Atopy

[Serotonin]

...or, "How living in a developed country comes back to bite you in the ass".

We're so clean nowadays. Infectious diseases of 100 years ago like tuberculosis, dysentery, etc. are things we don't have to worry about anymore.

But our immune systems are still hypervigilant regardless. When they can't find nasty diseases to fight against, they instead attack the non-pathogenic micro-organisms in our bodies. Gut flora, skin flora, the bacteria in our noses.

I thought there were three main atopic diseases: hay fever, asthma and eczema. But there's a fourth: inflammatory bowel disease. Sub-conditions include ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. They are auto-immune, and occur when the balance of cell proliferation and apoptosis (cell death) is out of whack.

Through a combination of genes, western living, and probably diet, I am highly atopic. I have had hay fever ever since I can remember, and in the last couple of years I have developed mild ulcerative colitis. At university in a pharmacology lab, I submitted myself for an allergy test. On one arm, a drop each of "dust-mite extract" and "pollen-extract" were placed, and my skin pricked underneath the drop. Within 10 minutes, a huge mosquito-bite sized lump appeared underneath each prick, and a giant red weal around each of those. Everyone else in the group I was with only got a mild reaction, or none at all.
"Look at that guy, he's got nipples on his arm!!!!!" was a comment I got.
I was in the group that took the antihistamine tablet, not the control. 2 hours later: exactly the same result on the other arm. Pretty much proving that with me, it's not just the histamines which are hypervigilant, it's also my cytokines and interleukins that crack the shits when they come in contact with anything foreign.

So I want to get an idea of the type of atopic reactions people get.

[Sally]

I sneeze and/or sniffle a lot, but I'm not allergic to anything. Ever since I stopped touching cold medicine and started dosing myself with lots of juice and tea and sleep whenever I start to get sick, I don't get bad colds.

My body's pretty damn good at differentiating good from bad.

[Helios]

And Rag weed is a bitch too!

[MasterMerk]

I used to have baaad hay fever. But it seems as though I grew out of it, or gained a resistance from being around those foreign conidtions so much.

I've had asthma forever. Hospitalised a few times. Only four or so years ago did I begin controlling it regularly with medication, and since then I've not had to worry about it at all. I also became more active and leaned out around the same time.

[PenguinHunter]

I get nothing like this, and I'm rarely sick either. To add to your correlation, I lived in Southern Africa from ages 2-5 so my parents claim that immune system has always been quite the powerhouse as a result.

[Ivy]

Do you think the recent spike in childhood allergies (nuts/wheat/shellfish/etc) is in the same category?

[Serotonin]

Do you think the recent spike in childhood allergies (nuts/wheat/shellfish/etc) is in the same category?

Yes, I think the causes are the same. But anaphylaxis (i.e. peanuts, bee stings) is a whole different level of immune response altogether. Extreme vasodilation etc. Nasty shit.

[panda]

I've had eczema since I was two or three. Hate it.

[Ivy]

Yes, I think the causes are the same. But anaphylaxis (i.e. peanuts, bee stings) is a whole different level of immune response altogether. Extreme vasodilation etc. Nasty shit.

It really can be. I don't remember knowing anybody with a life-threatening allergy even just 20 years ago when I was a kid, but lately I've been hearing about entire schools going "peanut free" because of kids with severe peanut allergies. There is a child with a severe wheat allergy in my daughter's class, and I hear through the carpool grapevine that there is at least one kid with some kind of bad dietary allergy in several other classes. This is entirely anecdotal (the plural of which is not data, as they say) but is backed up by stats, I think.

I don't have any atopic reactions, and I have to wonder if it can be partly attributed to the dusty house with the woodstove that I grew up in, and eating leftover roast beef that was stored in the toaster oven instead of the refrigerator for the rest of the day. :)

[Hypnos]

* I'd be wary of anecdotal evidence that allergies among children are rising. The stigma on childhood illness and other "family problems" has waned, so reporting might be increased.

* What's the epidemiological data on autoimmune illness? Is it on the rise? Are there longitudinal studies to identify genetic factors?

[Serotonin]

* I'd be wary of anecdotal evidence that allergies among children are rising. The stigma on childhood illness and other "family problems" has waned, so reporting might be increased.

* What's the epidemiological data on autoimmune illness? Is it on the rise? Are there longitudinal studies to identify genetic factors?

http://www.broadmedical.org/printable_pages/BMRP%20Investigator%20Meetings/2004%20BMRP%20Investigator%20Meeting/Presentation-Fiocchi%20-%20Invited%20Talk.pdf

Slide 9. And they didn't put a reference :rolleyes:

It doesn't directly answer your question, but the rise in immune diseases is real.

[Hypnos]

The graphs are striking, but I still wonder about reporting ... *shrug* Hence the necessity of error bars :)

[LuridLemur]

I don't suffer from any of the things listed, but my immune system is complete shit. Almost got held back in school a few years ago because I missed too many days.


It really can be. I don't remember knowing anybody with a life-threatening allergy even just 20 years ago when I was a kid, but lately I've been hearing about entire schools going "peanut free" because of kids with severe peanut allergies.
Last year there were two kids with severe peanut allergies in one of my classes. It really does seem fairly common now (although that's still pretty unusual).

[SensEye]

It really can be. I don't remember knowing anybody with a life-threatening allergy even just 20 years ago when I was a kid, but lately I've been hearing about entire schools going "peanut free" because of kids with severe peanut allergies. Same here. I can't remember anybody who couldn't eat nuts way back when I was a nipper. I suppose there could have been one or two I wasn't aware of. It was a different time and people didn't fuss about those things (like going peanut free because there is a chance someone will sue your ass off) as they do today.


I don't have any atopic reactions, and I have to wonder if it can be partly attributed to the dusty house with the woodstove that I grew up in, and eating leftover roast beef that was stored in the toaster oven instead of the refrigerator for the rest of the day. I developed hay fever around the age of 30 (tree pollen I believe). Pissed me right off even though it's not too severe. If you saw my housekeeping conditions (my dishes rarely see soap, I almost never dust anything) my example does not support the theory that clean living conditions promote allergies. However, I do believe the theory has merit overall.

[red]

I sniffle and stuff alot.[makes me look extra nerdy with my glasses and the millions of kleenex I carry around] I have many allergies although when the doctor asks me if I do I say no.

[kuranes]

Same here. I can't remember anybody who couldn't eat nuts way back when I was a nipper. I suppose there could have been one or two I wasn't aware of. It was a different time and people didn't fuss about those things (like going peanut free because there is a chance someone will sue your ass off) as they do today.

I developed hay fever around the age of 30 (tree pollen I believe). Pissed me right off even though it's not too severe. If you saw my housekeeping conditions (my dishes rarely see soap, I almost never dust anything) my example does not support the theory that clean living conditions promote allergies. However, I do believe the theory has merit overall.

I recognize the house keeping habits!

Yeah, when I was a kid I never heard about people allergic to nuts, but I guess they existed. Poor bastards didn't know what was wrong with them. "It's that self-abuse Junior! We warned you!"

Enigma - I developed a wee bit of eczema back about 15 years ago, having never encountered it before personally. This may have been when I first started coming down with Diabetes type 2, I'm theorizing. But I didn't know it at the time. On my left elbow and on my right index finger mostly. I was able to clear up the finger using a combination of very aggressive application of over-the-counter stuff of all kinds. The elbow was too much for this, though. I finally started to make some headway on it with this stuff called Elidel. But it was still only half cleared up. Then anti-inflammatory drugs like Celebrex finished off the job. I've stopped taking that for the time being. It's supposed to be bad for you, of course. My latest mainstay on that front is a spray that utilizes Zinc Pyrithione called "Dermazinc".

[Wiki]

Hey Kuranes, dead sea salt baths do wonders for any skin conditions. Try it twice a week for two weeks and you will notice a difference. You can also apply a compress of salts and water inbetween. Youll be amazed!

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=3

[kuranes]

Hey Kuranes, dead sea salt baths do wonders for any skin conditions. Try it twice a week for two weeks and you will notice a difference. You can also apply a compress of salts and water inbetween. Youll be amazed!

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=3

Thanks Wick! Noted and logged as the cap'n would say.