What Is Delayed Hypersensitivity?
Delayed hypersensitivity is difficult to understand without a working definition of hypersensitive. In the medical sense, as opposed to an emotional meaning, hypersensitivity is strong bodily reaction to some form of antigen. An antigen is a substance introduced to the body or one perceived as foreign by the body. The body reacts to the antigen in a perceivable way, such as by development of a rash, getting asthma, developing allergy symptoms or showing signs of contagion from illness, but sometimes this reaction doesn’t occur immediately and is delayed hypersensitivity. Hypersensitivity is often described in four classes/types. The forth class is delayed hypersensitivity. Usually this delay is due to the way the body reacts. The extra time taken for reaction tends to mean T cells are involved in response.
