At what age can the disease occur, is there a hereditary factor ?
For most people, spring is associated with joyful emotions from the arrival of warmer and sunnier days, anticipation of the approaching summer. But for people suffering from pollen allergies , the arrival of spring means an exacerbation of the disease .
IADaily found out at what age the disease can occur, whether there is a hereditary factor, and how to get rid of seasonal allergies.
About allergies
Pollinosis is the scientific name for a “spring” allergy, the risk of which increases during the flowering period of trees. Ragweed begins to bloom first, and in Turkey, Andrey Kondrakhin noted.
“Pollen is a light substance, it is easily transported to other continents. The earlier the flowering of plants, the higher the probability of allergies. Allergies in those who are susceptible to them may begin earlier this year. Winter was not so cold. The movement of pollen may lead to the fact that people suffering from allergic reactions may already begin to react, the timing of the onset of exacerbation of allergies will “shift” to earlier,” Kondrakhin noted.
For the body of an allergy sufferer, pollen is a foreign protein, which causes an immune reaction.
“What is an allergic reaction? For it to form, sensitization must occur, that is, the body must become sensitive to foreign substances. For example, the windows of an apartment overlook a birch forest. A person has never suffered from allergies, but in the spring he opens the windows, pollen gets into the apartment. Because he is constantly in this “aggressive” environment, an allergy may begin.
Another example: a person had a common case of rhinitis, he treated it poorly, put vasoconstrictor drops in his nose, damaged the mucous membrane. Previously, the mucous membrane protected the respiratory organs, now it does not. Everything got into the body, an allergy begins,” the therapist continued.
As the doctor explained, the disease can also be hereditary. The allergic reaction is fixed by gender. It is believed that men suffer more, and the allergic reaction intensifies in subsequent generations.
“If a grandfather suffered from a mild form of allergy, then a son or daughter will suffer quite severely, and for grandchildren it will be simply catastrophic. The further along the evolutionary line, the stronger and earlier the allergy will manifest itself,” emphasized therapist Kondrakhin.
How to Protect Yourself from Spring Allergies
Allergies can be a hereditary disease
Allergy sufferers should try to leave while the plant to which the body has developed sensitization is blooming. There is also a special map that shows which plants are blooming now and what the pollen load is.
“As soon as the average daily temperature goes above zero, everything starts to bloom in a few days. It makes sense to use an application that shows pollen by geolocation. You can track pollen in the air.
It is important to observe living conditions
- The windows should be tightly sealed to prevent the wind from outside from blowing in pollen.
- Underwear should have a reduced allergenic component.
- Humidifiers are needed in the room, which create steam, which these particles fall on and fall down.
- We need air purifiers that collect the pollen component so that the particles do not rise into the air.
Note: humidifiers and purifiers can be replaced by regular and very high-quality cleaning, but on a regular basis.
As Andrey Kondrakhin explained to the editors, antihistamine therapy should be started a certain period before the plant begins to bloom. In winter, allergy sufferers can get a special vaccination (there are fewer allergens in winter, and the vaccination will be easier). It is called “allergen specific immunotherapy” (ASIT) – this is a modern method of treating allergies by influencing the cause of the disease. A person is gradually inoculated with an allergen, he gets used to it, and the irritant ceases to be foreign to him.
“In the spring itself, we use various medications prescribed by an allergist-immunologist, we carry a syringe-pen with adrenaline if things get really bad. You should wear a mask or respirator from the moment the flowering begins, if there is no way to go somewhere. You need to wash your hands, face, nose after being outside. If you were not vaccinated in the winter, then you should simply take the prescribed medications at the time of flowering,” he noted.
Can allergies appear suddenly?
For an allergy sufferer, pollen is a foreign protein that triggers an immune response.
An allergic reaction is an immunopathological process that depends on the state of the human immune system. An allergic reaction can develop at any age.
“Genetics also play a role, there must be a certain predisposition. Genetics have not yet fully understood allergies. There is an understanding of a large number of different genetic anomalies, rare diseases, as they are called, orphan diseases. When one gene, one breakdown, one disease. And allergies are a polygenic disease, it is not yet completely clear what causes allergies and at what age,” commented immunologist Vladimir Bolibok.
Systemic treatment of allergies
“If you have any allergic reactions, you need to see an allergist. It often happens that a person comes with a runny nose, the doctor prescribes a combination drug, and the runny nose goes away. Then the patient is treated with this drug year after year. Finally, this allergic rhinitis starts to get complicated.
An allergist will prescribe the necessary allergy tests. If, for example, an allergy to birch is detected, it can be treated, and the allergy to birch pollen will go away. There is an allergy vaccine for almost all types of pollen that are significant for our country. But this helps when a person is in the initial stage of the disease.
If you skip the initial stages, then only symptomatic treatment will remain available, which alleviates the manifestations of the disease. It will be impossible to completely cure. Therefore, at the first suspicion of an allergy, you should contact a specialized doctor so as not to miss the moment.
“When a patient has been walking around with an untreated problem for several years, he develops a polyvalent allergy, which continues in the spring, summer, and fall. It is very difficult to fight a polyvalent allergy. As a result, an allergist can no longer help.