Question: How do allergies work?

Paul Laurance-Young answered on 21 Nov 2019: last edited 21 Nov 2019 6:29 am

Allergies happen when your body’s immune cells (such as basophils) wholesale dump their chemical compounds into your blood in response to something harmless, like grass pollen or kitten floof. This triggers a massive chemical immune response cascade and before you know it: itchy eyes and snot EVERYWHERE
Of course, it can be more serious: this immune cascade causes tissues to swell (usually the puffy eyes associated with hay fever) but in cases like peanut allergy, the airway can swell up and the person suffocates to death.