Cough, headache and runny nose Common cold or allergy?

Coughs and colds should not be hastily dismissed as a harmless cold. This can also be caused by a house dust mite allergy.
A stuffy nose, red eyes and a cough - these symptoms are common to many people in the cold season like wet leaves on the sidewalks. Especially in the months of September to March, cold viruses spread quickly. But experts point out that these symptoms should not be rashly assessed. Because the typical characteristics of an infectious respiratory disease are similar to those of a house dust mite allergy.

Also, due to the chronic allergic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, there is an increased susceptibility to infections. Franziska Ruëff, Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and an expert in allergology, says: "If there are chronic complaints such as a nasal obstruction and recurrent colds or sinus infections, it should definitely be thought of an underlying house dust mite allergy."

Typical cold symptoms or an allergy? Picture: drubig-photo - fotolia

Because about 10 percent of all Germans are allergic to the allergens of the mites, which frolic almost everywhere, where not freshly cleaned. Thus, the house dust mite allergy is according to estimates of the German Allergy and Asthma Association (DAAB) at number one of the most common allergies. The burden for allergy sufferers is now increasing in the autumn: it is heated more, the room air is drier, the mites die and release additional allergens when decaying.

The heating air whirls up the allergen-containing dust. The allergic person reacts with sneezing, cold and cough. Many people think that is a cold. The effects of a house dust mite allergy are much more drastic. "Allergies can bring people to their physical and psychological limits," says Franziska Ruëff. "This significantly affects the quality of life."

Allergic diseases can affect anyone and arise at any age. It can be seen that people do not always associate changes in their health and quality of life with allergies. Certainty is only an allergy test at the allergologically experienced doctor, for example, a skin or ear, nose and throat doctor. He can initiate a possible therapy after the diagnosis. The only treatment that fights the cause is a specific immunotherapy, also called hyposensitization. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of allergies.

The allergist Ruëff explains: "The hyposensitization brings the immune system back into balance." Behind an allergy is a misguided immune response to the allergen, such as the decay products and excrement of the dust mite. In hyposensitization, the allergic person receives about three years the allergen to which he responds, in the form of syringes, tablets or drops. The syringes he gets from the doctor, he can take drops or tablets at home. It is important that the doctor selects a preparation for which efficacy has been proven in studies. By regularly administering the allergen, the immune system of the person concerned gradually learns to no longer perceive the house dust mite as a danger. With a hyposensitization can not only combat the annoying symptoms such as cold, cough and fatigue, but starts with the cause. The costs for this treatment are taken over by the private and legal health insurance companies. (Sb)