What are Allergy Comorbidities and How Do They Relate?
As if allergies aren’t enough to deal with, many people experience related conditions at the same time, and the two can impact one another. These are known as allergy comorbidities, and they can range from annoying to dangerous, depending on the severity of the allergy.
What is a comorbidity?
A comorbidity is the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases, or medical conditions, in a patient. They’re often called coexisting conditions. For example, someone with anxiety may have a comorbidity of depression. A person with high blood pressure may have heart disease as a comorbidity.
Why do allergy comorbidities occur?
When exposed to a problematic allergen, the body responds by creating IgE antibodies and releasing histamine into the bloodstream – both cause increased inflammation. This can trigger a variety of symptoms, like sneezing, itching, watery eyes, runny nose, rashes, respiratory issues and more.
Many people with allergy have coexisting conditions because of the increased inflammation and overreacting immune response. Think of it like this: increased inflammation in the lungs may trigger asthma symptoms. Swelling in the sinuses may lead to chronic headaches.
Common allergy comorbidities
The most common allergy comorbidities are:
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Chronic headaches
- Food allergies
- Chronic sinusitis
- Chronic ear infections
- IBS
- And more
How do they relate?
Some experience just allergies; some may have allergies with added asthma. And some of the more sensitive people experience a whole host of comorbidities alongside their allergies.
They relate because they all originate in the same way – an allergic reaction, and the body’s response that follows – and luckily, this means they can often be treated in the same way.
Find relief
Immunotherapy is the only disease-changing treatment for allergies, and Allergychoices recommends allergy drop immunotherapy following The La Crosse Method™ Protocol. Allergy drops contain tiny amounts of your problem allergens identified through allergy testing.
Slowly and safely, the strength of allergens in the drops is increased so the body learns to tolerate more and more of the things that make you sick. After three to five years of treatment, many people experience dramatically reduced – or eliminated – symptoms.
Since the origin of allergy comorbidities is allergic reactions, many people find that their asthma, eczema, or other coexisting conditions are reduced after successful treatment. If you’re ready to tackle yours’ head-on, consider finding a provider near you that offers disease changing treatment options.