The incidence of allergies in Central Russia has reached a peak: one of the reasons is named

The situation is complicated by the fact that many antihistamines have disappeared from the market.

Early spring and the ongoing drought have made life especially unbearable for allergy sufferers in the Central Federal District. As of May 17, experts assessed the level of dusting in Moscow at 9 out of 10 possible points. Today, the main problems for sufferers are created by birch – one of the main allergens of our strip – which blooms in a lush color. The situation is complicated by the fact that popular antihistamines have disappeared from pharmacies en masse – and for many of them no one gives accurate information whether this is for a long time or forever.

Pollen monitoring sites that collect data on plant pollination in Russian cities indicate a red level of risk in the capital region in recent days (8-9 points out of 10), with three-quarters of hay fever sufferers experiencing health problems. “You may be one of those lucky ones for whom the birch season is ending, but most should hold on, allergy risks are high. Two-thirds of the birches in Moscow today are in a state of active dusting. And about a third of all trees have not even started flowering yet. This means that a new surge in allergies will definitely overtake the capital’s allergy sufferers, ”the website of one of the patient clubs says.

“Keep” prone to seasonal hay fever (the incidence varies from 17 to 35% of the population depending on the region) means to alleviate your condition by any available means, which has become increasingly difficult to do lately. The main remedies that allergy sufferers resort to during the flowering season are antihistamines, with which there are serious interruptions in pharmacies today. According to the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, which deals with drug labeling, in April 2023, sales of antihistamines grew by more than 40% in monetary terms and almost 30% in physical terms (prices for this group of drugs jumped by 12.7% over the year). . At the same time, a number of popular drugs from the market simply disappeared a few months ago.

Director of the SRO Association of Independent Pharmacies, head of the Alliance of Pharmaceutical Associations Victoria Presnyakova says that today consumers are buying up popular anti-allergic drugs for both adults and children in pharmacies like hot cakes: “They take fenistil, suprastin, cetrin, zirtek, desloratadine and others. Injectable solutions are not as popular, but their sales have also increased. At the same time, tavegil, allergodil, kromoheksal, staloral are still in persistent defection – these positions have not been available from suppliers for more than one month. According to experts, the companies do not comment on whether these drugs have been withdrawn from the Russian market completely or will appear again.

Victoria Presnyakova says that, according to statistics, less than 1% of the country’s population visits doctors with signs of seasonal allergies: “However, of course, there are much more people suffering from allergies. Hay fever, or seasonal allergies, is a disease that can manifest itself as nasal congestion, sneezing, mucous discharge from the nose and runny nose. There may be symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis: lacrimation and itching of the eyes. Violation of the general condition is manifested by weakness, a person does not sleep well with a stuffy nose, subfebrile temperature and headache are observed. Urticaria or swelling may appear. Some patients may develop symptoms of bronchial asthma. Sometimes ARVI and seasonal allergies proceed in the same way, accompanied by fever, runny nose and headache, and our patients struggle with this, as a rule, on their own. However, with the help of medications, it is not the disease itself that is treated, but only the symptoms. The main thing in the elimination of hay fever is the use of specific immunotherapy.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), which involves administering to the patient an allergen that causes a reaction in him, which allows you to control the disease during the season, is carried out in autumn and winter – 3-5 years of treatment are required to achieve the effect. Today in Russia only 10-15% of those who need it receive it. For those who started it a year or two ago, the prospects for the next year are very vague. The only drug for ASIT, steeloral, has not been in the warehouses of suppliers for several months. Both the imported drug and its Russian analogue disappeared from the sale. In autumn, it could only be found by remnants.

Experts note that the demand for antiallergic drugs is growing not only in spring. In addition to hay fever, Russians also suffer from other types of allergies. For example, the demand for antihistamines in the first half of 2022 was twice as high as in the same period in 2021: nasal drops were bought 1.8 times more often, tablets — 1.7 times. In 2022, the leaders in the number of purchased antihistamines were Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara and Rostov-on-Don. “Despite the fact that some antiallergic drugs are available without a prescription, prior consultation is necessary. You can’t buy and drink medicines on your own,” emphasizes Victoria Presnyakova.

Doctors say that forecasted rains can become a salvation for allergy sufferers in the coming days – then the concentration of pollen in the air will decrease and it will become easier to breathe. However, in case of dry windy weather with a drift from the southern regions, the situation will worsen. Allergists recall that earlier peaks in pollen concentration happened once every 5 years (there were pollen storms, green cars, green clouds), but now such situations have become more frequent. However, pollen monitoring is carried out only in a dozen regions of Russia. For people who have a particularly difficult seasonal allergy, experts recommend taking a vacation during the period of the most active pollination and going to where pollen is the least. Within the borders of our country, these are Yakutia and the White Sea. But allergy sufferers should not go south.