Advice for allergy complaints – Health news
It has entered the summer months when allergic diseases are on the rise the most. Chest diseases Specialist dr., especially for increasing respiratory complaints such as colds, allergies and asthma. Aslıhan Banu Er spoke about the precautions to be taken against allergic diseases and the ways to treat these diseases. Noting that environmental factors play an important role in the rise in allergic disease, Dr. Aslıhan Banu Er, “Allergy is our body’s abnormal reaction to substances that are normally harmless. This situation emerges with different data due to the effect of histamine and other substances released from mast cells, etc., when a person sensitive to an allergen encounters an allergen. Depending on the way this allergen enters the body, we may encounter symptoms accordingly.
For example, if the allergen comes into contact with the nose, symptoms such as itching and runny nose can occur, while itching, lacrimation, redness, and burning sensation in the eye can occur when it comes into contact with the eyes. When it comes into contact with the skin, symptoms such as redness, swelling, and itching can occur. In addition, allergies should be considered in case of itching in the throat, constant urge to swallow, discharge from the nose, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, swelling around the lips and eyes, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea of unknown origin . But we don’t expect all of these symptoms to be present in one patient. Even a few of them together is enough to suspect an allergy. Allergies are often confused with the common cold. While common cold is a few days event, allergic rhinitis is seen in longer duration patients. In patients with allergic rhinitis, symptoms such as runny nose, itching in the nose, nasal drip, inability to breathe through the nose can be observed. These patients have difficulty waking up in the morning, especially during the spring periods, often wake up during the night and are unable to breathe through their nose. When you can’t breathe comfortably, the body’s oxygen supply also deteriorates. So the person’s life is negatively impacted,” he said.
“We first screen patients who come with allergy symptoms to see if they have asthma”
Specialist dr. Aslıhan Banu Er said, “The first thing we want to do with patients who come to us is to identify what the patient is allergic to. Whatever allergen is causing the patient’s allergy, our goal is to remove that allergen from the person’s environment, if possible. If it is not possible to remove it, we provide information on what measures should be taken to reduce the person’s exposure. The measures we take in this way not only increase the patient’s quality of life, but also ensure that the complaints are resolved. The issue of turning allergy into asthma is one of the issues that our patients who apply to us often ask and fear. Studies conducted show that 40% of patients with allergic rhinitis have asthma. In studies conducted, 80% of patients with asthma have allergic rhinitis. We first screen patients who come to our clinic with allergy symptoms to see if they have asthma. Just as the allergen affects the upper airway, when it also affects the lower airway, the inflammation that occurs when the airway narrows, namely asthma, will be triggered. Therefore, our detection of the trigger and removing the current trigger from the environment will allow us to control the person’s asthma. In particular, I would like to point out that if someone has a cough that does not go away, becomes tired when climbing stairs and becomes short of breath during exercise, the likelihood of asthma is very high. If people with asthma think they are continuing my life, whether they realize it or not, they are wrong. Because if the asthma patient is not on medication, on the one hand, mast cells, which secrete substances called cytokines that cause narrowing of the airways, can cause permanent narrowing with the cytokines they secrete. Therefore, it is essential for us to diagnose and treat asthma, if present.”
“Spring allergies can be diagnosed with tests”
Explaining that they do a lot of testing for those who come in with allergy symptoms, Dr. Aslıhan Banu Er said, “Spring allergy can be diagnosed with tests. When our patients come to us for examination, we listen to our patient first, and most of them will tell us what they are sensitive to with the history they give, unconsciously or consciously. Then we do some blood tests, breathing tests and imaging tests on our patients. And we do allergy testing for our patients who request an allergy or who we think may be allergic. When we do an allergy test, we try to improve our patients’ quality of life by making sure they pay attention to what they are allergic to depending on the result. In our own clinic we perform skin prick tests and specific Ig-E tests from blood. We perform skin prick tests by evaluating the skin’s reaction to the application of the allergen to the skin. Of course, not every reaction is an allergy, and the lack of a reaction on every skin doesn’t mean the person doesn’t have an allergy. We perform the specific Ig-E test on the blood, especially in patients who are unable to stop taking allergy medications or who are taking medications such as antidepressants, in patients who have severe hypersensitivity reactions, which we call anaphylaxis, in patients who have active dermatitis or dermography on the skin .
“Since allergic diseases are chronic, it may be necessary to take medication for a long time”
Speaking of preventive methods, Dr. Eh, “The drugs used in the treatment of allergic diseases are extremely effective when used properly. With these drugs, the disease is often controlled without any problems. Since allergic diseases are chronic, long-term use of medications may be required. We use both oral systemic treatments and local treatment methods for the nose, eyes, airways and skin. In fact, we have suggestions for preventive treatment of the trigger. With the training we provide in this direction, methods of protection against allergens can be applied. In addition to allergens, we also need to control the factors that negatively affect patients’ symptoms, which we call triggers. Cigarette smoke, air pollution and respiratory infections, chemical detergents and perfumes, etc. are among the main triggers. It should be remembered that the better the control of the environment, the better the control of the disease will be. Because environmental control measures will also lead to a decrease in the amount of pesticides required. We explain in great detail what needs to be done in our clinic. We welcome our patients with all kinds of allergy-related problems to our clinic.