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Knowing your allergies and, in the more extreme cases, carrying with you a bracelet or another sort of label with your allergies mentioned can also be life saving.

Unfortunately allergies are complicated, and many people get them mixed up with a drug’s side effects.

A side effect is something that is a ‘known’ possible consequence of a particular drug. So long as the side effect does not outweigh the benefit of the medication, it is accepted. A very common example would be having diarrhoea as a result of taking antibiotics. This is not an allergy, because it is not your body rejecting this substance. Yet I’ve had many people tell me that they are allergic to an antibiotic, and when I ask them what type of reaction the answer is diarrhoea.

An allergy is an altogether different thing. An allergy is your immune system reacting to a substance. Reactions can range from the very mild to severe. Mild reactions include sneezing, itching and weeping eyes, stuffy or runny noses, and coughs. Severe reactions are life threatening, often because they affect the breathing due to swelling around the face and neck blocking the airway.

Here are some tips on how you can reduce the risk of allergies affecting your health:

– Be aware of any personal allergies

– Be aware of any family allergies

– Carry a card, bracelet, or other type of label with any extreme allergies specified

– Be able to describe any type of reaction you’ve had in the past

– Find out if your allergy was actually a side effect. Ask your doctor if unsure