Allergies What helps with hay fever

Important questions and answers about allergy and pollen

02/05/2012

According to the latest research, around 30 million people in Germany suffer from an allergy. In many cases, those affected are exposed to real allergic reactions. Especially suffering from the onset of pollen allergy sufferers of hay fever.

Even today children grow up "clinically pure" and thus have little opportunity to adequately exercise their immune system. Recent studies have shown, for example, that children on farms suffer less from allergies than people in urban environments. In 2002, an international research team published the so-called "ALEX study". They showed that children in rural areas suffer less often from asthma and hay fever. In addition, the children examined in the countryside showed an atopic sensitization. Recent studies got to the root of the causes. She discovered that the positive effects of raw milk, bacteria and regular stall contact arise. "The immune system lacks in its maturation contact with immune-activating substances from nature, such as bacteria that occur in the manure," explains also the expert and physician Prof. Ludger Klimek of the Center for Rhinology and Allergology in Wiesbaden. As climate change progresses, pollen counts increase almost every year. In addition, "environmental pollution leading to more aggressive allergens," as Prof. Torsten Zuberbie explained by the University Hospital Charité Berlin.

Overreaction of the immune system
Actually, the immune system has the task of protecting the body from harmful external influences. Physicians assume that allergy sufferers are too sensitive to actually harmless substances such as pollen. The body then reacts in contact with an inflammatory reaction with the help of the defense cells to remove the putative intruder again. The result: tearing eyes, itchy skin, sneezing, runny nose and runny nose.

Allergies can also occur only in adulthood
In the course of life, every person can develop an allergy. To this day, the exact circumstances have not been finally clarified. The fact is that genetic positions play a role. For example, children of allergic parents are more likely to develop an allergy.

Homeopathy for pollen allergy
According to Dr. Karl-Heinz Friese from Weil, allergies can also be treated with the help of homeopathy. For example, agents such as Allium cepa, Euphrasia and Ghalphimia glauca are used. The therapies are used before and during the polling season. According to the doctor, "early-bloomer allergies, for example, with formic acid injections dampen prima." Except for the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the treatment costs, however, are not covered by the statutory health insurance and must therefore be billed privately. However, the TK also covers the treatment costs of homeopathic treatments if these are prescribed by a doctor. Ordinances by naturopaths are excluded from this.

Naturopathy with a holistic approach
In addition to homeopathy, natural healing applications can also be used. In naturopathy, non-medical practitioners generally do not consider pollen allergy as a problem of the nose, but of the entire human body. Accordingly, there are numerous concepts aimed at re-directing overreactions of the human immune defense system "into the healthy immunological regulatory process". In most cases, the self-blood therapy, hypnosis, Bach flower therapy and intestinal rehabilitation by naturopaths or naturopathy doctors is performed.

Hyposensitization from conventional medicine
In conventional medicine is usually put on the hyposensitization. During this orthodox medical treatment, the immune system gradually injects the allergen at higher and higher doses by injection or tablet. It is assumed that subsequently an immunological habituation is used. A few years ago, the total therapy time was three years. Today, so-called short-term immunotherapies are already available, which take about six to eight weeks. During treatment, many patients experience allergic reactions and circulatory problems such as dizziness. Hyposensitization is successful in bee venom allergy (90 percent) and in pollen allergy (80 percent). In the case of house dust allergy, according to medical circles, the success rate is around 75 percent.

After hyposensitization, new allergies may form
However, hyposensitization is criticized because often other allergies develop after treatment. Prof. Ludger Klimek says that allergies come "rarely alone" and point to further studies that patients have observed over a longer period of time. One in three who underwent hyposensitization develops another allergy in the rest of their lives. "Hyposensitization creates a habituation to certain allergens, but it does not change the fact that the immune system misinterprets the environment," Dr. Erwin Häringer from Munich. In his opinion, natural medicine can regulate here.

In addition to pollen allergy, there are other allergies such as medicines, bee venom and food allergy. These are very dangerous because they may cause anaphylactic shock. However, if hay fever is not treated, the allergy can spread to the bronchi and cause reactions to other respiratory mucous membranes. (Sb)