The plan of the year lies in the spring, and it is the season of the recovery of all things and the warm blossoms of spring, while everyone goes out of the house and gets close to nature, friends with allergies have also begun the new year's allergy journey - red eyes itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, coughing and holding breath, itchy skin... Even eating a fruit or a nut induces shock. With the increasing number of people with allergies, various rumors have gradually appeared on the Internet, so are these rumors true or false? Today, experts from the Department of Allergy of Peking Union Medical College Hospital will talk about the three major rumors about allergies! Remember not to listen to oh~
About the author: Guan Kai
Assistant director and deputy chief physician of the Department of Allergy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract (allergic rhinitis, allergic cough, allergic asthma), food allergies, drug allergies, insect (bee venom) venom allergies, anaphylactic shock, atopic dermatitis and other allergic diseases.
Myth one: Allergies are the fault of "poor immunity"!
The human immune system, which includes the humoral and cellular immune systems, helps us identify and eliminate foreign invading pathogens, cancer cells in the body, and normal cells that die of aging.
When the immune system that maintains the balance of the body is disturbed, it will cause corresponding symptoms:
(1) If the ability to identify and attack the "enemy" is low, it will cause infection and tumors;
(2) If you mistakenly identify your healthy cells as "enemies" to attack, it will cause autoimmune diseases;
(3) If the harmless substance is also over-identified as an "enemy" and attacked, it will cause allergies.
It can be seen that in the face of foreign invaders, the normal immune system will only attack and eliminate microorganisms and pathogens that threaten human health; if the immune system has "cognitive confusion" or even "recognition of friends as enemies", it will begin to over-attack pollen, food, etc. that enter the body but are not threatening, in this process, the body will cause immune inflammation due to "affecting pond fish", which will also cause "allergic reactions".
Therefore, allergies are caused by immune disorders, which is not equal to "lack of immunity", let alone "low immunity", and simply improving immunity may not only be unhelpful, but also may further aggravate allergic reactions.
Myth two: once the allergy symptoms are relieved, the drug can be stopped!
Ordinary people like to put "three points of poison is medicine" on their lips, thinking that allergies must be used, but the symptoms are relieved and disappeared, and they can not be used.
Commonly used clinical allergy drugs include drugs that antagonize allergic mediators, such as antihistamines, antileukotrienes, and glucocorticoids to inhibit excessive immune inflammation. In recent years, through the unremitting improvement of drugs by medical experts, the safety of commonly used oral anti-allergic drugs, nasal sprays or inhaled local corticosteroids has been greatly improved, and under the guidance of professional doctors, they can be safely used for long-term allergy management.
The onset of an allergic reaction depends on two factors, both internal and external.
Internal factors are the body's immunity to misidentify external substances and attack them, mainly immunoglobulin E (IgE); external factors are that every allergy season, there are a large number of allergens in the living environment that can coexist with normal people, but are regarded as enemies by people with allergies, such as pollen.
Every spring, once the allergy population inhales the pollen they are allergic to, they will definitely get sick, and if the whole allergy process is compared to dominoes, then the first card is the inner gene, the second card is to trigger the allergic lifestyle, the third card is IgE, and the fourth card is the pollen of the allergy season... The last card is inflammation caused by allergies, and when the last card falls, the patient becomes ill.
Although the drug can hold down the last card so that it does not fall, so that the symptoms are alleviated, but the cards that have fallen in the front are not supported up and straightened out, that is, the allergy constitution is not changed, the allergy season is not over, and the allergy symptoms will recur after stopping the drug.
The practical experience of Peking Union Medical College Hospital in recent years has confirmed that after helping patients find pathogenic allergens, doctors guide patients to start regularly using anti-allergic drugs two weeks in advance according to the monitored pollen dissemination time period, flexibly guide medication according to pollen concentration during the period, and confirm that the drug is stopped two weeks after the end of pollen dissemination, which can help most patients successfully cope with the allergy season and play a multiplier effect.
Myth three: Allergic rhinitis gets better with age!
Many parents or patients do not attach importance to allergic rhinitis, and feel that as children grow up, their physique will become stronger, and allergic rhinitis will be cured without medicine; they even feel that it is a small problem and not worthy of attention. In fact, this idea stems partly from rumors and partly from a lack of awareness of allergic rhinitis.
Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common diseases of allergic diseases, which seems to be a small problem, but it is inextricably linked to other allergic diseases, and it will have serious consequences if it is not taken seriously.
The first of the four major symptoms of allergic rhinitis - nasal congestion, will cause hypoxia in the body, endanger the child's physical and intellectual development, and will also contribute to sleep apnea syndrome, worsen the body's cardiovascular system load, and even endanger life. Most allergic rhinitis will be conjunctivitis, affecting vision and vision, but also otitis media, resulting in hearing loss, and even 30 to 40% of patients will develop death-causing asthma.
The irregular treatment of allergic rhinitis for a long time (especially in adolescence) may affect maxillofacial development, triggering tooth decay, "dementia face" and so on. It can be seen that although allergic rhinitis may initially appear as a minor disease, it can affect hearing, vision, asthma and affect the face.
It is not advisable to passively wait for allergic rhinitis to heal itself, we should identify the rumors, strengthen the study of popular science knowledge, follow the diagnosis and treatment plan of professional doctors in regular hospitals, and control "small problems" and "small problems" in the bud.
Image/Author provided partly from the web
Editor/Hong Chengwei
Editor-in-Chief/Chen Mingyan
Producer/Wu Peixin