What are Allergies and Its Symptoms

Normally, the immune system would only react if a harmful substance, such as bacteria, attacks the body. For people with allergies, their immune systems are working too hard and react even when relatively harmless substances, such as pollen, are present. The severity of an allergic reaction can vary from mild discomfort to life threatening situations.

Allergens can stimulate an immune response when you breathe in or touch the allergen, or by ingestion of food or beverage, or from injections of medication.

Weather plays an important part for many allergy sufferers. This is why we include the extended weather forecast weather forecast on Pollen.com. We are not weather forecast specialists therefore we get this data from the experts at NOAA and Weather Trends.

Our allergy forecasts include daily allergy reports that note the pollen count for your location. Find out more about our Allergy Alerts™ that can be mailed directly to your inbox. This allergy information can help sufferers manage their allergy symptoms.

The children of those with allergies have a greater chance of having allergies themselves. As a result, doctors often learn about a patient's allergies based on family and personal medical records.

Finally, doctors find clues in the recent activities patients engage in by asking a battery of questions to gauge allergy information. For example, to determine whether your reaction is a result of food, airborne or chemical allergens, the doctor might ask, "Have you eaten anything unusual recently?", "Have you been working or exercising vigorously outdoors?" or "Did you come into contact with anything which might have irritated your skin and eyes?" Your doctor will likely ask if you suffer from asthma, since allergies increase the risk of an asthma attack.