Asthma Centre London
Posted: 18th January 2018 | Posted by Costa
Asthma Centre London
In our last article, we spoke about how not all wheezes require an asthma inhaler. Not to mention that allergic asthma makes up almost 60% of all asthma cases.
As allergic asthma is triggered by perennial or seasonal allergens it’s possible to fight back against the trigger. Common causes can be pets, house dust mites, pollen, or mould. The first step, of course, is to book an appointment with an allergy consultant. They can carry out a skin prick allergy test to establish what you are allergic to. Or you could have a specific IgE blood test (ISAC) done and screen for 112 allergens.
Once established, you can discuss with your consultant the immunotherapy options available to you. There are a number of asthma therapies readily available, but for the most part, these are merely coping mechanisms.
A recent study published in Allergy European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) was carried out with the intention of establishing the effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy. The review measured the effects of both subcutaneous (SCIT) or sublingual (SLIT) routes on both; a short short-term basis, during treatment; and long-term, after discontinuation of AIT, in comparison to other methods of treatment. The patients that were studied were a variety of ages, but all had one thing in common. Each patient had a physician-confirmed diagnosis of allergic asthma. They also had a history of asthma symptoms after allergen exposure determined by a skin prick test or specific IgE.
The results
Both adults and children had the tests for sensitisation to the allergens, including trees, moulds, grass, pets, latex and weeds. The results show that AIT is an excellent remedy for those suffering from mild/moderate allergic asthma, and is the only cure that benefits the patients and reduces the symptoms by influencing the cause of the disease.
What we can take away from this review is that in some forms of allergic asthma, in addition to inhalers that help to minimise the symptoms and control the ongoing inflammatory process, desensitisation treatment can be used to influence the cause of the disease. It’s like dealing with dandelions and other weeds in your garden. You can pull the leaves and the head of the plant, but until you take its roots out of the soil, it will keep coming back for more. It’s exactly the same principle with your allergic asthma. The underlying allergic inflammation and dysregulated immune response are your pesky roots, and you need to take your trowel to them. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only treatment available that actually deals with the cause of allergic asthma.
To find out more about allergen immunotherapy and to speak to one of our allergy consultants, book an appointment with us to find out more and get to the root of your allergic asthma.