Quote:
Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed
And that's why I put it in quotes, knew it wasn't the right word.
But the point remains, what better way for the body to learn to deal with such triggers than in utero, or early development.
I was just saying it seems like common sense to me, but maybe there are other factors and reasons.
|
The word you were looking for is desensitizing and the idea is immunological tolerance. For most individuals our immune system has learned to tolerate certain foreign allergens (i.e. the bodies immune cells are not capable of mounting an immune response to the foreign allergen). Unfortunately, for some people their immune system (over)reacts to these foreign allergens.
The immune system of a fetus develops early (9-10 weeks). The immune cells (B and T cells) are produced, however, the fetus is not exposed to an antigen stimulus so these cells remain immature. It is important to note that these cells are fully functional and early on the body learns to distinguish between self and non-self. Cells that might attack self are eliminated to avoid an autoimmune response. The fetus does obtain antibodies from the mother.
When the baby is born it is immediately exposed to a non-sterile environment. The immature immune system is ready to work to protect the body but it takes time. Thus, breast feeding is very important to an infant as the milk provides antibodies and complex sugars that can help prevent early infections.
As the body is exposed to certain antigens it needs to learn to deal with them. The mechanisms are complex but the body can differentiate foreign bodies such as microbes, proteins etc. Certain protein allergens (e.g. from peanuts) can be recognized by B cells which will produce antibodies and elicit an immune response. A common therapy to prevent this is to treat an individual with the specific allergen repeatedly to induce an allergen-tolerant state. As has been mentioned above this should be performed in a controlled setting with medical professionals.