Allergic illnesses develop when the body is overexposed to certain allergens. In effect, the body programs itself to consider these normally harmless substances as illness-causing intruders to be defended against.

The way the immune system guards the body is by producing what are known as IgE antibodies. Continued allergen overexposure not only causes the allergic illness, but can also result in the development of other ones as well as much more serious, chronic and even life threatening allergic diseases.

Allergens are proteins that have unique shapes that identify them as allergens to the antibodies in the immune system. The allergen is like a lock and the antibody is like a key that fits only that lock. The body's IgE antibodies are constantly on the lookout for the presence of the allergen they were created in response to, sort of like keys floating around the immune system looking for the locks they were created to fit.

When these antibody "keys" find a repetitive pattern of allergen "locks", the body defends against these perceived intruders by the antibodies binding with the allergen, much like inserting a key into a lock. This sets off a chemical reaction designed to protect the body from infection.

This rush of chemicals into the body is what is experienced as an allergic reaction or asthma attack.