Transcript END ALLERGY AND ASTHMA MISERY It’s worth a shot! Allergies and asthma: if you have them, are you stuck with them? THE LATEST RESEARCH.

END
ALLERGY AND ASTHMA MISERY
It’s worth a shot!
Allergies and asthma: if you have
them, are you stuck with them?
THE LATEST RESEARCH SAYS
N O.
The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
good news
about stopping allergic disease.
(ACAAI) wants to share with you some
THIS PRESENTATION
IS FOR
YOU
if you:
• Have allergies or asthma
• Have a child with allergies or asthma
• Are a teacher, coach or school nurse
• Just want the latest information on
stopping allergic disease
Here are the
headlines:
• Allergic disease is epidemic
• If you have allergies, you also may have undiagnosed
asthma or could develop it
• Allergy shots (immunotherapy) can help control your
allergies and asthma, or keep you from developing asthma
Allergies can be controlled three ways:
• Avoid the allergens,
the things you’re allergic to
• Treat the symptoms
with medications
• Stop the allergic reaction
with allergy shots, also known as immunotherapy
Some of the most exciting and hopeful advances are
taking place in immunotherapy.
This presentation focuses on how
advances in immunotherapy, or allergy
shots, can help you.
IT ALSO WILL:
• Tell you how to
your area
locate an allergist
assess your risk for
asthma with a short quiz
• Help you
in
Allergic Disease is Epidemic
H OW C OM M ON ARE ALLER GIE S?
VERY
– 55 million people –
One in five Americans
have allergies to airborne triggers such as pollen, mold, dust
mites or animal dander.
17 million have asthma –
Another
a serious allergic disease caused by inflammation of the
lung airways. Between 1980 and 1998, reported cases of
asthma doubled.
The epidemic is
most serious in
children.
Asthma cases
rose 160%
between 1980
and 1998 in
children ages 0-4.
If you or your child have allergies,
you also may have
asthma or could
develop it.
We don’t completely understand what causes asthma, but
we do know
what puts you at risk.
proven link
There’s a
between
allergies and the development of asthma:
• At least 90% of childhood asthmatics,
and about half of all adult asthmatics,
are allergic.
• Studies also show that about 20% of children
with hay fever will develop asthma.
This knowledge led researchers to study
allergy shots, a well-established and
effective allergy treatment, as a possible
treatment for asthma.
Experts analyzed 24 studies involving
more than 900 asthmatics with documented
allergy
shots were effective in
treating allergic asthma in a majority
allergies and found that
(71%) of the studies. The treatment resulted in:
• reduced symptoms
• reduced lung inflammation
• reduced need for medications
• improved lung function
Researchers began to seek a greater
understanding of how allergy shots work.
Studies showed that allergic symptoms are
allergy shots
alter the underlying
disease process.
relieved because
Given as a series of regular injections, the shots gradually
decrease sensitivity to particular allergy triggers. The
treatment uses the body’s own natural defenses to reduce
overreactions to otherwise harmless substances.
No other available treatment
does this.
The preventive effect of allergy shots was
first recognized almost 40 years ago.
One study followed children with allergies
for 14 years and found that those who
were treated with allergy shots were
less likely to develop asthma,
and less likely to develop additional allergies than those
who did not receive allergy shots.
Since this study was published, additional evidence has
been building.
N E W R E S E A R C H published in
February 2002 has provided further proof
that allergy shots can prevent asthma.
A three-year study, conducted in Europe
with more than 200 children with seasonal
allergies, found that those who got allergy
shots were about
half as likely to
develop asthma
as those who didn’t.
THE STUDY ALSO TURNED
U P A S U R P R I S E.
More than 20% of the children with no
reported history of asthma experienced
asthma symptoms during pollen season.
This finding indicates that many children
with allergies also have unrecognized
– and therefore untreated – asthma.
those with allergies
should have an asthma check up,
It also suggests that
even if they think they only have bad hay fever.
What does all this
mean?
If you have allergies or asthma,
it means you can control your
symptoms and possibly stop
the progression of your disease.
Allergists — doctors who specialize in
treating allergies and asthma —
strongly
consider allergy shots
recommend you
if you have:
• allergic asthma
• hay fever
• sinusitis
Allergy shots also have been proved extremely effective in
treating insect sting allergy, preventing potentially lifethreatening reactions to insect sting venom.
If you or your child has allergies, take this short
self-assessment quiz
to learn if you are
at risk for developing asthma, and if you are a candidate
for asthma testing:
1.
Do you have a family history of asthma?
Children of one asthmatic parent have a 40% probability of
developing asthma. The risk increases to 90% when both
parents have asthma.
Are you at risk?
self-assessment quiz
2. Are you exposed to tobacco smoke, dusty
environments, cockroaches or pet dander? The greater
the exposure to these environmental conditions, the
greater the risk.
3. Do your allergies cause secondary
symptoms such as recurring sinus or
ear infections, frequent throat clearing
or difficulty breathing?
Are you at risk?
self-assessment quiz
4. Do you cough at night, particularly during peak
pollen seasons?
5. Do you find yourself wheezing, experiencing
shortness of breath or lingering colds, particularly
during peak pollen seasons?
6. Do you experience wheezing, chest
tightness, or difficulty breathing when
exercising?
Are you at risk?
“yes”
If you answered
to one or more of the
preceding six questions, you might be a candidate
for allergy shots to treat or prevent the development
of allergic asthma.
An allergist can provide a
diagnosis and help you
find the best way to control
your allergic disease.
You can expect the
allergist to:
• Conduct a thorough medical history and
physical exam
• Test and determine what triggers your allergies
• Prepare a treatment plan that helps alleviate
your particular symptoms
YOU CAN TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR ALLERGIES
and reduce the development of new allergies.
No more sniffling, sneezing and wheezing.
You also can prevent or reduce asthma symptoms.
Visit the ACAAI Web site at http://allergy.mcg.edu
to learn more or locate an allergist
in your area.
Take a shot at life
without allergies.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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