Do You Have Meat Allergy? - Allergic Diseases

Meat Allergy

Food allergies are very common in the developed world, affecting up to two percent of adults and eight percent of children. While people can have allergic reactions to pork, beef, lamb, game, or poultry, meat allergy is a less common cause of food allergy compared to peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, cow's milk, eggs, shellfish, and fish. Childhood meat allergy is usually associated with atopic dermatitis and outgrown during the first years of life. Meat allergy can also develop in adulthood.

Red Meat Allergy

Red meat allergy, also called as alpha-gal allergy or mammalian meat allergy (MMA) that occurs most frequently in people with an A or O blood group type. According to researchers, this is because the B antigen in AB or B blood types most resembles the allergen that triggers a meat allergy, providing those individuals with innate protection.

With regards to beef, lamb, pork, and other mammalian meats, the allergen in question is sugar, specifically, a type is known as alpha-gal sugar found in almost every mammal except for humans. While an A or O blood type may increase a person's risk of a meat allergy, research suggests that certain infections or co-existing allergies may trigger a symptomatic response or amplify its effects.

One of the most common triggers are the bite of a lone star tick (named for these single white marking on its back). Found primarily in the Southern and Central United States but expanding elsewhere, the lone star tick—also known as a turkey tick or northeastern water tick— sucks blood from mammals whose meat contains alpha-gal sugar. When the tick feeds on a human, it introduces those sugars into the bloodstream, sensitizing the person to alpha-gal.

Causes

A meat allergy can develop at any phase throughout everyday life, and certain people are at greater risk including those with specific blood types, tick bites, past infections, atopic dermatitis, or co-existing food allergies.

As with all allergies, the underlying cause, and cure of a meat allergy are unknown. With that being said, scientists have gained greater insights into the key factors that trigger red meat allergies and poultry allergies, respectively.

The unusual thing about meat, allergies are that the delayed reactions can be every bit as severe. With almost every other type of food allergy, a delayed response is typically manageable. Not so with a red meat allergy for which anaphylaxis can occur many hours after the meat has been consumed.

Diagnosis

A meat allergy is usually suspected if you experience any symptoms whenever you eat certain types of meat. To confirm your suspicions, you would need to see a specialist known as an allergist who can to perform a series of common allergy tests. 

These include:

An allergy blood test that able to distinguish antibodies, known as immunoglobulin E (IgE), particular to the different types of meat or poultry. 

A skin prick test in a which, small amounts of meat protein are put underneath the skin to see if any trigger a skin reaction. 

An elimination diet to expel  suspected meat allergens from your diet to see if the symptoms improve.

Less commonly, an oral challenge may be done to introduce certain meats into the diet to see if they trigger a reaction. This would only be considered if your symptoms are mild and conducted under the strict supervision of a board-certified allergist.

Treatment

The best form of treatment for a meat allergy is the avoidance of the specific meat or meat by-products this includes checking all food labels (particularly sausages, pâtés, and other mixed-meat products) and restaurant ingredients whenever dining out. If the meat is a major staple of your diet, you should consider meeting with a dietician who can help you find alternate sources of protein while ensuring you meet your daily nutritional needs.

If you accidentally eat problematic meat and have an uncomplicated reaction, an over-the-counter antihistamine will often help relieve rash or mild respiratory symptoms. A corticosteroid nasal spray can also be used to open blocked nasal passages. People with asthma will typically need a rescue inhaler to ease respiratory distress.

However, if you have experienced a severe reaction in the past or are at risk of anaphylaxis, you need to carry an EpiPen to inject yourself with epinephrine (adrenaline) in an emergency situation. Anaphylaxis always requires emergency, in-hospital care, usually with intravenous (IV) corticosteroids, antihistamines, and IV fluids.

Some scientists suspect that meat allergies are far more common than presumed, with some cases of anaphylaxis believed misattributed to other more common causes, such as a nut or shellfish allergy. To this end, it is important to speak with your doctor if allergy symptoms persist despite the exclusion of a presumed food allergen. This is especially true in areas where the lone star tick is endemic.

What I Wish Everyone Knew About Skin Pigmentation Disorder.

Skin pigmentation disorders affect the color of your skin that is blotchy, discolored, or darker or lighter than normal. Pigmentation occurs in the skin when the body produces too little (hypopigmentation) or too much (hyperpigmentation) melanin. Melanin is a pigment that creates skin, hair, eye color and protects the skin by absorbing ultraviolet light.

Special cells in the skin make melanin and when these special cells become unhealthy or damaged, it affects the production of the melanin. Some pigmentation disorders affect just patches of skin and others affect your entire body. Pigmentation disarranges influence fair patches of skin.

These disorders can be localized or can diffusely spread about the body. Some pigmentation disorders, such as liver spots, are common, whereas others, such as albinism, are rare, affecting approximately 1 out of every 17,000 people. With some disorders, the cause of dyspigmentation may be readily identified as drug reactions, sun exposure, or inflammation; in other cases, the etiology is not as clear. Most disorders can be diagnosed by appearance. The image shown is a case of vitiligo, a hypopigmentation disorder of unknown etiology.

If your body produces too much melanin, then your skin gets darker.  Addison's disease, Pregnancy, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker. If your body produces too little melanin, your skin gets lighter. Vitiligo is a condition that causes patches of light skin and Albinism is a genetic condition affecting a person's skin. A person with albinism may have no color, lighter than normal skin color, or patchy missing skin color. Blisters, Infections, and burns can also cause lighter skin.

Everybody wishes to have a perfect skin complexion with ever-lasting youth and no matter how sure you are that your laugh lines represent a well-lived life, it is very hard to say the same about those not-so-subtle brown-colored patches on your face. This skin discoloration is commonly called as skin pigmentation which is often a result of genetics, sun exposure (UV rays), hormonal changes, pregnancy, medications (such as birth control pills), skin aging and the wrong use of skin care products.

The Intermediate Guide to Allergic Asthma

Allergies are all about the immune system that protects you from germs such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign invaders. If you have an allergy, the immune system will also fight against harmful substance such as mold, dust, pollen, pet dander. But when you come across the substances which trigger an allergy, your body produces IgE antibodies. The allergen causes several reactions in your body causing runny nose, sneezing and watery eyes even asthma attack.

Allergic Asthma:-

People with allergic asthma, the airways are extra sensitive to certain allergens. Once the allergen gets into the body, your immune system overreacts. The muscles around their airways begin to tighten and the airways become inflamed and flooded with mucus by themselves. Allergy asthma is one of the most common types of asthma. About 50% of the adult with asthma have allergy whereas more than 90% of kids have allergy with childhood asthma.

Symptoms:-

The symptoms are generally the same for people with allergic asthma or non- allergic asthma. It can cause Cough, sneeze, runny nose, wheeze, breathe quickly, be short of breath, and feel your chest get tight. People with asthma usually get worse after exercising in cold air or after breathing dust, fumes or smoke. Sometimes even a strong smell can harm you severely because allergens are everywhere; it's important that people with allergic asthma know their triggers and learns how to prevent an attack.

The allergens aren’t the only thing that causes allergic asthma worse. Other Irritants also can cause an asthma attack, even though they don't cause any allergic reaction. These include Air pollution, Dusty rooms,  Smoke from tobacco, a fireplace, candles, incense, or fireworks, Cold air, Exercise in cold air, Perfumes, air fresheners, or other scented products, Strong chemical odors or fumes.

Treatment and Medications for Allergic Asthma:-

Till now there is no permanent cure for asthma, it can only be managed and treated. Once you identify your triggers through a blood or skin test, you can come up with the best plan to avoid allergic asthma triggers and also for managing and controlling your symptoms.

Knowing the allergic triggers and avoiding them can help you a lot to control an allergy-induced asthma episode. The AFAA advises people not to leave food or crumbs in living quarters to prevent pests like cockroaches; fix leaks to prevent mold; wash bedding in hot water and use mattress and pillow covers to protect against dust mites; vacuum pet dander; and wear a mask when outdoors.

For some with allergic asthma, allergy medications may help avert or alleviate symptoms. If your allergies are extremely severe, you should consider seeing a doctor to discuss a treatment plan that may involve a prescription like epinephrine. Some over-the-counter options may help those with mild allergy symptoms. These include:

• Steroids
• Antihistamines
• Decongestants
• Saline nasal sprays

To treat an asthma attack, there are both short-term and long-term options for relief. Short-term options seek to relax the narrowing muscles in the airways and ease the flow of air. The goal of long-term medications is to control and reduce inflammation in the airways and make them less sensitive to triggering allergens.

Zoonotic Diseases

Consistently, a huge number of people will get sick from diseases spread among animals and people. These are called zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic refers to irresistible infections that are spread among animals and people.

Animals give numerous advantages to people. Many people associate with animals in their everyday lives, both at home and far from home. Pets offer camaraderie and excitement, with a number of households having at least one pet. We may come into close contact with animals at a province reasonable or petting zoo, or encounter wildlife while enjoying outdoor activities. Likewise, animals are an imperative sustenance source and give meat, dairy, and eggs. Likewise, animals are an imperative sustenance source and give meat, dairy, and eggs.

However, some animals can carry harmful germs that can be imparted to people and cause illness – these are known as zoonotic diseases or zoonoses. Zoonotic diseases are brought about by harmful germs like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. These germs can cause different types of diseases in animals and people ranging from mild to serve illness and even death. A few animals can appear healthy when they are carrying germs that can make people ill.

Zoonotic diseases are very common around the globe. Researchers gauge that more than 6 out of each 10 known infectious diseases in people are spread from animals, and 3 out of each 4 new or rising infectious diseases in people are spread from animals.

How do the germs spread among people and animals?

Due to the close connection between animals and people, it’s very important to be aware of the common ways people can get affected by germs which can cause zoonotic diseases. These can include:

Direct contact: Coming into contact with the blood, urine, saliva, mucous, feces, or other body liquids of an infected animal. Examples incorporate petting or contacting animals, and bites or scratches.

Aberrant contact: Coming into contact with territories where animals live and wander, or objects or surfaces that have been contaminated with germs. Examples include aquarium tank water, chicken coops, pet habitats, plants, and soil, as well as pet food and water dishes.

Vector-borne: Being bitten by a tick, or an insect like a flea or a mosquito.

Foodborne: Every year, people become ill from eating contaminated food. Eating or drinking something hazardous, (such as undercooked meat or eggs, unpasteurized milk, or raw fruits and vegetables that are contaminated with feces from an infected animal).

Who is at a higher danger of serious illness from zoonotic diseases?

Anybody can end up sick from zoonotic diseases, including healthy people. However, a few people might be more in danger than others and should find a way to secure themselves or relatives. These people are almost certain than others to become extremely ill and die, from infection with certain diseases. People include these people are:-

•             Children younger than 5
•             Adults older than 65
•             People with weakened immune systems

What would you be able to do to protect yourself and your family from zoonotic diseases?

People can come into contact with animals in different places. This includes at home and away from home, in places like fairs, petting zoos, schools, stores, and parks. Insects, like fleas and mosquitoes, and ticks bite people and animals day and night. Fortunately, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your family from zoonotic diseases.

Keep hands clean. Washing your hands directly subsequent to being around animals, regardless of whether you didn't contact any animals, is a standout amongst the most vital advances you can take to avoid becoming ill and spreading germs to other people.

Many germs are spread by not washing hands with clean, running water and soap. If clean, running water is not accessible, use soap and available water.

If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands. Because hand sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs, it is important to wash your hands as soon as soap and water are available.

Prevent bites from ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas.  Avoid bites and scratches from animals.

Things You Should Know About Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease that speeds up the life cycle of skin cells which cause cells to build up so fast on the skin surface. This is a skin condition caused by an overactive immune system and characterized by patches of abnormal skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious but generally thought to be a genetic disease which is triggered by environmental factors. They can grow anywhere, but mostly found in elbows, scalp, knees, and lower back. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete body coverage and the symptoms are different from everyone.

The patches can heal completely and then come back throughout a person's life. The symptoms depend on the type of psoriasis the person has. The skin patches may be found purple in color in the people with darker skin.

The symptoms often worsen during winter. The common symptoms of psoriasis include red patches or rashes and inflamed skin. The skin patches are dry, itchy & scaly and sometimes it’s painful that the skin can crack or bleed.  Sometimes, it causes problems with the person’s toenails and fingernails, including pitting and decoloration. The nails may also start to crumble and detach from the nail bed. There are several types of psoriasis. These include: Plaque psoriasis, Nail psoriasis, Guttate psoriasis, Inverse psoriasis, Pustular psoriasis, Erythrodermic psoriasis, Psoriatic arthritis.

Diagnosis of psoriasis is typically based on the signs and symptoms. The main goal of treatment to stop the skin cells from growing so fast. Till now there is no cure for psoriasis, but the symptoms can be managed and controlled. The treatment includes steroid creams, light therapy, occlusion and oral medications such as biologic drugs which target specific parts of the immune system. The way of life measures, such as moisturizing, stopping smoking and managing stress, may help.