WHAT IS AN ALLERGY? ALL THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT
ARE ALLERGIES?
Allergic
diseases are among the most common chronic disorders affecting up to one third
of the population.
An
allergy is a hypersensitive disorder of the immune system. Allergic reaction
occurs when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in
the environment and produce antibodies. Interaction of antibodies with
allergens causes allergic symptoms. The substance that causes a reaction is
called allergens.
HOW
DO ALLERGIES DEVELOP?
Air
pollution is one of the main environmental factors linked to the onset of
allergic diseases. It has proven to alter the lung development of children and
teenagers. Allergic diseases develop due to the interaction of genes,
environmental factors, like pollution, tobacco smoke etc. along with the
presence of airborne allergens like
Indoor:
House dust mites, certain types of fungi,cockroach, common pet animals,
occupational allergens etc.
Outdoor: Pollens of certain grasses, weeds and trees
These allergens cause symptoms in areas of contact with air like eyes, nose or lungs.
Other allergens are in the form of skin contact allergens, food allergens and drug allergens, insect venoms Contact Allergies
Outdoor: Pollens of certain grasses, weeds and trees
These allergens cause symptoms in areas of contact with air like eyes, nose or lungs.
Other allergens are in the form of skin contact allergens, food allergens and drug allergens, insect venoms Contact Allergies
These allergens cause symptoms in areas of contact
with air like eyes, nose or lungs.
Contact allergy develops when skin gets in contact
with allergens present in artificial jewellery, cosmetics, hair dyes, latex,
leather etc.
Insect sting allergy like stings from bees, wasps
etc.
COMMON
ALLERGIC DISEASES
Allergic Rhinitis -
Sneezing, runny nose, blocked nose, itching, sinusitis, nasal polyps
Allergic
Conjunctivitis - Itchy, red, watery eyes
Asthma
-
Cough, Wheezing & Chest Tightness
Skin
Allergies - Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis in children), Contact Dermatitis, Urticaria, Angioedema (swelling of lips , eyes etc)
Food
Allergy-
Pain Abdomen, Vomiting, Loose Stools. Less common symptoms are migraine,
fatigue, depression, ADHD etc
Anaphylaxis - Fall in Blood pressure, loss of consciousness, difficulty in breathing, cardiac arrhythmias
Insect sting allergy from stings of insects like from bees, wasps etc..
Drug allergies . When allergy develops to certain medications
Anaphylaxis - Fall in Blood pressure, loss of consciousness, difficulty in breathing, cardiac arrhythmias
Insect sting allergy from stings of insects like from bees, wasps etc..
Drug allergies . When allergy develops to certain medications
ALLERGIC
RHINITIS– It is a common allergy affecting 1 in
4 people. Recurrent sneezing, runny nose, itching and blocked nose are the most
common symptoms. But in some people it can be accompanied by headache, impaired
sense of smell and eye symptoms like itching, redness and tearing
ASTHMA
- Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of airways, in which your airways
narrow , swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and
trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
SYMPTOMS
o Recurrent
episodes of wheezing
o Troublesome
cough at night
o Cough,
wheezing, chest tightness after exposure to airborne allergens or pollutants
o Cough
or wheeze after exercise, common colds which goes to the chest or takes more than
10 days to clear
DIAGNOSIS
OF ASTHMA
Detailed evaluation of symptoms
Physical
examination
Routine tests for example x-ray chest, blood test
etc.
Allergy skin prick testing- This test is done to distinguish
allergic and non-allergic asthma. In allergic asthma it is used to identify the
specific allergen and avoidance measures and specific allergen immunotherapy are suggested
accordingly in select cases.
Pulmonary
function testing
The tests determine how much air your lungs can hold,
how quickly you can move air in and out of your lungs. The tests can diagnose
lung diseases, measure the severity of
lung problems, and check to see how well treatment for a lung disease is
working.
FOOD
ALLERGY– Allergy to certain foods like shellfish,
nuts, milk etc can present with stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Other
less common symptoms like migraine, fatigue, depression and hyperactivity.
ANAPHYLAXIS
-Anaphylaxis is the most severe allergic
reaction which can be triggered by food allergens, insect bites, drugs and
other factors that trigger severe drop in blood pressure, difficulty breathing,
cardiac arrhythmias and other potentially fatal symptoms. Most of these
triggers can be accurately diagnosed.
SKIN
ALLERGIES
URTICARIA
Also
known as hives. They are an outbreak of pale, red swellings on the skin that
appear suddenly either as a result of food allergies or other underlying
reasons
ECZEMA IN CHILDREN
Atopic dermatitis or eczema is a chronic
inflammatory condition of the skin in children. The disease is characterized by
itching, rash and frequent skin infections. It precedes the development of
allergic rhinitis and asthma
CONTACT
DERMATITIS
Contact allergy develops when skin gets in contact with allergens present in artificial jewellery, cosmetics, hair dyes, latex, leather etc.
It can be caused either by
irritant triggers in 80% of patients or allergic triggers in the remaining 20% of
patients. It is estimated that more than 3700 substances can act as contact
allergens. Common Allergens are Nickel, Gold, Fragrance, PPD (dyes),Formaldehyde,Paraben (Cosmetics) Lanolin etc.
Diagnosis is by history and confirmation is by doing a allergy patch test.
WHY
DO WE NEED TO TREAT ALLERGIES?
o In
children, allergies can progress e.g.: if allergic rhinitis is not controlled,
asthma can develop later.
o These
children are prone for developing recurrent cough, sinus, ear and chest
infections. Night time coughs interferes with sleep and thereby causes day time
fatigue, sleepiness, poor concentration and school absenteeism thereby interfering
with their studies.
o Exercise
induced asthma results in inability to take part in sports.
o Poor
weight gain occurs due to recurrent infections and the final height of the
child is affected.
o In
children with skin allergies, psychological problems may occur especially due to
itching of skin in public.
o Recurrent
hospitalizations cause a huge economic burden in the family.
o In
adults, allergies cause poor quality of life, Interference with work and
absenteeism from work.
ALLERGY
DIAGNOSIS
A
thorough history and physical examination will be undertaken by an experienced
Allergist.
ALLERGY
SKIN PRICK TESTING
Allergy
skin prick test is a quick, confirmatory, highly sensitive, reproducible, and
cost effective method to screen allergic diseases like allergic rhinitis,
asthma and food allergies that may be responsible for clinical symptoms of the
patient.
IMMUNOTHERAPY
Sublingual Allergen Immunotherapy (SLIT)
or
Subcutaneous Immunotherapy (SCIT)
is a highly effective treatment for carefully selected patients who have
allergy to house dust mites, grass pollens, tree pollens and weed pollens. It
is effective in a lot of people with allergic rhinitis and asthma. This
provides long lasting immunity for many years by modifying the patient's immune
response to the specific allergen, thereby reducing the need for medications
like inhalers and also decreases the onset of new allergies for many years
after. A child or adult with allergic rhinitis could be prevented from getting
asthma if immunotherapy is instituted early. This is because this method treats
the root cause of allergies by inducing a natural immunity to the allergens.
For more info , kindly visit
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment