We hear the word inflammation a lot. By definition, inflammation is a condition in the body that causes redness, swelling, heat and pain as a reaction to injury and infection. We often think of inflammation as a bad thing. However, let’s take a deeper look at inflammation, what it does, and why sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad.
What does inflammation do in the body?
Inflammation is an essential part of your body’s healing process. When something foreign enters the body (viruses, bacteria, or toxic chemicals) or injury happens, the immune system activates. Inflammatory cells travel to the place of an injury or foreign body/illness. The immune system sends cells to trap bacteria or other invaders and heal injured tissues and areas. If inflammatory cells stay too long, it can lead to chronic inflammation. The inflammatory response usually results in pain, swelling, bruising or redness. Acute inflammation itself plays a crucial role in healing and keeping the body healthy. This is where inflammation is healing and beneficial and a good thing. However, when inflammation becomes long-term and chronic, it may increase the risk of various conditions or diseases. Thus, it is important to be aware of chronic inflammation and take steps to mitigate it.
Good Inflammation vs. Bad Inflammation
It is important to recognize the differences between acute and chronic inflammation and their roles in the body. Acute inflammation is the response to sudden damage, like a cut or an injury. The typical response is redness, pain, swelling and warmth. To heal the cut or injury, the body sends inflammatory cells to the area of injury, and the healing process begins. The inflammation usually lasts a few hours to several days. This is a crucial part of your body’s immune and healing response and is a good thing.
On the contrary, chronic inflammation happens when the body sends inflammatory cells even when there is no outside or sudden injury or danger present. This tends to occur in chronic conditions and is long-term, lasting months to years. It happens when pathogens in the body cannot break down and remain in the body, and an overactive immune response occurs. This can lead to increased risks for other symptoms and conditions. Acute inflammation is usually helpful and healing, while chronic inflammation is hindering and harmful.
Allergytest.co has you covered!
Luckily, the Persistent Inflammation Test from Allergytest.co is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to monitor your inflammation levels from the comfort of your own home. This easy blood spot test will give you results in less than 10 minutes. It will test for Serum Amyloid (SAA) proteins, which are produced by the liver and present in your blood. SAA proteins have many functions. One of the main ones is the recruitment of immune cells, which are highly expressed in inflammatory conditions, to inflammatory sites. Elevated SAA levels give an indicator of inflammation and are also helpful in evaluating the severity and progression of certain conditions. The Persistent Inflammation Test provides easy-to-interpret results, which either elicit a result that is Positive/Higher or Negative Normal. When Positive/Higher results are elicited, we recommend a consult with your licensed health care provider to further investigate the inflammation. Grab Your Test Here!
