"FACTS ABOUT ALLERGY & IMMUNOTHERAPY"

WHAT IS ALLERGY?
        The term ALLERGY was coined to describe physical reactions to substances that your Immune System (defence system) recognizes a s foreign,which do not cause reactions in others.
Substances which can cause allergy are:-
POLLENS, DUST , MOLDS, FOODS, CHEMICALS, DANDERS, DRUGS, FOODS        AIRPOLLUTIONS,  PERFUMES. These substances are ALLERGENS OR ANTIGENS.
        ALLERGY CAN PRODUCE SYMPTOMS IN ANY ORGAN OF THE BODY AND OFTEN MISSED BECAUSE THE SIMILARITY OF ALLERGIC SYMPTOMS WITH OTHER DISEASES.
        ALLERGY CAN EFFECT YOUR SKIN, EYES, NOSE, THROAT, LUNGS, STOMACH, BLADDER, VAGINA, MUSCLES, JOINTS, ENTIRE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND EVEN BRAIN.

ARE ALLERGIES RARE?

 NO. About 20 to 40% of the population any where in the world is suffering or is likely to suffer from some kind of allergies. Compared to other diseases more patients of Allergy visit to the doctors and is a leading cause of school absenteeism in any country.

WHY ME AND NOT OTHERS?

WHY ONLY I AM HAVING ASTHMA OR HAY FEVER OR RASHES, MAKING MY LIFE MISERABLE WHILE  OTHERS DO NOT GET THESE PROBLEMS?
````~~~``THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS THAT YOU HAVE SELECTED THE WRONG PARENTS``~~~
HEREDITY- The ability to have allergy is hereditary. Somewhere in your family (ancestors), somebody slipped you some allergic genes. The more people, and more severe the allergies, the earlier you are likely to experience allergic manifestations. In childhood, more boys than girls have allergies. In adults the ration is reversed and more women have allergies, especially beginning at thirty and lasting until menopause. After that incidence is same for men and women. For some there is hormonal effects on the appearance of allergies. By the way parents and children may be allergic to different things and may have different organs involved e.g. in child it may be hay fever and in mother it may be asthma.
INFECTION -  It is possible to develop allergic sensitivity after a bout of severe infection; viral, bacterial  or fungal (candida)
CHEMICAL EXPOSURE -  Heavy exposure to pesticides or other petrochemicals use in the houses or outdoors can lead to the development of allergic reactions.
STRESS - An increased stress load whether EMOTIONAL OR PHYSICAL, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, can play a role in allergies. Getting married or having a baby are happy events, but they are stressful.
NUTRITION - Poor nutritional habits contribute to the development of allergies as other illnesses.

AGE LIMIT FOR ALLERGY TESTS AND SHOTS

        There is no age limit for allergy tests and for allergy shots unless patient is suffering from high fevers or physically very weak. I WOULD SAY THAT:-
~IF YOU ARE OLD OR YOUNG ENOUGH TO BE SICK WITH ALLERGY, YOU ARE FIT ENOUGH TO BE TREATED WITH ALLERGY SHOTS.

CAN ALLERGY TESTS BE DONE OR SHOTS BE GIVEN DURING ASTHMA
 

• YES ALLERGY TESTS CAN BE DONE AND SHOTS CAN BE GIVEN BUT ONLY BE THE EXPERIENCED AND QUALIFIED PHYSICIANS WHO CAN ADJUST THE DOSAGE ACCORDINGLY.  I CAN QUOTE SCIENTIFIC POSITION PAPER SUPPORTING MY VIEW 

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F. Immunotherapy in the asthmatic patient

• Allergen immunotherapy can be effective in patients with asthma and may reduce the effect of chronic allergen stimulation on hyperresponsive airways. In most cases allergen immunotherapy should be considered as a part of a well-planned program that includes pharmacotherapy and avoidance measures.
• Allergen immunotherapy should be considered a long-term therapeutic modality in patients with allergic asthma.

 

• Patient compliance is essential for the effective and safe application of allergen immunotherapy.

 

• Although precise mechanisms for efficacy of allergen immunotherapy are unknown, several specific immunomodulatory pathways have been implicated.

 

• Immediate and delayed local and systemic reactions may occur in the course of allergen immunotherapy.

 

• Patients should be informed about the relative risks of immediate and delayed reactions associated with allergen immunotherapy.

 
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• Both patients and medical personnel should be instructed in detail about prevention and treatment of reactions to allergen immunotherapy.

 

• Although life-threatening reactions during allergen immunotherapy are rare, fatalities can occur. Therefore supervising health care providers should be prepared to treat such reactions as promptly and effectively as possible.

 The Journal of Allergy, and Clinical Immunology. Vol 96, No. 5, part 2. November, 1995.

WHAT IS NEW ABOUT ~NEW TRENDS IN ALLERGY DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT AT "AEDC"

        -ALLERGIES ARE OF TWO TYPES:-

• APPERENT ALLERGIES are those where a person comes in contact with, or eats or exposes to things to which he is allergic, with in short time he gets symptoms. eg if a person is allergic to egg, he develops rashes after eating the eggs.
• HIDDEN ALLERGIES are those where people are allergic to some thing but he doesnot know to which particular thing he is allergic. Even allergists practicing conventional allergy cannot detect with their routine tests. e.g patient is having headache or having rashes orhaving chronic cough or sneezing and whenever he is tested for allergies with the conventional techniques, these are negative. So patient is told you are not allergic and you must take antiallergics for life time and thus making the sick sicker. With the newer trends in allergy diagnosis hidden allergies are uncovered, cause is found out and thus treated .
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