Allergies

What is an allergy?

An allergy is an excessive defence reaction of the immune system to an environmental substance that is harmless per se. The immune system cannot distinguish between “dangerous” and “harmless” with the allergens.

In principle, any environmental substance can be an allergen. Inhaling these substances (inhalation allergy or aeroallergen) can result in a respiratory allergy. However, merely touching certain substances (contact allergens) can also lead to allergic reactions in some cases.

Allergy	Allergen (ex.)	Symptoms
Allergic rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis	Pollen, dust mites, mould, pet hair	Watery discharge from the nose, congestion, sneezing fits, itchy nose and/or throat
Allergic asthma	Dust mites, pollen, pet hair, mould	Respiratory complaints with tightness in the chest, dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath
Atopic dermatitis	Metals, cosmetics, preservatives	Dry skin, swelling, persistent itching
Food allergy	Shrimp, strawberries, eggs, milk, nuts	Gastrointestinal disorders or diarrhoea, persistent itching
Insecticide allergy, drug allergy	Bee poison, wasp poison, penicillin drugs	Skin reactions, angioedema

Different causes

The causes for this malfunction of the immune system include inherited genetic predispositions along with certain environmental factors during childhood and later years of life. Several recent studies have shown that there is a link between air pollution and the occurrence of respiratory ailments and asthma.*

Link to patient brochures (PDF in German):
Mould allergy  Mite allergy Pet allergy Grass allergy Tree allergy Weed allergy

* Patel MM. et al.: Air pollution and childhood asthma: recent advances and future directions. Current Opinion in Pediatrics 2009; 21:235-242.

For more information on allergies see www.stallergenes.ch or www.stallergenes.com