The Better and Healthy You
ge and heredity. Your degree of mental fitness and your environment are also thought to play a part to some extent - although this and several other theories have not yet been proven..
Who gets Alzheimer's?
By the time you reach the age of 65, roughly 5 in 100 people have developed the disease, by the age of 80 the odds have jumped to 1 in 5 and almost half of all people at the age of 90 have some signs of dementia. Alzheimer's isn't strictly limited to those over the age of 65; much younger people have been affected by it. It is a disease that is thought to occur in women more than men, but the main reason for this is simply that women tend to live longer than men.
Alzheimer's and heredity
There has proven to be a heredity link to Alzheimer's in roughly 3% of all cases of the disease. Heredity is thought to occur when the onset of the disease has occurred at an early age, with about 40% of people who developed the disease before the age of 65 having family members affected by the disease. This does not mean that having a family member with Alzheimer's will guarantee being affected by it. Quite the contrary, although those with affected family members are at a slightly higher risk than others, there are still measures that can be taken to help avoid the onset of Alzheimer's.
Avoiding Alzheimer's
Many believe that the environment in which you live can make a difference as to whether you are more susceptible to developing Alzheimer's. Research is currently being conducted as to whether exposure to certain metals is a contributing factor to developing the disease. Many experts have tied aluminum as a possible cause of the disease and suggest that antiperspirant deodorants are avoided due to their high aluminum content.
Many doctors also believe that one's state of mental health plays a large part in the onset of the disease. The sharper one keeps oneself, the less susceptible one is to the disease. However, there is not currently any evidence to suggest that staying mentally fit will make a difference one way or the other.
There are thought to be many other factors that could lead to the onset of Alzheimer's, but additional research is needed due to there being a lot of conflicting evidence. Factors to consider include, head trauma, various viral infections, a history of downs syndrome in the family, smoking and thyroid disease.
The future of Alzheimer's
Unfortunately, there is not currently any particular test that doctors can use to indicate who may be more susceptible of developing the disease. The primary goal in research right now is to understand better the mechanisms of the disease with the hope of one day being able to predict those people who are more susceptible to Alzheimer's before the disease actually sets in. By doing so, scientists and doctors believe that it could lead to developments of treatment to delay the onset of Alzheimer's.
Dealing with allergies
It is possible to develop an allergy to almost anything; this could be a smell, food, medication or reactions to dander found on animals. An allergy can range from nothing more than an annoying itch to the more serious of going into shock after developing a severe reaction. Allergies are usually divided into different categories that include:
Eczema and urticaria - these are allergies which affect the skin; they include allergic skin rashes such as nettle rash and hives.
Hay fever - this condition causes reactions such as runny nose, sneezing, coughing and sore eyes during the summer months.
Venom allergies - these are reactions to stinging insects and snakes.
Adverse food reactions - people can be allergic to many different types of food.
Allergy to drugs - certain medications can cause a reaction in people; the usual reactions to drugs include a rash, sickness and stomach problems.
Anaphylaxis - a severe and sudden intense allergic reaction that affects the whole body.
Asthma - an allergic reaction that commonly affects the breathing.
Eye allergies - this can vary from very mild irritation to severe conjunctivitis.
Diagnosing allergies
If your doctor believes that you may have an allergy then steps will need to be taken to identify what is causing it, the allergen. The most common way of finding the allergen is to perform a skin prick test. The skin prick test is quick and relatively painless and the results are known immediately.
A small needle is used to gently prick your skin with the allergen; the test will usually be conducted on your forearm. You are determined to be allergic to the allergen if your skin becomes red, sore and itchy around the area the needle was inserted. It is also usual for the area to come up in a welt. If you have had no reaction to the allergen after a period of roughly 20 minutes then you aren't allergic to that allergen.
If it is suspected that you have dermatitis - a form of eczema then you will normally be given a skin patch test, this test relies on taping patches with various allergens underneath aluminum discs. The discs are usually kept in place for a period of 48 hours and then assessed by a dermatologist for allergic changes.
Severe cases
In severe cases of allergy you might be required to have a challenge test to be performed in hospital. The suspected allergens are then introduced directly into the lungs or nose and the allergic reaction is then measured. If it is suspected that you might be allergic to food or foods then a
