According to a notice issued by the World Allergy Organization (WAO), approximately 250 million people worldwide suffer from food allergies, 300 million suffer from asthma, 400 million suffer from rhinitis, and a total of One in ten people in the population has a drug allergy. Allergies have become the sixth leading chronic disease in the world.
Take allergic rhinitis as an example, the prevalence rate of children aged 3-6 is 5.3%~25.8%, which means that in some high-risk places, among every 4 children There is a person suffering from allergic rhinitis, and children have become the “hardest hit population” of allergies.
Allergens are the key to sensitization
So what is an allergy? It is an abnormal immune response caused by allergens. It is a systemic disease that produces different symptoms in different organs and parts.
Our body’s immune system is designed to keep our bodies healthy by fighting off viruses, bacteria, and other invading substances. But sometimes, our body’s immune system also excludes some harmless substances because of overactive defenses, and then triggers allergic reactions. The foreign substances that trigger the immune response here are allergens.
The familiar allergens are pollen, dust mites, peanuts, etc., as well as some allergens such as metals, sweat, etc. Although rare, there are still many people who are harassed, which means that Allergens are everywhere.
It lives in the food, drink, and lasa we see, such as those floating in the air, mites, pollen, pet hair, etc.; dried nuts, dried mangoes, water, etc. Products, etc.; as well as rubber, dust mites, precious metals, and cephalosporins, vaccines, penicillin, etc., which are used to treat diseases.
However, at present, most allergy patients do not have a clear allergen, and only receive general treatment to relieve symptoms, which leads to repeated illnesses and delays in treatment!
Does desensitization therapy really work?
Desensitization therapy has been very popular in recent years and is known as the gospel of saving allergy sufferers, so many mothers will use it as a cure for allergic rhinitis. In fact, it can only make children no longer react to certain allergens, and cannot cure allergic rhinitis.
And in real life, desensitization therapy is limited in many ways. The first is that allergens are very complex and diverse, and the allergens that can be detected are very limited. Moreover, many children in life cannot undergo desensitization treatment, especially those with asthma, or people with autoimmune diseases, who need doctors to strictly control the indications and contraindications.
In addition, desensitization treatment takes at least 3-5 years, and the treatment cost is not small, and it may not achieve the effect of radical cure, and there may be recurrence after stopping treatment. Therefore, whether a child needs desensitization treatment or not requires parents to weigh the pros and cons according to the severity of the child’s symptoms and the family’s economic conditions.
How sensitive people “help themselves”
Are people who are so prone to allergies “hard to do”? Of course not, susceptible people can “self-help” in this way.
1. Find allergens: You can go to a regular hospital to find out your allergens, so that you can try to avoid close contact with allergens in your life.
2. Advance medication to prevent: Take allergic rhinitis as an example, if it will come on in spring, and it will have a great impact on life, then you can Use nasal hormones, antihistamines, etc. in advance to pass the allergy season with peace of mind.
3. Take desensitization therapy: If allergy symptoms persist and affect life despite continuous medication, desensitization therapy can be considered.
But desensitization treatment, as mentioned earlier, takes 3-5 years, and it is not sure whether it is really effective, and it does not cover all allergens. Therefore, the key to being an allergy sufferer is to learn to “dodge”.
To sum up, the first task of frequent allergy patients is to identify the allergen and avoid exposure; patients with a history of severe allergies should carry “life-saving medicine” with them!
Always pay attention to some details of life: for example, patients with dust mite allergies should clean bedding in time, and do a good job of drying or sun exposure; patients with mold allergies should pay attention to opening windows frequently for ventilation , keep indoor air circulation; pet allergies, it is best to prohibit animals from entering, pollen allergies should stay away from pollen, go out wearing masks or reduce going out, etc.; people with food allergies can avoid “disasters” as long as they find allergenic foods. mouth”.
In short, allergy sufferers are normal, and the focus is on prevention!