Hay fever: start immunotherapy now
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichSnowflakes instead of blossoms - in winter plants have a break from blooming. Even if spring seems far away, now is exactly the right time for allergy sufferers to start immunotherapy against hay fever. It is the only treatment that can cure.
The principle of immunotherapy for a pollen allergy is very simple: the body's defenses are repeatedly presented with small nibbles of the substance that makes them react hysterically. In this way, they should learn not to pull out all the stops of their defense when they come into contact. But that takes some time. For this reason, the low-symptom autumn and winter are now exactly the right time to start treatment, experts advise.
Cause is fought
Those who now take the time can hope for a less complaint pollen season in 2015. The advantage of this method: “In contrast to acute medication, it not only relieves symptoms, but also causes the cause. This means that it regulates the disturbed immune system of the allergy patient, which actually fights harmless substances such as pollen ", explains Dr. Wolfgang Hornberger from the German Professional Association of Ear, Nose and Throat Doctors.
Determine the allergen precisely
However, it is important to first find out which pollen exactly causes the immune system to sound the alarm. The so-called "prick test" is used for this, in which potential allergens are introduced into the skin with a small prick. If a wheal forms, you have landed a hit. A blood test and the antibodies it contains also provide valuable information. If the result is still uncertain, the mallet method is used: the patient is given a concentrated dose of specific pollen in a provocation test using a nasal spray. If he reacts, the allergen has been found and treatment can begin.
Immunotherapy by syringe or tablet
There are basically two methods with which the immune system is gradually convinced that the allergen is harmless: regular injections or taking tablets orally. “Both have their advantages. Oral therapy can usually be done at home, ”says Hornberger. However, it is very important to consistently take the tablets or drops every day. If you don't trust yourself there, you can get injections from the doctor at significantly longer intervals.
Prevent floor changes
People with hay fever sometimes develop complications. The allergy can, for example, move further down into the lungs and lead to asthma there. This can also be prevented with immunotherapy, according to the expert. However, if you want to do a desensitization, you have to be patient. "Because, according to official recommendations, this should last at least three years," explains the ENT doctor. The effort is worthwhile, for example if asthma can be prevented in this way. "Especially since the patient will feel a relief of his symptoms during the pollen season after the first year of therapy, which will intensify in the following years of treatment," says Hornberger. (Lh)
Source: Press release from ENT doctors online: Pollen allergy sufferers should start immunotherapy now (accessed on December 8, 2014)
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