A doctor explained the need to treat seasonal allergies in children in fall and winter

Seasonal allergies - pollinosis - most often manifest themselves in spring and summer, during the blossoming of trees and grasses, and arise due to the body's hypersensitivity to pollen. However, as doctors advise allergy sufferers, it is better to start preparing for the blooming season in the fall and winter. Tatyana Strebkova, an allergologist-immunologist at SM-Clinica, explained to Izvestia on November 27.

She noted that many people face pollinosis - according to WHO, up to 30%. Children and adolescents, whose immune system is just forming, are often at risk. Pollinosis can seriously affect the quality of life, especially at the height of the flowering season.

Pollinosis is manifested by the following symptoms: frequent sneezing, nasal congestion; itching in the nose, eyes, throat; lacrimation, red eyes, photophobia; coughing and a feeling of pressure in the chest; wheezing and difficulty breathing.

Symptoms may worsen outdoors during the blooming season, especially during windy weather when pollen spreads more intensely. In patients with severe pollinosis, allergies can severely affect daily activities, including work, school and sleep.

"Although most people have mild to moderate pollinosis, sometimes symptoms can be so severe that they make it difficult to breathe. This can lead to the development of bronchial asthma," the specialist warned.

According to her, today the only way to treat allergies in the long term is allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), which is best started three to four months before the flowering season, i.e. in the fall-winter period. This method of therapy allows not just to alleviate symptoms, but to gradually change the immune system's response to the allergen, the doctor explained.

"During the therapy, the patient receives small doses of the allergen to accustom the immune system to it. It is the only long-term allergy treatment that helps to desensitize the body to allergens. Unlike other methods that only temporarily relieve symptoms, ASIT addresses the very cause of allergic reactions," she added.

If you start ASIT in the fall, by the beginning of spring, the body will already be prepared and the immune system will become less sensitive to allergens. Therefore, it is better to start treating pollinosis in advance - so you can reduce symptoms or even completely avoid them.

The treatment can be carried out sublingually (in the form of drops or tablets under the tongue) or by injection. Treatment usually involves two stages. The initial stage is a gradual increase in the dose of the allergen so that the body gets used to it. The maintenance phase is the administration of maintenance doses over several months. A full course of ASIT usually lasts three to five years.

"By starting treatment in advance, you can prepare the body for flowering, so that the allergy season went much easier and did not interfere with the usual rhythm of life", - concluded the children's allergist-immunologist.

Earlier, on November 19, SM-Clinica cardiologist Anastasia Fomicheva told Izvestia that getting your feet wet in cold weather leads to a decrease in immunity and, as a result, a higher risk of infection with viruses and bacteria. They can lead to such a disease as, for example, infective endocarditis - a disease in which the inner lining of the heart becomes inflamed and microorganisms are deposited on the valves.