Immunotherapy

Long –term solution for allergy: immunotherapy

Nowadays, allergy has become a pandemic. Researchers are continually looking for the methods of full and final cure. The allergen specific immunotherapy is a treatment that improves the symptoms in a short term, in a longer term it is able to interfere more serious illnesses’ emergence with a change of natural history of disease.

Allergy: symptoms and causes

The allergy cold is the inflammation of the nasal mucous which evolves consequences of slide aside functioning of the immune system.

Typical symptoms are attacks of sneezing, clear runny nose, nose and eye itching, snuffles, excess tear production in the eyes. A tünetekhez időnként, főleg a parlagfűszezon vége felé igen kellemetlen, a torok kaparásával együtt járó ingerköhögés is csatlakozik. Gyakori panasz még a torokban lecsorgó váladék. Kiváltói lehetnek pollenek, ez esetben a tünetek szezonálisan, az allergiát kiváltó növény virágzásának idejében jelentkeznek. Poratka, állatszőr allergia esetében a szimptómák az év folyamán bármikor, az allergiát okozó atka vagy állattal való találkozás következtében kialakulhatnak. Az orrnyálkahártya hatalmas felülete az allergia kialakulásának és a tünetek létrejöttének egyaránt kedvez.

In Hungary the frequency of allergic rhinitis is currently 25%, so every fourth people suffer from this disease. 20-40 per cent of allergic rhinitis patients are asthmatic. The hay fever itself is not a serious illness. It seriously worsens the quality of life, reduces the work and school performance, cause serious disorder into rest. Seriously impair the quality of life, however, reduces the work and school performance, cause serious disturbance to the rest. Furthermore, it carries a more severe disease , the chance of developing asthma. Tests which research the prevalence of disease have shown that if the number of allergies increase into this rate -doubles every 10 year- we can be the witness of an allergy generation emergence.

What solution can we offer to patients?

The ideal solution - if possible- to remove the root cause of allergy from patient’s environment. However, removing in case of pollens is not at all, in case of house dust mine is heavy and partly possible. Nowadays excellent, no side effects or just cause symptomatic medications are available. Understandably, however, many people averse from continuous medication, moreover they rightly fear from deteriorate of theirs symptoms and they want lasting methods to the disease. The allergen specific immunotherapy offers a solution to this need.

What does this term mean?

Allergen: plant, animal, mite or any substance that triggers allergy.

Specific: the treatment does not tend to the symptoms of allergy but the cause of allergy. Immunotherapy indicates that in case of allergic patient with avoidance of pathologically derailed immunoreactions dissolve complaints, obstruct to become allergy to new things and to more sever disease, asthma develop.

Using immunotherapy runs back 100 years. Over a long period of treatment, the injection form was known. During injection immunotherapy, initially therapist hypodermic several times a week, then less frequently specified allergen quantity is injected. Because of allergic reactions this treatment should be prepared only in a well-aware institution which is able to attend severe allergic attack. After the injection patient has to stay by doctor 1-2 hours to be observed. Due to the regular medical attendance ( duration of treatment is 3 year), the injection caused inconvenience, there is a need for a more simple, also used at home, painless solution are incurred.

You can finally breath!

The development of so-called sublingual (“under the tongue “ used) treatment greatly simplified the using of immunotherapeutic preparations. A largish child is able to perform ( of course under supervision) this kind of treatment. The defined allergen quantity in drops or tablets from is allocated under the tongue, which is absorbed. It can be performed at the patient’s home.

Help with immunotherapy the allergic patient's immune system learns to tolerate the presence of allergens causing disease, as well as with changing the procession of immune response partly arrests to become allergic to new things, and according to studies it significantly reduces more severe allergic disease, the development of allergic asthma.

This treatment can adaptable in patients with pollen allergy, house dust mite, cat and dog hair allergies, as well as mold allergy. Bee and wasp poison allergy can only be treated with injection immunotherapy. Every allergy treatments – because of chronic illness- require a good cooperation between patient and physician. In case of immunotherapy – in the oral treatment- the patient feeds the preparation himself, so the patients’ cooperation is particularly important. Should not change the prescribed dosage, and the doctor should be informed in case of unusual incidents.