Dust mite allergy symptoms
An allergy is an over reaction
by our immune system to any substance that our
body detects as an invader such as a bacterium
or a virus. Our immune system normally protects
us from these invaders by killing these
disease-causing organisms. Things that trigger
an allergy are called allergens.
The allergy, or immune
response, is triggered by foreign
proteins in allergens like pollen, mites,
wasp venom, and so forth. When a foreign protein
is detected our body mobilizes a whole series of
defenses to neutralize the invader including
release of a substance called histamine.
Histamine is what causes the symptoms we call an
allergy.
Dust mites,
for example, excrete a protein in their
droppings that when inhaled is detected by our
immune system as a foreign protein. Just like
some people react to the protein in plant pollen
or wasp venom others react to the foreign
protein of dust mites with an allergic reaction
and release of histamine. Some reactions are
relatively mild while in others the reaction can
be extreme or even life threatening.
