by Dr.P.Meghna, Consultant Allergologist | May 10, 2021

Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common diseases affecting mankind .

Allergic rhinitis is the hypersensitivity of the immune system to any foreign protein that’s leads to release of chemical mediators called histamines.These chemical mediators cause nasal blockage ,sneezing ,watering of eyes ,allergic cough,and difficulty breathing in some individuals. When the allergy is related to food, patient has stomach upset,vomiting and can even have hypotension.

Unmasking allergy

Since many years scientists are perplexed with the factors which cause allergy in individuals and the factors which cause lifethreatening allergies .

After years of research and trials it has come to light that allergy depends upon genetic predisposition .Allergy is known to run in families.

The second thing that is important is hygiene hypothesis, in which the lesser the exposure to environmental allergens in childhood the more the chances of the child developing allergy when he enters adolescense .

Vit d is supposed to be an important factor in allergy. Vitamin d deficiency is one of the important factors in sloping the curve towards allergy

Types of Allergies :

Allergies can be of varied types .the most common ones are Aeroallergies ,Foodallergies ,Drug allergies, Latex allergies .Each type of allergy has a different treatment protocol to follow.

Treatments

Allergy has to be diagnosed first, in order to follow a suitable treatment protocol . The diagnosis of allergy can be done by blood investigations as well as skin tests . In terms of accuracy the skin prick test is considered as the gold standard of allergen diagnosis, Followed by serum specific tests. Once the allergy is diagnosed the treatment variates from pharmacotherapy to avoidance measures and immunotherapy. Treatment should be given by a doctor super-specialised in allergy under the latest guidelines.

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