• Question: is it microbes that cause allergies and bad reactions to things like penicilin and nuts and things like that ? or is it caused by many things ? :D

    Asked by racheld to Sarah, Panos, Michael, Mark, MarkF on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      It’s not the microbes that cause allergies directly. An idea called ‘The Hygiene Hypothesis’ basically indicates that if you are too clean when your immune system is learning what is, or is not, going to cause you harm, it doesn’t really learn very well. Because it’s then a bit dim, the immune system gets it wrong and becomes over enthusiastic and treats harmless things, like nuts, as a potential health hazard. It’s the immune system’s overreaction that is the allergy.

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      No in theory microbes could actually make your immune system not respond to the allergen as much. However the body is a very complex thing and you can be sensitive to allergens for many different reasons. There is a theory that the cleaner we are the more allergies we have as the immune system is highly active whereas when the immune system is being exposed to lots of microbes and other things then it has a mechanism to stop it over responding and this can then stop it overreacting to allergens as well but it is not always the case for everyone.

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Not really ( although microbes produce penicillin) its more our immune system working incorrectly and attacking moelcules that have entered from outside and in the processdamaging our own tissues. Now this often occurs with invading bacteria…but for allergies as you describe there isn’t even a threat to get rid of

      so nope just a glitch in our immune systems

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Allergies are immune reactions to things that should normally be harmless. allergies can be cuased by many dfferent things- for example as you say, allergic reactions to penecillin, nuts, other food likes kiwi, and dairy, pollen (causing hayfever), animal hair (allergies to cats, etc). So, an allergy is caused by an allergen (i.e. the thing that triggers the immune system).

      It has been suggested that not being exposed to certain microbes has caused people to have increased allergies (so-called hygeine hypothesis) but ore work needs to be done on this.

    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      No microbes are not responsible for allergies.

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