yiubcheng皮膚過敏分享

yiubcheng我一直都有濕疹問題，特別天氣轉變時,皮膚就會好痕，媽咪一直都諗唔到咩原因

最近媽咪終於的起心肝，帶我去朋友介紹既診所做過敏測試”速敏檢”，過程只係篤一下手指頭，取少少血 ~

報告結果顯示致敏原係“霉菌”同“狗毛”，媽咪即刻諗起，我玩親毛公仔都會覺得痕癢，而且最近春天潮濕，“霉菌”容易滋生，睇黎我要立即處理咗D毛公仔~ 好彩我地無養狗狗，不過以後都會多D留意，避免去多狗狗同埋污糟既地方~ 依家終於搵出皮膚痕癢既原因，一天都光哂 lu




參考資料: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCu-fX2svdA/
以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，
應向自己的過敏病科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

yiubcheng皮膚過敏分享

yiubcheng我一直都有濕疹問題，特別天氣轉變時,皮膚就會好痕，媽咪一直都諗唔到咩原因

最近媽咪終於的起心肝，帶我去朋友介紹既診所做過敏測試”速敏檢”，過程只係篤一下手指頭，取少少血 ~

報告結果顯示致敏原係“霉菌”同“狗毛”，媽咪即刻諗起，我玩親毛公仔都會覺得痕癢，而且最近春天潮濕，“霉菌”容易滋生，睇黎我要立即處理咗D毛公仔~ 好彩我地無養狗狗，不過以後都會多D留意，避免去多狗狗同埋污糟既地方~ 依家終於搵出皮膚痕癢既原因，一天都光哂 lu




參考資料: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCu-fX2svdA/
以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，
應向自己的過敏病科醫生查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

Immunotherapy for allergic diseases (2)

 

 

So how do we treat allergies?  The most obvious answer is to avoid coming in contact with allergens.  To successfully practice allergen avoidance, we must first find out what the person is allergic to, and to confirm that these allergens are responsible for their symptoms.  A positive skin test will identify allergens that the patient responds to immunologically, but it still does not confirm that these allergens cause symptoms from day to day.   

 

A careful history will be very helpful, but sometimes, challenge studies might be needed.  Measuring the level of allergens in the patient’s living and working environment might also be useful.  For certain indoor allergens such as house dust mites and animal dander, avoidance measures can be extremely helpful.  The second line of treatment for allergies is drug treatment.   

 

Drugs such as antihistamines are used to counteract some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction.  They can be useful for mild cases but are frequently not successful in controlling more severe cases.  Steroid spray is also very useful in reducing the inflammation caused by an allergic reaction.  These treatments do not address the root of the problem, and symptoms promptly recur once the patient stops the treatments.

 

The only method to eliminate allergies is by immunotherapy.  This form of therapy aims to induce immunological tolerance to specific allergens, so that patients will no longer react to them when exposed.  Traditionally, immunotherapy (also called allergy injections or desensitization) is administered by repeated subcutaneous injections of purified allergen extracts.  

 

 This carries a risk of severe allergic reactions, and the injections must be administer under the supervision of an experienced allergist with adequate emergency support.  In experienced hands, immunotherapy is very safe, especially if standardized extracts are used.  In patients with insect sting allergy, immunotherapy is >99% effective in protecting the patients from future stings, and the effect appears to be lifelong after 3 to 5 years of continuous treatment.  The effectiveness of pollen immunotherapy has also been shown to last for at least 3 years after stopping treatment.

 

Newer forms of immunotherapy are being developed.  Sublingual immunotherapy uses a very high dose of allergen extract to be placed under the tongue for absorption.  Initial studies suggest that it might be effective for allergic rhinitis and possibly asthma.  More studies are needed to confirm its efficacy and also to determine its mechanism of action.  We are currently conducting a large clinical study, which will eventually involve 120 patients with allergic rhinitis, to evaluate sublingual immunotherapy against house dust mites.  

 

 Patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis will be recruited.  Skin tests to common allergens will be performed to confirm sensitization to house dust mites.  A nasal challenge study will be performed to confirm that house dust mites can indeed cause nasal symptoms.  The patients will first be given conventional drug therapy including an antihistamine and a nasal spray.   

 

Patients who do not derive satisfactory results from this treatment will be randomized to receive immunotherapy or placebo for one year.  The patients will be reevaluated every three months, and those that respond to treatment will have their nasal spray gradually withdrawn.  Patients will fill in a report of their symptoms every week.  At the end of one year, all patients on active treatment will continue for another year, and those on placebo will be switched to active treatment.  Immunological parameters in the blood and nasal washings will be evaluated at the beginning of the study and after one year.]

 

 

Reference information:  www.allergy.hk

The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult physician before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.

Immunotherapy for allergic diseases (1)

 

 

 

Allergic diseases are some of the most common diseases in Hong Kong.  It has been estimated that up to 50% of school children suffer from symptoms of rhinitis, while about 15% of them have asthma and about 10% have eczema.  The incidence of allergic diseases is also increasing around the world, as a result of changes in our lifestyle and our environment.

 

Allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis is a common problem that many sufferers simply ignore.  The symptoms include sneezing, itchy nose, itchy eyes, runny nose, watery eyes, congestion and post-nasal drip.  However, severe cases can be quite debilitating.  Children with allergic rhinitis have been shown to suffer from poor sleep, impaired learning, bad temper and hyperactivity.  Adults with allergic rhinitis are at risk of disorders of mood and sleep.  Severe allergic rhinitis might become complicated by sinus and middle ear infections, worsening of asthma, and might affect facial and dental development in children.

 

The cause of allergic rhinitis in any individual is dependent on his/her living and working environment.  In temperate climate, pollens are the most common causes.  However, in subtropical climates such as Hong Kong, indoor allergens such as house dust mites, mould spores, cockroaches and animal dander are the most common causes.  Exposure to allergens in the work environment is also very important.

 

Why do people develop allergies?  When we are first exposed to a foreign substance, through our skin, our respiratory tract or GI tract, our immune system will strive to recognize this substance.  In most cases, our immune system recognizes that these substances are harmless and ignores them.  This is a process called immunological tolerance.  Not only does the immune system ignore these antigens, it actually develops a response that actively suppresses any reaction to the antigens.  This active suppression can be passed on from one experimental animal to another by transferring immune cells called T cells.  In allergic individuals, this mechanism somehow failed to work for certain antigens (allergens), and they develop an immune response every time they encounter these antigens.  This immune response leads to allergic symptoms.

 

 

Reference information: www.allergy.hk

The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult
physician before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.

What is Allergic rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis is caused by inflammation of the lining of the nose due to exposure to allergens. Symptoms include sneezing, itching, clear nasal discharge, post-nasal drip and congestion. Many patients with allergic rhinitis also suffer from allergy symptoms in their eyes. Allergic rhinitis is most commonly caused by allergy to house dust mites, animal dander, cockroaches, mold spores and pollens. Environmental and industrial chemicals can also cause allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis can cause significant morbidity, especially in children. Nasal congestion often leads to poor quality sleep or even sleep apnea, and results in chronic tiredness, hyperactivity and learning difficulty. Chronic mouth breathing can affect the normal development of the teeth and facial structures. Chronic post-nasal drip can lead to cough and hoarsness, and chronic congestion can cause sinus and middle ear infections. Allergic rhinitis is an important risk factor for the development of asthma in young children.

Not all cases of rhinitis are caused by allergies. Other common causes include vasomotor rhinitis, infection and medications. In order to diagnose allergic rhinitis, patients should undergo allergy testing, preferably with skin tests. The test should include all potential allergens in the patient’s outdoor, home and work environment.

Treatment of allergic rhinitis should first and foremost include avoidance of the relevant allergens. This will involve modifying the environment at home and at work. Nasal steroid spray is the most effective medication for the prevention of rhinitis symptoms, whereas acute symptoms should be treated with oral antihistamines. Long-term use of over-the-counter decongestant sprays should be avoided. For long-term management of moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, especially if the patient fails to adequately respond to allergen avoidance and medications, patients should consider undergoing desensitization treatment to induce tolerance to the relevant allergens.

Reference information:  www.allergy.hk

The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult physician before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a common condition that affects more than 10% of the population. Asthma is defined as reversible airway obstruction. It is caused by narrowing of the lower airways due to inflammation, and is therefore a disease of airway inflammation. Asthma patients might be normal most of the time, but when the disease exacerbates, the patient would cough, wheeze, and feel tight in the chest and short of breath.

Asthmatic tendency is genetically determined, but the disease is triggered by external factors. Asthma most commonly starts during childhood, and the two most common causes are allergy and infection. Before the age of three, asthma is more commonly caused by virus infection, and the most common culprits are Respiratory Syncythial Virus (RSV), Rhinovirus and Adenovirus. Acute infections with these viruses can lead to croup, and patients develop high fever, cough, wheezing and dyspnea. In susceptible individuals, croup during the first two years of life can subsequently lead to recurrent wheezing illnesses.

However, this problem often improves with age and goes into remission by about 8 years of age. Allergic asthma, on the other hand, often persists into adulthood. Even in those patients who seem to outgrow their asthma during their teens, recent studies have shown that many of them will develop asthma symptoms again in their 30s and 40s. The majority of patients with allergic asthma also suffer from allergic rhinitis, since both conditions are caused by allergen exposure. The most common allergens include house dust mites, cockroach, animal dander, mold spores and pollens.

Reference information:  http://www.allergy.hk

The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult physician before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.

藥物過敏治療 Allergen Immunotherapy in Hong Kong

Allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis (nasal allergy), allergic conjunctivitis (ocular allergy) and asthma are chronic diseases.  These diseases are caused by the immune system reacting inappropriately to normally harmless substances such as pollens, dust mites, mold spores and animal dander.  While there are drugs such as steroids and antihistamines that can effectively control the symptoms, the only option for eliminating the root cause of the problem remains allergen immunotherapy (also called desensitization, hyposensitization or allergy shots).

Allergen extracts are prepared according to the sensitivities of the individual.  The extracts are administered at regular intervals to induce a response called immune tolerance.  The tolerance response is achieved by the production of blocking antibodies and regulatory T cells.  When this happens, the patient’s sensitivity to the allergens progressively diminishes, and symptoms also decline.  Studies have shown that after three to five years of treatment, the effectiveness persists long-term even after treatment is discontinued.

Allergic rhinitis in childhood is a risk factor for the development of asthma.  A study shows that children who received allergen immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis have 2.5-fold reduced risk of developing asthma.  This effect is still evident 10 years after treatment.

Recent studies have also shown that for a subset of patients with atopic dermatitis, where environmental allergy is a major factor in their illness, immunotherapy is effective in reducing the severity of their skin disease.

Allergen immunotherapy has traditionally been administered by subcutaneous injections. Newer forms of treatment such as sublingual immunotherapy have been developed that are more convenient, and maybe suitable for selected patients

Reference information: http://www.allergy.hk

The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult physician before considering treatment and should not rely on the information above.