Reflecting on the Lesson
With our lesson, I remembered my mom's usual story about how she had a life or death situation when she was in high school. She has food allergies, specifically on shrimps, and back then, she ate her lunch made by her grandmother. They are supposed to go back to school after lunch time. As she walked to school with lola, she had an allergy attack on the way, and they rushed her to the nearest hospital. She said that she almost lost her breath, and the moment they stepped on the hospital, she was injected an anti-histamine medication. As a person that has allergies in sudden temperature change, and also has a loved one who has morning allergic rhinitis, I kind of focused on allergy reactions in this lesson.
Adaptive immunity is the ability of the body to defend itself against foreign substances called antigens. There are two types, the cell-mediated and antibody-mediated immunity. In response to allergens, our immune system tends to react exaggeratedly that result in outcomes known as the Type I hypersensitivity. Type I hypersensitivity is the immediate reaction happening in our body, which involves immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediated release of antibodies against different foreign antigen. It includes atopic diseases like allergic rhinitis and allergic diseases like urticaria and food allergies, all mentioned above. This results in mast cell degranulation and release of histamine and other inflammatory mediators. Histamines are those that start the process that fights those allergens out of the body, that makes almost all the symptoms of allergies possible. Too much histamine, caused by the body's oversensitivity, the need for anithistamine medication arises. With all this information, even though allergies are not observed as long as allergens are not around, I have taken note of all the lessons and readings about Type I hypersensitivity, which may help me, my circle of people, and the future patients I might handle. I have also taken deep into my heart the importance of anti-histamines (which I commonly know as cetirizine) whenever someone suddenly have an allergic reaction, that's why I will keep atleast one tablet of this in my hygiene kit.