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2021-01-18, 10:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2016
What, precisely, is the difference between an allergy and an autoimmune disease?
I know that they're both situations where the immune system malfunctions and harms the body, and that autoimmune disirders seem to usually be immune reactioms to the body itself, but this isn't always the case (Celiac disease, for example, is a reaction to ingested substances but considered an autoimmune disorder rather than an allergy). If this isn't the distinction, than what is?
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2021-01-18, 11:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2013
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Re: What, precisely, is the difference between an allergy and an autoimmune disease?
I believe an autoimmune disease is one where your immune system is specifically attacking your body, whereas an allergy is simply when your immune system goes after something with an unnecessarily strong reaction. So somebody who is allergic to, say, bee stings isnt deliberately hurting their own cells, its just that the immune response is so strong and powerful that it inflicts harm in some indirect way.
Your Celiac disease for example still has your immune system directly attacking your cells because it mistakenly believes them to be foreign hazards for whatever reason.Last edited by Keltest; 2021-01-18 at 11:02 PM.
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2021-01-20, 07:48 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2007
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- Cippa's River Meadow
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Re: What, precisely, is the difference between an allergy and an autoimmune disease?
Keeping it simple, an allergy is the body over-reacting to a substance; an autoimmune disease is the immune system treating your own body cells as foreign.
A quick rule of thumb is that an autoimmune disorder involves tissue damage; in coeliac disease, the gluten causes a reaction that makes the immune system destroy the villi in the small intestine. The subsequent lack of absorption gives rise to the digestive issues among the other symptoms.
That isn't to say an allergy can't potentially be fatal, but emergency treatments are available and quick acting, from antihistamines for mild cases, to adrenaline auto-injectors for more severe reactions.
There isn't such emergency treatments for an autoimmune disorder that I'm aware of.Last edited by Brother Oni; 2021-01-20 at 07:51 PM.
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2021-01-20, 07:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
Re: What, precisely, is the difference between an allergy and an autoimmune disease?
Last edited by sihnfahl; 2021-01-20 at 07:59 PM.
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