If we classify the types of ‘allergic diseases’ commonly found today, they can be divided into several types such as skin allergies, food allergies, drug allergies, and respiratory allergies or airborne allergies, which are the most popular allergies in this era.
Today, Dr. Jirawat Chiewchalermsri, an internist specializing in allergy and clinical immunology at Phyathai 2 Hospital will clarify questions about respiratory allergies, which will help you understand and better protect yourself.
What causes allergic diseases?
Allergic diseases are caused by abnormalities in the body’s immune system that, when exposed to “allergens”, trigger abnormal reactions. Allergens can enter the body through various routes such as the respiratory tract, food intake, or contact. Allergic diseases can occur due to two main causes: genetics and environmental changes. Regarding genetics, if both parents have allergies, the chance of their child having allergies is as high as 60%.
Symptoms of respiratory allergies
Most respiratory allergies involve allergic reactions expressed in the nose, throat, and bronchi. Symptoms may include itchy eyes, eye irritation, or tearing. Respiratory allergies mainly occur in two parts:
- The upper respiratory tract around the nasal cavity. Common symptoms include coughing, sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, ear fullness, and difficulty breathing due to swollen nasal tissues.
- The lower respiratory tract around the bronchi. Patients often experience shortness of breath, wheezing, chronic cough, easy fatigue, or asthma, commonly referred to as asthma.
Distinguishing allergy symptoms from the common cold
Most people cannot distinguish whether their symptoms are due to allergies or a cold. In fact, respiratory allergies have symptoms similar to a cold, such as sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. However, allergy symptoms occur at specific times, such as at night and in the morning. Upon waking, sneezing and runny nose occur, but symptoms improve when going outside in the sun, possibly due to dust mites on bedding or stuffed animals. Some may have symptoms when close to pets like cats or dogs but not all the time. Colds have similar symptoms but persist continuously and often include fever, sore throat, loss of smell, and discolored phlegm.
What are the respiratory allergens?
Allergens causing respiratory allergies are all around us, depending on what the body reacts to, such as dust, dust mites, pet hair, cockroaches, mold, grass pollen, flower pollen, and various weeds. In allergic patients sensitive to these allergens, inhaling them causes irritation and inflammation of the nasal mucosa, conjunctiva, and bronchi.
Is dark under-eye circles really caused by allergies?
Dark circles under the eyes from allergies (Allergic Shiner) refer to darkened under-eye areas, sometimes with swelling, caused by allergies. When allergic, symptoms include nasal mucosa inflammation, itchy eyes, eye irritation, swollen eyes, red eyes, runny nose, cough, and sneezing. Chronic sufferers often have swollen nasal mucosa and eyes, which restricts blood flow, causing blood to pool under the eyes, resulting in dark circles. Therefore, when experiencing these symptoms, avoid rubbing your eyes vigorously to prevent worsening dark circles and wrinkles. Avoid allergens and continue allergy treatment.
Can respiratory allergies be cured?
The key to treating allergies is to strengthen the immune system so the body can fight allergens, such as exercising, getting enough rest, avoiding allergens, and avoiding pollution like PM2.5, along with seeing a doctor to monitor symptoms. Treatment may include nasal sprays, saline nasal rinses, and antihistamines during symptom flare-ups to help relieve symptoms.
In the group of respiratory allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma, immunotherapy is currently used to improve or cure symptoms.
Immunotherapy treatment has two main methods: injecting allergens that the patient is allergic to under the skin, gradually increasing the dose each visit to help the patient build immunity against the allergen, and the other method is daily sublingual allergen tablets.
Currently, in Thailand, sublingual immunotherapy is used only for patients allergic to dust mites. Immunotherapy should be supervised by a specialist because some patients may experience side effects such as allergic reactions, rashes, difficulty breathing, or severe allergic reactions.
Allergic rhinitis and asthma may not require immediate medical attention, but if left untreated and exposure to allergens continues, complications may occur such as sinusitis, chronic cough from postnasal drip, and ‘asthma attacks’ leading to uncontrolled asthma and possible respiratory failure. Therefore, patients should avoid allergens, see a doctor, continue medication, and if symptoms do not improve, consider immunotherapy treatment.
Allergy Clinic at Phyathai 2 Hospital has a team of specialists ready to provide consultation, answer all questions, and offer useful information to achieve better treatment outcomes for allergic diseases.
