IUBio

Question about allergic reactions.

Phil Caskanette caskanet at mc1adm.uwaterloo.ca
Tue Oct 6 13:18:31 EST 1998


Joseph A. Price, Ph.D. wrote:
> 
> In article <AZLQ1.74$Mq1.187445 at news.rdc1.on.wave.home.com>, sanyal at home.com
> says...
> >
> >I am very allergic to cats, ...
> >
> >When I returned to Canada, I was surprised that I did not display any
> >allergic symptoms when I was exposed to cats.
> 
> >However, it has now been 6 months since I returned and I have begun to
> >redisplay the exact same symptoms again,
> 
> It is most likely that your immune response to cat allergns waned without
> regular stimulation while you were abroad. Thus you were unreactive or
> subclinically reactive when you first returned. After enough reexposure and
> time, your immune responses to cat allergen were rekindled, and your problems
> returned.

That sounds right based on my experience, and my allergists'
explanations.  I don't think a 'clean environment' has anything to do
with the phenomonen experienced by Steve.  My allergists said it was
dependent on whether you went somewhere that had sufficiently different
allergens from your normal environment.  I spent 2 years in Northern
Alberta and at first my allergies waned.  Then I developed allergies to
native plants in the region.  I thought it was a cold that wouldn't go
away, but it was allergies.  When I moved back to Ontario, my allergic
reactions waned and I felt fine for about 6 months.  Then the cycle
started again.  

-- 
======================================================================= 
Phil Caskanette                 |  e-mail: caskanet at UWaterloo.ca
Senior Auditor                  |  phone:  (519) 888-4567 x2774
University of Waterloo          |  fax:    
Waterloo, Ont., Canada N2L 3G1  |
======================================================================= 
Disclaimer: All expressed opinions are mine, and are not necessarily 
the views of my employer.



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