Ahh-choo

Your eyes start watering and itching. You start sneezing. And then you see it—a cat moseying by. You know this always happens with cats, but what actually causes your allergy?

An allergy is an abnormal sensitivity of the immune system to harmless environmental factors. Allergies can include allergies, an over-reaction of the immune system, and intolerances (more common in food), which have similar but less severe symptoms.

It is estimated that about 1 in 5 people have allergies, with children and young adults at greatest risk for developing allergies. In younger children, boys have a greater risk of developing allergies than girls.

The most common allergies include hay fever, pollen, stings, and latex, with the most common food allergies being milk, soy, and wheat. Of allergies, the most dangerous tend to include food and drug allergies, like penicillin.

Interestingly, researchers recently found that although 20 percent of adults claim food allergies, less than 2 percent really have a problem. The researchers said some may have misdiagnosed themselves completely, while others do have symptoms of a medical problem but wrongly attribute the cause to food.

To prevent unnecessary avoidance of food, the researchers encouraged potentially allergic people to confirm the diagnosis (especially for children, who are likely to feel nutritional effects from excluding potential allergens like wheat).

I am definitely allergic to cats, but not wheat....