Living with a peanut allergy is like hanging a sword on your head at all times. If there is any patient in India, then its difficulty increases even more, because here from Maharashtra to Bihar and Punjab to Tamil Nadu, peanuts are used in sweets and all kinds of things.
The smell of peanuts can also reach the hospital for the victim of this allergy. Food allergy means no food being accepted by the body. Allergies can range from eggs to milk, peanuts and shellfish (snail or shellfish). Eating or touching an allergic thing has a direct effect on the body's system of fighting diseases. This system assumes that the body is attacked and produces histamine (a stimulatory mediator) to fight. This results in frequent sneezing to shock. Scientists around the world are finding alternatives to antihistamines and epi-pens (especially in children) to control allergic reactions.
Allergies in India
Traditionally there are fewer cases of food allergies in India. According to an article published in the Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences on March 2019, Indian genes have the potential to protect us from allergic sneezing, asthma and itching. The 'Allergies in India - A Study of 6270 Patients' states that the biggest food culprit in India is cocoa — rich in nutrients, but bitter. This makes chocolate enjoyable. But now, things are changing. People have become allergic to lactose and dust particles due to lifestyle changes. In 2016, 588 people were studied in Karnataka, of which 26 per cent were food allergy victims.
Why does eating peanuts cause this?
In his article published in the Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, S.V. Gangal and B.K. Malik has written that allergy is directly related to a person's ability to fight against diseases. In many people, peanut protein acts as an antigen, which awakens the immune system.
What are the symptoms of allergy?
The immune system produces IgE antibodies. Although there are a total of 5 types of antibodies, IgE is thought to be responsible for allergies. These IgE antibodies combine with mast cells or basophils (immune cells) and sensitize them. Sensitization here means awakening those cells. Thus the next time a person eats peanuts, mast cells or basophils release a large amount of stimulants. There are many symptoms like- diarrhea, asthma, itching, skin rash and redness.
What is the treatment of allergy?
There is currently no cure for food allergies. Peanut allergy is treated with epinephrine, which calms the respiratory airways. There are many devices available in the market, from which patients can also inject epinephrine themselves. Even after this, it is advisable to take the patient to the hospital, so that more treatment can be done if needed. At the same time, not only allergies to antihistamines and epinephrine are also treated. Epinephrine is now getting more attention in recent research. One such treatment is oral immunotherapy. Slightly, the doctors give the patient allergenic foods and try to develop the ability to fight the allergies.
The body usually produces IgE antibodies to fight the antigen in an allergic reaction. Oral immunotherapy involves the idea of using these antibodies called monoclonal, because they are made up of the same immune cells that react to the food that is allergic to it. The purpose is to bind immune cells (basophils or mast cells), so that they do not cause further adverse reactions.
Earlier this year, a report published in the science journal The Lancet states that oral immunotherapy affects children to a certain extent. In their analysis, researchers found that this increases the risk of an anaphylactic reaction and the possibility of repeated attacks.
Overall, this is the beginning of the fight against allergies. Every day scientists are getting more understanding of how the immune system works. Roots of allergies are strong not only in India, but all over the world, but doctors are constantly trying to find a cure for it.
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