Choose one concept in our lesson today, give a brief explanation about the concept and cite how would you apply this learning in your everyday life.
The moment I step into a dusty area or a place which hasn’t been cleaned in a while, you can probably see me a few minutes later scratching my eyes and skin, sneezing, a runny nose, or generally feel uncomfortable most likely due to an itchy throat or a headache. In a month of just going through my everyday life, the number of times that my body experiences this reaction is a little bit more than frequent. As was discussed a little while back, this reaction is a form of hypersensitivity specifically to that of dust and dust-based allergens like pollen, dust mites, and sometimes even pet fur (as a dog-owner with a husky that sheds a lot, you can imagine the times that their fur has caused me headaches).
As someone who cannot tolerate these allergens or antigens that induce these reactions, the reaction I have when exposed to dust allergens is that of Type 1 or anaphylactic reactions where my body has a hypersensitive reaction to these allergens which causes an exaggerated immune response to be formed in lieu of the usually harmless foreign agent. The symptoms for Type 1 allergies coincide with that of what I experience whenever exposed to the allergen (Re: itchy eyes, throat and skin; sneezing; headaches etc.); the physiology of said response lies on the antibodies that my body produces when they recognize the dust allergens, and this is Immunoglobulin E or (IgE) as produced by Plasma Cells and Histamine as produced by Mast cells and basophils that facilitates these immune responses for allergic reactions. To counteract the effects of these, I was prescribed with the typical anti-histamine drug, cetirizine to block these effects and reduce the symptoms I experience.