allergic reaction is your immune system's abnormal reaction to contact with a specific substance. It's the body's reaction and the chemicals it releases, that cause the irritation.

Any substance that triggers an allergic reaction is called an allergen. Some of the most common allergens include pollen, house dust mites, mould and pets. Less common allergens include nuts, fruit and latex.

An allergy develops when the body’s immune system reacts to an allergen as though it is a threat, like an infection. It produces antibodies to fight off the allergen, in a reaction called the immune response.

The next time a person comes into contact with the allergen, the body "remembers" the previous exposure and produces more of the antibodies. This causes the release of chemicals in the body that lead to an allergic reaction.

It is not the foreign substance or organism itself that causes this but your body's own immune system overreacting. Usually this is an overreaction to histamine, a chemical that the body releases to fight microbial invaders.

The symptoms depend on how you came into contact with the allergen. For example, you may experience problems with your airways if you breathe in pollen.

The conventional handling of allergies is by taking decongestants and/or antihistamines. Decongestants open clogged nasal passages but also have a drying action, while antihistamines suppress the body's release of histamine.

But both of these are handling just the symptoms of the allergies, not actually addressing the causes, which could be a confused or tired immune system.

Another important factor to allergies is malnutrition. If your diet is lacking basic and vital nutrients you are more susceptible to allergies.

Allergies are very common. According to the British Allergy Foundation, one in three people in the UK suffer from an allergy at some time in their lives. The numbers are increasing every year and as many as half of those affected are children.

The reason for the rise is unclear. Some experts believe it is associated with pollution. Another theory is that allergies are caused by living in a cleaner, germ-free environment, which reduces the number of germs our immune system has to deal with. This causes it to overreact when it comes into contact with normally harmless substances.