No smoking and pets: doctors gave allergy sufferers survival tips

Almost everyone is waiting for the arrival of spring. But not for allergies. Blooming tulips, daffodils and cherries for people with hay fever are not a reason for beautiful photos, but a real disaster. What to do if the awakening of nature causes sneezing and a runny nose, and a flower bed literally takes your breath away? Can I prescribe antihistamines myself? What is ASIT immunotherapy, how does it work and who will it help? Doctors answered all questions about MK seasonal allergies.

Allergies can be seasonal or permanent. Why is this happening? The secret lies in the allergen itself, doctors explain.

– Allergy is an overreaction of the body to absolutely harmless substances, – explains general practitioner, cardiologist of the CDC “On Presnya” Anna Cheremisina. – It all depends on what exactly is an allergen for this organism. If this is plant pollen, and now, for example, the time of flowering of birch, then they are completely allergic to birch, alder and oak. These people have a pronounced seasonality. And if a person is allergic to household dust, he will not have seasonality.

True, in some patients prone to seasonal allergies, this season lasts from early spring to winter. And at first, such people do not even suffer from flowering birch and alder. They begin to sneeze and cough because of last year’s fallen leaves. Then weeds bring them tears. And so on until the first snow falls, and nature again goes into hibernation.

– When such a patient comes to the doctor, he does not understand anything, because nothing is blooming yet. But fallen leaves are mold. Therefore, this condition is a manifestation of an allergy to mold. Often the picture is blurred, and it is very difficult to identify the seasonal nature of allergies, – says Anna Cheremisina.

Allergy is also insidious in that its symptoms can be completely different. Someone suffers from dermatitis. Someone sniffs with a clogged nose. How then to make out with what symptoms to which doctor to run?

“It all starts with the therapist anyway. You need to go to a therapist and talk about your symptoms. He must already determine where to refer the patient. Allergies do not always have specific manifestations. Sometimes symptoms have a completely different cause. Therefore, it is the therapist who must decide where to send the patient – to an allergist, an ENT doctor or an immunologist, Anna Cheremisina explains.

The head of the otorhinolaryngology department at the Open Clinic, Candidate of Medical Sciences Sofia Melnik adds that ENT specialists also often get “accidental” patients who do not even suspect that they have an allergy:

– The patient had a runny nose in the spring, they come to the ENT doctor for the first time, and we are already diagnosing “allergic rhinitis”. The first symptoms of a cold and an allergy are very similar. Even a doctor cannot always tell them apart. Gradually, over several days, the symptoms of a cold and allergic rhinitis begin to differ. Laboratory tests are also helpful. If the ENT doctor understands that the patient has an allergy, he attracts an allergist, pulmonologist, immunologist and nutritionist.

Due to the fact that the clinical picture of allergies is often blurred and disguised as SARS, doctors strongly recommend not to self-medicate and not to buy the first antihistamine pills that come across. Moreover, there is a much more effective way to treat allergies.

– First of all, the allergist must determine exactly what a person is allergic to. To do this, you need to pass allergy tests, explains Sophia Melnik. – For the relief of symptoms, ASIT can be performed – specific immunotherapy.

It is necessary to carry out such treatment outside the stage of exacerbation. Allergens are introduced into the patient’s body, and over the winter he gradually gets used to them and develops resistance. Even children from the age of five can start treatment with ASIT. But we must be prepared for the fact that therapy can last from three to five years.

– There are different methods of therapy: under the tongue, pills, nose drops, there are injections. But I can say that the injection method in certain cases can help better. Side effects may be small, but severe reactions are not even described, so ASIT is well tolerated. However, there are patients for whom this method also does not work well, emphasizes Sophia Melnik.

Perhaps the most formidable manifestation of allergies is bronchial asthma. Her patients are the most afraid. Many parents are sure that if their child suffers from allergies since childhood, then he is a future asthmatic. Doctors say it’s a myth.

“It cannot be said that if a child has an allergy in childhood, then this is a future asthmatic, most likely not,” says Anna Cheremisina. – Asthma is a chronic disease, it can be introduced into a stable remission, starting from childhood. There is no complete cure for bronchial asthma, but it is possible to achieve the quality of life of a healthy person.

Asthmatics and all allergy sufferers in general, doctors give advice on prevention. First of all, you need to create a hypoallergenic life around you. Feather pillows and wool blankets will have to be replaced with synthetic-filled ones. Pets, unfortunately, will have to be abandoned. In addition, allergy sufferers need to quit smoking. Doctors insist that smoking with allergies is an attempt to saw off the branch on which you sit.