Do you suffer from allergic disease?

What is allergy?

Respiratory allergic disease is often seen as a modern condition associated with increasing pollution, greater use of pesticides, environmental toxins and global warming. However, the key to defeating allergic disease lies in reprogramming our own immune system.
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House dust mite allergy
Pollen allergy
Living with allergy
Burden of allergic disease

What is allergy?

Allergies are caused by an overreaction of the body’s immune system to substances that in most cases would otherwise be harmless.

Common triggers of respiratory allergic disease include pollens, house dust mites, moulds and animal dander. Exposure can lead to a range of symptoms, including allergic rhinitis (inflammation of the upper airways), conjunctivitis (itchy, watery eyes), and allergic asthma (inflammation of the lower airways). 

These symptoms can worsen over time if not treated appropriately, and allergic rhinitis is considered to be one of the major risk factors in the development of asthma.

Nearly half of all allergy sufferers are children
The prevalence of respiratory allergic disease has increased over recent decades  and is rising in both developed and developing countries.  Globally, an estimated 400-500 million people are affected by allergic rhinitis and 40% of these are children.

It is estimated that 10-20% of allergic rhinitis sufferers have symptoms which are not well controlled despite the use of symptom-relieving medication and that less than one in ten of these receives allergy immunotherapy treatment.

Millions of work days lost
For many people, respiratory allergic disease has a significant impact on their quality of life, causing sleepless nights, shortness of breath and resulting in millions of lost school and work days.

However, there are several treatment options, including symptom suppressing medicines and allergy immunotherapy. Immunotherapy treats the underlying cause of allergy and allergic asthma and can offer long-lasting improvement by reprogramming the immune system to better cope with exposure to specific allergens.

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The most important difference between symptomatic treatments and allergy immunotherapy is that immunotherapy induces immunological tolerance and alters the course of the disease.
Read more about allergic asthma

Key respiratory allergens

Read about house dust mites
House dust mite allergy
Read about pollens
Pollen allergy

Who is at risk?

Worldwide industrialisation and lifestyle changes have had a major impact on the development of respiratory allergies.

Research shows that people develop allergy as a result of both genetic and environmental factors and, while it is common for allergy to run in families, it is also possible for someone to develop a respiratory allergy even if they have no previous family history of the disease. 

Allergic diseases become more severe over time
Allergies can develop at any age but they are most common in childhood and adolescence and can become more severe over time. Clinical evidence also suggests that if someone reacts to one allergen, they are more likely to develop other allergies in the future.

For a long time, allergy experts suspected a link between respiratory allergies and the development of asthma, noting the overlap between the two. In fact, around 60% of people with asthma also have allergic rhinitis. Similarly, many people with allergic rhinitis also will go on to develop asthma.

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Allergy immunotherapy works by reprogramming the body’s immune system to tolerate specific allergens through repeated exposure to controlled amounts of these allergens over time.
Read more about allergy immunotherapy
Last updated: 2016.11.14