Allergies: The Science of Why Your Body Hates You

Did you know that one of the biggest discoveries in our understanding of allergies was thanks to a completely failed experiment?
From pollen to peanuts, allergies can be the bane of our existence. Hold on tight for this wild ride of an episode that takes us through time. By the end, you'll see how Paris, sea anemone toxin, Prince Albert I of Monaco, and eczema are all linked to allergies...and what we can do about preventing and treating them in the future.
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[@prettypic444]

“Just because someone had ONE good idea doesn’t mean ALL their ideas had merit” SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!! (Also, as someone with some pretty extreme cat allergies, the opening of this video was physically painful for me)

[@kananaskiscountry8191]

ur allergic to cat fur (not cats) = feathers (not just from one bird) = yeast (any kind of bread & baking) = Pollen (all kinds of plants, trees, grass, marijauna, etc) = dust (house dust) = grain dust (grain on a farm) - [totally different dust and grain dust] and more to comoe when we talk allergies

[@zapfanzapfan]

So, lick a cat? Little bit every day to teach your immune system.

[@stevezastrow9252]

it wasn't a failed experiment, it was an unexpected result.

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

Thank you for crediting Chicken as the primary contributor to the video. As any cat will attest, cats should always be primary.

[@jpe1]

I’m glad I saw this comment, I was confused when I saw Chicken listed in the credits, but from the context of this comment, I’ll assume the cat was named Chicken. Not a typical cat name, so I didn’t make the connection without your comment, and then I re-watched the end, and yes, she calls the cat Chicken. Whatever…

[@lizziereid5908]

I had NO idea that eczema gives way to particles through the skin which the body sees as invaders! That’s so fascinating! Thank you for sharing this, me and lots of my family have eczema so this is super helpful to know.

[@kagitsune]

Yes! I remember reading about an adult eczema patient who was using goat milk cream to soothe the rashes, and she later developed a goat milk allergy!

[@petercarioscia9189]

11:50 I started exposing my son to peanut butter orally by around 6 months. Now, 18 months old, PBJ are his favorite snack food.

[@chunkyshrapnel]

When I started this video, I didn't expect to learn new stuff about my eczema. Really interesting!

[@juanitamccaslin2389]

I was always told that if you had allergies and eczema than more times than not, you would also have the "cousin" asthma.

[@sewerrat7612]

Yeah seems to track most family has excena and asthma not sure about food allergy thing know alot of people with excess none with food allergies alot with other allergies though.

[@AifDaimon]

​@@sewerrat7612well, I can't consume eggs directly.. Scrambled, boiled, half-boiled even.. Had one of those as a kid, and I ended up with a nasty rash on my back. I've avoided eating eggs ever since, even though consuming foods that have eggs as an ingredient pose no problems for me

[@hazelgrunts]

I’ve had all three (peanut allergy, eczema, and asthma) although I’ve outgrown my allergy and I’m okay to eat peanuts now.

[@jadedrealist]

When I was young an allergy test told me I was allergic to dogs, cats, peanuts/soy, milk and dust mites. I broke out in hives whenever I was near any of these things, but I ate peanut butter by the spoonfull, my family always had pets both dogs and cats, and I was a pretty messy kid. I lived on benedryl but over time I stopped having reactions/hives and I've credited that to facing my allergies head on. I'm happy to see there was some actual science to that and not just a coincidence.

[@nari5161]

I've never not been in constant contact/proximity to any of my allergens and I still have all of them. The man said exposure to allergens in moderation is a form of treatment and the woman was treating with filtered air to give the immune system a break. Neither suggested constant exposure was therapeutic. The guy just suggested not to avoid entirely. You might be older, but if you're teen-early 20s, some childhood allergies/eczema/autoimmune conditions tend to go away, and for some of those people they return in adulthood.

[@aidanklobuchar1798]

@@nari5161 Also, if he could eat peanut butter by the spoonfull and not _immediately_ end up in the ICU, it was a very minor peanut allergy to begin with.

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

What explains adult onset of allergies? I ate peanut & egg as a child - no problem. Now I'm allergic to a bunch of things including egg & I have eczema which is triggered by eating corn (tested positive for corn allergy with skin prick testing). I haven't tried eating peanuts since I can't eat other legumes (chickpeas, pinto beans, soy). I can eat almond butter so I'm happy about that. My daughter developed severe oral allergy syndrome & Celiac around the same time I developed allergies & eczema. We are both allergic to birch pollen. Weird coincidence - a few days ago I was thinking about making a small tent-like structure out of Tyvek and attaching it to my room Hepa filter to create a positive pressure filtered air chamber around my upper body when I sleep (sort of like an oxygen tent).

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

CW - some TMI health stuff to follow -- I'm thankful that with the help of the Corn Allergy Girl blog I was able to eliminate corn to the point where I don't have eczema flares (since it was in the nether regions it also caused very painful fissures and also the potential to cause terrible infections since that area is sometimes not the cleanest part of the body (I also have IBS-C, but occasionally I still go no. 2 ;-) ). Before that, though, I had to use Eucrisa since steroids did not work. Eucrisa is a miracle drug - but it costs $600 USD a tube.

[@megb9700]

You can develop allergies to stuff you are exposed to during a bad virus, or severe sickness, or pregnancies. Your body is in overload and just treats random stuff as enemies.

[@TylerSmithMusic1]

Autoimmune disease becoming more active possibly?

[@kagitsune]

​@@megb9700I was going to say! I'm not a doctor, but this reminds me of what I have heard from folks with Mast Cell Activation disorder. Sudden, ever-changing allergies, usually brought on by some viral infection (whether mild or severe 😬)

[@KristenRowenPliske]

Allergies are weird & don’t always follow the rules. ☹️ I have cats. I’ve always had cats but my oldest daughter is slightly allergic to their dander. All four of them are allergic to dogs. Neither I nor my husband are allergic to either. Another daughter had very severe excema as a child. It has calmed down some but she doesn’t have seasonal allergies or food allergies (just the dog one). She does have very reactive asthma though, triggered by exercise or a cold or fumes/smog. I’m allergic to fresh tomatoes & the juice from a fresh tomato. First popped up when I was little & I developed severe hives not long after eating some. I kinda forgot I was allergic until I got my first job at a Subway, back when they sliced everything by hand. I sliced some up, got splattered by juice & broke out in an itchy rash up my arms. My mom reminded me that I’m allergic to tomatoes. 🤦🏽‍♀️. Even now I’ll break out into a faint rash on my chest if there are fresh tomatoes in a sauce or stir fry. I could always tolerate ketchup & tomato sauces (minus the chunks, of course) so I do agree that the small exposures over time have lessened the immune response. I don’t even bother telling people I’m allergic; I just don’t eat them, decline them or pick them out if I need to. I have environmental allergies, worse in the spring but otherwise all year. I only get excema flare ups if my allergies are strong.

[@michelebriere9569]

I was raised in the NE. I never had allergies until I moved to southern Arizona. I'm 58, and have had cats my entire life. Never had a problem with them until I moved down here. What's really odd is that since allergies took over 24/7/365, I haven't had a cold in almost 40 years.

[@user-ck3uu8rj3x]

So the "too clean ' hypothesis is being discarded in favour of the ' not being dirty enough ' hypothesis? Surely not just the same thing?

[@thawhiteazn]

I had the same thought lol. It seems the distinction is that while the exposure to microbes from a young age is the causal factor in both theories, the old theory is that the exposure strengthened our immune system against infection in a manner akin to working out to increase muscle mass whereas the newer theory is that the fact your because body has never come across those microbes it doesn’t know how to classify them at all, leading to your body assuming everything is a pathogen. I think it’s a valid distinction, but ultimately the two theories are still not far off from each other.

[@rocketGimbal]

The difference is the harmfulness of the microbes/particles. The “too clean” hypothesis was claiming that allergies were caused by not having enough contact with germs that make us sick. The “not dirty enough” should be taken more literally, we aren’t in contact with enough dirt or other things in our environment that don’t necessarily make us sick. In other words, one (too clean) is saying ‘not enough of the bad stuff’. While the other is saying ‘not enough of the good stuff’. We dont need to let our kids get sick too help them with allergies, we need to make sure they have (proper) contact with the good stuff though.

[@pbsterra]

Yes! @rocketGimbal is exactly right here, this is the very important distinction!

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

@@rocketGimbal There was a presentation on Fralin a few years ago by Dr Beatriz León Ruiz about early exposure to airborne LPS from manure as being protective against asthma. That 'farm fresh air'.

[@Appletank8]

​@@rocketGimbalDoes this mean one should get like, a giant list of the most common allergens, collect them, grind it into dust, and vaguely sprinkle it into baby food?

[@oiartsun]

I was born and raised in California, I've lived here my whole life, and particularly in my childhood I spent plenty of time outdoors. However, much to my chagrin, I have suffered my whole adult life from allergies, specifically to the plants in my home state. It's an unfortunate reality for me, because as a baby I also suffered from several food allergies that my parents managed to rid me of through the kind of incremental exposure described in the video. But the plant allergies just won't go away. I have to take Cetirizine Hydrochloride every day and Astepro for the especially bad days.

[@robynpicknell7801]

This was fascinating! Glad to hear that the "Clean Hypothesis" has been disproved, sort of. Really, really pleased to see the BUS finally being praised for once for the work it does when it comes to research and development. Especially in the Allergy field of medicine given how so many more children are being affected by this issue in today's modern world.

[@robynpicknell7801]

NHS! Hate predictive text! Especially when you can't turn it off!!!😡

[@hermeticbear]

It's so fascinating. I didn't develop an allergy to animal stuff (both cats and dogs) until I hit puberty. I always grew up with cats and dogs, and they often would sleep with us, we would pet them etc. But then one day, I noticed I was getting congested, watery eyes, and sneezing at bed time. After several months of wondering what is going on, I was home one day and I saw the family housecat sleeping on my pillow in my bedroom. I shooshed her off, swapped the pillowcase, and closed my door. No allergic reactions that night when I went to bed. Later I found through visiting the home of friends and family that the greater the concentration of animal dander? (honestly I'm not sure) the more severe the reaction. I even found that just petting a dog or cat and not washing my hands afterwards would cause me to sneeze or get watery eyes or experience congestion. I haven't been in a very highly animal laden space in a while, but it seems my reaction has tapered off somewhat, although I am very attentive to washing my hands after a pet a dog or cat. I like to hope that this allergy will just go away as mysteriously as it developed, but now I usually prepare if I know I'm going to be visiting someone's home who has a housepet that I bring some allergy meds.

[@elmsfu]

Always love the videos! Just retold all this to my partner. Minor nit: all the timeline dates seem off by a decade starting at 4:18 (eg 1546 is between 1540 and 1550)

[@AthAthanasius]

Yeah, whoever did that bit of graphic design was clearly not even trying to be accurate with those placements. Nnnnngggggg.

[@auroraglacialis]

So to prevent cat allergy you would have to eat cats as a kid? 😂

[@DeRien8]

The main cat allergen is caused by a protein concentrated in cat saliva and waste called FLD1. So, more like swallowing cat dander, and considering how much babies put in their mouths, glomming onto a cat wouldn't be surprising behavior.

[@nasonguy]

I’ve been allergic to cats all of my life. Like super bad instant reaction. Puffy scratchy eyes, sneezing snotty mess, wheezing. Real bad. My partner and children wanted a cat sssooo bad that I finally caved and just consigned myself to a life of taking Claritin. The allergies were brutal for a couple months, and tolerable for about a year, and are now entirely gone. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because that little effer walks all over everything and gets his dander and spit all over everywhere, including our food and kitchen.

[@aaronfredrickson9538]

Yup. Same for my brother. He wasn’t allergic as a kid. Became ridiculously allergic not having cats. He caved and got a cat for his family and shortly thereafter…. Allergies gone

[@maolcogi]

@@DeRien8 I was such a weird child, I remember putting our kittens heads in my mouth. Not for long, and not violently or anything, just playing. I am not allergic to cats now. xD

[@MilleniumOfTheComet]

No, just lick them 🤣

[@ElicBehexan]

I didn't learn about my problems with food until I was out of college (22.) Mom never mentioned my having skin problems. Now, in those critical first bunch of months - until I was close to 2, I lived in a state where corn consumption was not as much as it is today. Then we moved to Texas. I don't remember having issues with corn until I hit puberty. Now, I didn't connect my migraines with eating corn, but I will say that Mom made pancakes every Wednesday, and we used cheap syrup=corn syrup with artificial maple flavoring. I got sick every Wednesday, throwing up sick, severe headaches, etc. Even today, if I smell artificial maple flavoring I get queasy. I have no problem with real maple smell or taste. At about 30, after spending 8 years mostly avoiding corn protein, if I got into it, I became really sick: tunnel vision, dizzy, migraines, and extreme inflammation in my body. I could barely eat since if I ate more than a few bites of anything more than saltine crackers, I got sick. And yet, I got tested last year for food allergies and they didn't find anything... so, my body won't let me even smell corn without reacting then, if I'm not allergic, what am I? My most serious reaction I ever got I didn't even know I had gotten into corn until after I started reacting.

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

What type of allergy testing did you get? I don't think blood tests are reliable. I had a skin prick test for environmental allergies since I thought that I had oral allergy syndrome like my daughter; I asked them to add in corn as the only food allergen to the test since I strongly suspected it as a trigger. Unfortunately I was right, I am allergic to corn. It's in everything. I'm very similar to Corn Allergy Girl (has an eponymous blog) in terms of symptoms (e.g., I also have weird reactions to Cucurbits) but thankfully unlike CAG I have not switched from corn causing skin reactions to anaphylaxis. I'm scared I will, though.

[@ElicBehexan]

@@rhyothemisprinceps1617 I did do skin prick tests. However, in 1985 I went to an allergist who did what he called 'provoking' tests and I was nearly falling out of my chair before the 10 minutes was up. I had an almost as bad reaction to apples, but I can eat them after avoiding them for months. I also had a bad reaction to beef, but if I only eat it once a week, I can handle it. Really, the only food I absolutely can not handle is corn and I also have a lot of trouble with peppers. Despite black pepper and the hollow peppers not being related, they both give me bad reactions so I do my best to avoid them.

[@Insan1tyW0lf]

​​​​​@@rhyothemisprinceps1617 The last time I got a skin allergy test, the test confirmed my peanut allergy but missed my definitely-there soy (allergic to multiple but not all members of the _fabaceae_ family) and my cat/dog allergies. When I asked the allergist about this they speculated that the samples used possibly didn't contain the specific allergen I reacted to, or enough of it. When I asked what was the point of a sample simply labeled "dog" if it couldn't reliably capture a dog allergy, they shrugged and suggested I buy a $300 epinephrine auto injector. I know the tests are not a complete waste, but they're heavily reliant on the controlled execution and subjective interpretation by a specialist, and I really wish the process was less archaic after 100 years. That's no endorsement of the blood tests though. Blood tests (as far as I understand) look for IgG instead of IgE since it doesn't require immediate exposure to the target allergen, but the relationship between IgG and food allergies or sensitivities is not fully established or understood, so while the test does reliably indicate the presence of protein-specific IgG, that in and of itself doesn't tell you as much as some would like to claim (or sell you). Ultimately we still have a long way to go to understand allergies, and I hope we get there sooner rather than later.

[@Wiimeiser]

It's likely that they're denying it because high fructose corn syrup is used in basically _everything_ in at least some parts of the US. I'm lucky to be Australian.

[@briebel2684]

If you have a bunch of environmental allergies, watch out for Yellow dye #5 AKA Tartrazine. Some places it is put in nearly everything yellow, green, or orange. It's actually been banned in some countries, but for some reason the FDA keeps it legal in food in the USA. Believe it or not I can taste it in foods, almost like a copper taste. So I've learned to just spit out any food that tastes even a little bit copper-y.

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

Omg when you rubbed face on cat I was cringing so hard haha. I mean I don’t have the same cat allergy but if I did that with juniper I’d be miserable for weeks!

[@ByNextus]

Well, here is another thing. In my childhood, I had two cats. Both of them were completely fine to me. However, once the first one died, and the second died of poisoning, I developed allergies later on. The thing is, for the past years, I have had a very difficult life. I was very stressed physically and mentally. So I suppose the stress changed my body - it took away from my life the animals that I loved. The same went for dogs, btw. It turned out that I had allergies to dust mites, too. But this case is weird because, as a kid, I did not wanna bother cleaning my desk from dust. Yet, here I am.

[@sunla]

My kiddo would have eczema on her legs. My first response was to put cortisone on it. The moment she was able to, she ate peanuts. Weirdly, she gets contact dermatitis with olives and olive oil, so I assumed she is allergic to olives (like her great grandma on her dad's side). As a baby just barely eating solids, we learned this because my mother in law gave her a piece of her firehouse sub sandwich, which was drenched in olive oil, and she got rashes everywhere it touched. She only really nibbled the sandwich, and everywhere near her mouth was rashy. She has had this response multiple times to light exposure of olives and olive oil. Wonder how much genetics may play a role

[@wasabiapple2924]

Awesome video! I gotta shout out to the video editor, Claire! Fantastic job!

[@birdstrum1555]

Was literally battling with dust allergies this morning, very timely.

[@Maichen13]

Same here. Had to take meds cause I kicked up a bunch of dust in my home office.

[@Imperiused]

This was so good. The Eczema revelation blew my mind!

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

Beautiful Intro to a video I just love animals

[@charlessarver1637]

😻😻😻😻

[@oofbih6397]

I love this video and the vibes of the production

[@IanGrams]

Dang, that conversation with Dr. Lack was insightful. I had never heard the "skin before gut" idea before but it sure makes a lot of sense. Though, no one tell the homeopaths about that peanut allergy treatment or we'll never hear the end of it 😜 I had never heard of the relationship between eczema and food allergies either. I suppose I should count myself lucky I didn't develop eczema until 10 or so because I also don't have any food allergies. Thanks for another excellent episode!

[@wezul]

I just have to say, I LOVE the rainbow glasses!

[@BozackZodiack]

This was both a very well produced and SUPER interesting video - thank you for this!!

[@catc8927]

Minor quibble, the primary cat allergen is not their hair, but Fel d 1, a protein in their sebaceous secretions and saliva. It gets stuck to their dander, which then sticks to us or our clothes when we come into contact with them. Hairless cats like Sphynx aren’t considered hypoallergenic, while a long-haired cat breed like the Balinese is often considered less allergenic due to lower Fel d 1 levels.

[@Cuddly-Cactus]

As a life-long pollen allergy sufferer, I can say that I was definitely exposed to a lot of pollen, especially as a little kid, I grew up in New England and still reside there, and every single spring and summer I ran around outside barefoot much of the time. So being a free range kid back in the days when parents actually told kids, what are you doing inside? Go outside and just be home in time for dinner! And I didn't even need to be told that since I was lucky enough to grow up in a place with ample front and backyards so whenever it wasn't down pouring or snowing heavily I was taking my shoes and socks off and running around outside enjoying climbing trees and picking flowers that were abundant on my property. So it just never made any sense to me whenever someone said that the reason my body is allergic to pollen is because I wasn't exposed to it enough as a kid, since quite the opposite is true. Besides even if I grew up in a more urban area, pollen counts are still high in cities as well as more rural areas. There is another fascinating video that delves into the reasons behind some of the most common allergies and it describes a link between venom and other toxins evolving into allergies. This theory makes the most sense and it has to do with the way we humans have evolved. Wish they mentioned that here.

[@Enn-]

Thanks! This is great info.

[@dosadnizub]

I always thought that the immune system is a bit like neutral networks, with adrenaline acting as "temperature", The more the organism is hyped up, it'll hallucinate more, and basically do any different kind of autoimmune shenanigans

[@snapcracklepops]

I used to have cat allergies but now that I take care of a stray cat and often visit my brother, who also used to have cat allergies but now owns several cats, I am no longer allergic to cats.

[@samuelpaulini]

Thanks for this episode!

[@falsificationism]

I'm confused. The presenter stated "the hygiene hypothesis is outdated," but then went on to essentially explain that we need "old friends" which sounded a LOT like the hygiene hypothesis. Can anyone in the comments clarify?

[@Insan1tyW0lf]

The ideas are similar, but apparently the "hygiene hypothesis" was primarily concerned with our reduced exposure to _harmful_ microbes, where the "old friends hypothesis" is primarily concerned with our reduced exposure to _harmless_ microbes. As I understand it, the older idea was that with fewer dangerous targets to attack, the immune system started to attack more non-dangerous targets (a sort of "fewer safe outlets for aggression" or "disproportionate aggression"). The more recent idea seems to be that with less exposure to neutral or friendly microbes, the immune system becomes more likely to misidentify harmless things as hostile ("insufficient socialization").

[@falsificationism]

@@Insan1tyW0lf Very clear explanation, thank you! Still sounds like the behavioral takeaway is pretty common sense. I hate when people try to overdo it on the technical distinctions. 1) Don't expose yourself to harmful microbes, because yeah...don't randomly try to microdose syphilis. 2) Cultivate a diverse microbiome. I imagine this includes spending plenty of time in nature, eating diverse plants, etc. Anyway, thanks again, this was great!

[@manhurter]

Very informative.

[@Trask899]

Another well made, informative, and fun video in this series! Also, shoutout to the video transitions, very creative haha.

[@youtou252]

not just my body : my mind too

[@kiltedpiper98]

Outstanding episode! Learned a lot, enjoyed the humor. Keep em coming

[@MadScienceWorkshoppe]

Very interesting stuff! This my have given some insight into how certain issues crept in around the time I started working in food prep.

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

Some commercial disinfectants used in the food industry contain quaternium ammonium compounds (quats) that can cause occupational asthma and allergic sensitization.

[@briebel2684]

I have a ton of environmental allergies, including cats, dogs, horses, grass pollen, rag weed pollen. Most of those allergies were greatly reduced by therapy shots. The cat allergy was the only one that resisted the therapy. I did grow up out in the country around 2 cats, and it certainly didn't help. 🤷‍♂️ Also had an anaphylactic reaction to Candy Corn when I was 10. The allergy doctor thought it was probably Yellow #5 (tartrazine). To this day I have to avoid anything with yellow 5, otherwise I get major intestinal distress if eaten, or rashes if in shampoo or soap. Ironically, no allergies to nuts or shellfish. 🤷‍♂️🤣

[@OrianJamieson28]

loved this episode!

[@DragonFae16]

What I'd be interested in is research into allergies and intolerances that seemingly spontaneously appear in adulthood. In my case, I developed a pepper and dairy protein allergy in my late 20s, likely triggered by a medication that seriously messed with my digestive system. Most of the effects recovered after I stopped that medication, but these two allergies have remained even though it's been a number of years since.

[@corlisscrabtree3647]

Thank you 🙏

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@AnimeShinigami13]

I love that the hygene hypothesis basically got an update with the old friends hypothesis. Also this video reminded me to get out the ergonomic mousepad I bought to keep something on my desk from triggering eczema in my wrist. >.> also guess where I get eczema? MY FINGERS!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@maolcogi]

Love the idea of infinite wealth and just doing science. I used my GI bill to try and get a degree in physics, I got up to Physics 2 and Calculus 2 but ran out of money, at least I got an AA. I had an actual dream not too long ago that I won a hundred million dollars and just lived off the interest on it just living life as a career student. What a glorious dream.

[@Beryllahawk]

Great video!

[@smiththewright]

Great video! ☀

[@sas5076]

Holy moly, wow! Thank you!

[@CCSMrChen]

This video has an Answer in Progress vibe to it. Especially the scene in front of a projector.

[@bjdefilippo447]

Fascinating info, especially the skin's role in immune responses.

[@i18nGuy]

If not being exposed to peanuts early on leads to allergies, what about having parents with particular diets? For example, vegan parents so the child is not exposed to eggs. Will they later have allergic reactions to non-vegan environments? What is it about peanuts that makes the body react whereas other objects not experienced in childhood do not have the same effect?

[@Insan1tyW0lf]

I expect there's a lot more going on than just "were you exposed early enough to [specific food]", or else we'd all have a lot more allergies. How many kids drink coffee? There are lots foods or other potential allergens we won't be exposed to until later in life for many reasons, yet we won't react to the vast majority of them.

[@DDMrOsh]

I would love to watch an episode about adult onset allergies. Also, love the Noo Works

[@kyt-nh1ef]

I'm severely allergic to cats to the point of allergic asthma I have 3 cats 🙃

[@xpatrstarx]

Thanks pbs. Now i will start my cat hair diet. Not looking forward to the hair balls but would love to snuggle my fur babies

[@elr5475]

Love this presenter ❤️

[@pt8077]

She’s so adorable and smart of course.

[@nerikzniek5922]

Been doing sublingual immunotherapy for cat and dog allergies before I started I had asthma but now I have a puppy

[@jedimindfrak82]

Maren is just the best science educator on KZbin.

[@Tala-ft1dl]

I Like this video and I need a lot of it! Please make more 💙🤝🏻

[@rapturesrevenge]

This was fascinating! Thank you so much for looking into this and presenting it! I have environmental allergies that developed over time. I'm even allergic to my own cats! Since Hell would have to freeze over before I ever give up having kitties in my life, I always figured I'd just have to suffer with the runny, itchy eyes and nose, the sneezing, and the horrifically itchy skin for the rest of my life. Now, I was recently diagnosed with eczema (after years of just being told I was itchy because I have "dry skin"), so maybe I'll bring this video up whenever I go see an allergist. Again, thank you so, so much for presenting this. I never knew allergies were this complex. Also, thank you for giving me hope that one day, I will be able to live without itching, sneezing, and using an entire box of Kleenex in three days. Maybe it will make colds, the flu, and other respiratory illnesses less intense, too. :)

[@catc8927]

I definitely recommend going to see an allergist if you haven’t already. Allergy shots combined with helpful lifestyle changes (HEPA filters, how to do laundry to kill dust mites, etc) have made springtime more bearable for me, and a box of Kleenex now lasts me months. I still have pretty intense upper respiratory reactions when I do get sick, sadly, but my reaction to mosquito bites calmed down a ton after I began regular allergy shots. Allergists are aware of the correlation with eczema and asthma, and will screen you for all three (the “atopic trio”), since having two makes having the third even more likely.

[@rapturesrevenge]

@@catc8927 yeah I do laundry weekly, run the vacuum 2-4 times a week, and run an air purifier in my room. My room is easily the cleanest in the house since I spend most of my time there. The rest of the house needs a good deep clean, and I will be wearing goggles, an N95 mask with a bandana over that, a light junk hoodie, and long pants, just like I do when I go outside to mow. When I'm done, the mask goes in the trash, clothes go in the wash, and I jump in the shower. Guess I just have to bite the bullet and go get tested.

[@SadisticSenpai61]

The interesting thing is that the "ppl aren't exposed to enough germs these days" crowd is _almost_ right. They're just wrong about exactly what it is that kids need to be exposed to - kids need to be exposed to allergens. It also explains why my mom is mildly allergic to cats, but both my brother and I have no allergies whatsoever to cats. We have had cats ever since I can remember. I know I've eaten and drank cat hair plenty of time both when I was young and probably even today.

[@RXP91]

So I've been sleeping with a HEPA filter on for a while & my hayfever has definitely improved this year.

[@thatawesomegeekykid]

What about allergies that are acquired? I hung out with cats on a regular basis growing up, but suddenly, in my mid 20s, I couldn’t be around them for more than 5-10 minutes without an allergic reaction.

[@iamarizonaball2642]

Hello! Bit of an odd question but… I’ve been trying to raise awareness about cacti’s extinction crisis by rping as a saguaro online for over 3 years now.

[@ioresult]

Hey Maren, missed you!

[@deawinter]

I was glad to hear that they are putting a particular focus on detecting eczema on dark skin. Especially because if it can detect eczema on a black person it 100% also could on my pasty-ass skin tone.

[@erikb3799]

The "old friends" and "too much clean" models seem basically the same. The "old friends" sound a lot like germs that are lacking in the "too much clean" model.

[@robynkolozsvari]

so not actually important but it caught my eye- what's going on with the timeline visuals? you put 910 CE before 900 CE, 1546 after 1550, what is happening?

[@johnalbin]

Yeah it was super distracting. I’m worried that AI was used to make these visuals because they haven’t learned that AI makes “reasonable-looking” art, text and graphics; AI does not make _factual_ art, text and graphics.

[@DJofSparta]

Wow, I had environmental allergies years ago and I also have eczema. I was curious if there was a connection. I pretty much couldn't avoid dust and pollen so I guess I eventually dosed myself into immunity. Although I grew up loving shrimp and now as an adult I'm allergic. :\

[@carolc.776]

So glad i dont have allergies or am allergic to anything that i know of. Im 40 so i think i am good.

[@palantir135]

Not every reaction of your body has to be an allergic one. You can also be oversensitive to a certain substance. I for example am not allergic to pollen (it has been tested) but I developed more or less the same symptoms like sneezing, sore throat etc. when I come in contact with certain pollen. I heed the same drugs as for hai fever.

[@ZeMarkKrazee]

Interesting! I was a pretty adventurous child and have a high number of allergies, but, oddly, none to food. Not sure what happened there haha. Also, please note the C in eczema (not eGGzema). 👍🏻

[@1One2Three5Eight13]

Question as to why Chu et al from 2019, the survey paper looking at oral immunotherapy studies for peanut allergies that found that it didn't have a positive effect, wasn't mentioned. Was there a problem with the study that makes it not relevant to Dr. Lack's comments on peanut allergies, or is he just continuing the work from that paper, looking for the "safer peanut allergy treatment approaches"?

[@minaballerina]

i had a cat as a young kid and the developed a cat allergy in my teens 😭

[@Dungeon_Dunce2011]

You said that allergies happen when the first time you interact with something that's when you could get the allergy.But I only develpoed my allergies at the age of 10 or so, after a long time of playing outside and playing wioth dogs as a kid. Could you explain this please? To be spefific, I have pollen and fur allergies.

[@asandstorm]

So how do we get the word out about preventing/treating allergies based on the new findings?

[@veronicapelli2945]

Cute cat!!!

[@SahilP2648]

I might be wrong about this but for some reason in this video the left audio channel volume is lower than the right. Some editing mistake which got overlooked I think.

[@EasterWitch]

I have my own theory towards why I developed allergies towards birch pollen and stone fruits such as apples and cherries in my early 20s. I think it is because I ate too many bad apples and so on that had mould on or in them as a poor student. No idea how I could test my theory though

[@LiiMuRi]

I have pollen allergies, and when I was younger also food allergies to apples, tomatoes and such, probably due to a cross-allergy with the pollen. I got itchy mouth when I ate the foods that caused the allergy, but nothing more serious than that. However, I kept eating those things, even though it sometimes was very annoying for the following hour or so due to the itchiness. Today I have no food allergies any more! The pollen allergies persist, maybe I should start eating pollen 🤔 (Note: I don't suggest anyone with dangerous food allergies to start self-experimenting with desensitization, it can be dangerous)

[@efahall._.]

I grew up with cats why am I so allergic???😭 I also was quite rashy when I was a baby and growing up, I've now got eczema on my face and hands and arms (yay, lol) and a killer shellfish allergy but I'm also convinced that the dust/pollen just wants to kill me but hasn't _quite_ figured out how yet. Maybe if they knew about these various things when I was a baby... or like wanted to treat any of it instead of insisting that I have no allergies and I was just making up struggling to breath when eating shrimp for attention???? Bad parenting, it was the style at the time.

[@engir63]

I am like her with cats only worse. I love long hairs but my eyes turn red and swell up and I sneeze uncontrollably after being around a cat for any amount of time and being in a home with a cat even without the cat present is no better.

[@Cudddlefish]

My body hates me because it knows what I’ve done.

[@MatthewCaban]

Drug Desensitization in a hospital setting is quite interesting as well

[@juliegolick]

Okay, so you've talked about treating food allergies - how about environmental allergies? I developed severe cat allergies during puberty (and later also developed severe dog allergies, though not as severe as my cat allergies), and it's only gotten worse over time. Presumably eating small microdoses of cat isn't going to help me, so...

[@valeriephd]

Me, who grew up on a farm and still ended up with eczema, food allergies, and a cat allergy: 🤡

[@benedixtify]

A good excuse to send yourself to Paris...

[@jessiboyer7309]

Why does my cat chatter at me every time I sneeze? Is he mocking me?

[@DrewSprague1218]

Probably not. He's probably worried about you and is chattering a "you good?" after you sneezed

[@miguelsilva-bb4wk]

You have been killing it with this production quality and editing style!

[@LS-xy7zt]

My cat hates when I sneeze too! He glares at me and chatters.

[@nicolahyndman8510]

Completely unrelated, but I need a link to those rainbow frames

[@pessimistic_optimist8322]

The hygiene hypothesis which suggests we're staying too clean is outdated, instead scientists are focusing on this new idea of old friends, we're getting sick because we're staying to clean and not meeting our old friends... isn't that the same hypothesis? never heard of allergies being from not getting sick enough times, even back in the 90s it was that homes were too sterile and kids weren't getting exposed to allergens enough.

[@pbsterra]

The main reason we felt this distinction was important to include is because there tends to be quite a bit of confusion around what the 'hygiene hypothesis' really means. It sounds like you have the more accurate perception of it: that with less exposure to neutral or friendly microbes, the immune system becomes more likely to misidentify harmless things as hostile. However, there is also a popular understanding of it that it means we're not being exposed to enough illnesses, and that makes our immune systems less equipped to deal with everything, including allergens. This is actually what the hygiene hypothesis has come to mean in the scientific community as well, and if you Google 'hygiene hypothesis', that's the definition you're likely to encounter in the main search results. This can result in people thinking that they need to expose their children to more infections in order to stave off allergies, which isn't true! Hence the clarification :) ~Fascinating Fails Team

[@Xo1ot1]

Nice glasses.

[@SubtleMischief]

Thanks for a fantastic video! All hail the Algorithm!

[@rubenkoker1911]

the first time i hear van leeuwenhoek pronounced right in a youtube video

[@nasonguy]

Wait…. So to help reduce or eliminate allergies you can eat the allergen? So there might actually be something to the folk-medicine remedy of eating honey of bees that have fed on the flowers you are allergic to?!?!

[@MxPotato84]

I thought allergies are created when a baby under 6 months of age are exposed to certain things, and to avoid that is to take precaution and not expose babies to things till they are 6 months old when their immune system is strong enough to handle it. I say this cuz i was born into a household of cats and i have cat allergies. Im a winter baby and was exposed to spring pollen under the 6 month mark and thus I suffer every spring. But, as you should in the diagram when that guy was talking about exposing one group of babies to peanuts and there other group nothing, if being exposed to an allergen under 6 months does not cause the allergy, then why am I allergic to cats and pollen despite being exposed to it under the 6 month mark where my immune system would be strong?? This answers nothing for me! 😭😭😭

[@BLACKTREAT]

Wait, did she just sneezed without covering her mouth and nose?