Pollen allergy treatment, which starts with the spring season in adults, is a serious health problem that affects both health and social life of people and impairs their quality of life. Pollen allergy is not only in the form of runny nose, itching and sneezing, but unfortunately it brings other health problems in the future. Adults with pollen allergy require allergy testing to be diagnosed. Another important issue after being diagnosed with Pollen Allergy is how to treat it. In this article, we will try to give information about the treatment.
What should be done for the treatment of pollen allergy?
As with all allergic diseases, there are many factors in pollen allergy, such as treatment and prevention, drug therapy, allergy vaccination, complementary therapy and education.
What is the Prevention Treatment in Pollen Allergy Treatment?
Since it occurs after contact with allergens that we are sensitive to in allergic diseases, prevention treatment in pollen allergy is carried out for the cause of the complaints. Which allergen we are sensitive to, we are protected against that allergen.
With the spread of pollen in the spring months, complaints of runny nose, itching and congestion occur. Pollens that cause pollen allergy or hay fever are common in the air and spread by the wind. It is not necessary for the patient to be close to these plants as these pollens can be carried many kilometers away by the wind. Sometimes the pollen of a tree can spread over an area of 150 km and may affect allergic people in this area. Therefore, it is very difficult to protect. We may not see the trees and plants that we are allergic to, but unfortunately, their pollen is in the air. After the allergens responsible for pollen allergy are detected by allergy tests, less allergic rhinitis complaints occur and less medication is used thanks to the preventive measures against them.
It would be appropriate for people with pollen allergy to stay away from areas where greenery is very dense in spring, not to go to picnics, to avoid working in the garden or doing sports. It is important to wear sunglasses outside, take a shower when you get home, and ventilate your clothes outside the bedroom. Windows should be kept closed at night. Using an air filter at home can be beneficial for having a pollen filter in car. Despite all these protection measures, it is difficult to stay away from pollen completely.
Adults with pollen allergies have very sensitive noses and therefore an overreaction to many chemicals. Especially detergents, deodorants and perfumes that we use abundantly in our daily life can cause sneezing, nasal discharge, itching complaints. It should be said that adult patients with pollen allergy should use cleaning materials such as odorless detergents and be careful when using sharp-smelling perfumes.
Drug therapy in the treatment of pollen allergy
Pollen allergy, which starts with the spring season in adults, is a serious health problem that affects both health and social life of people and impairs their quality of life. Complaints such as runny nose, nasal itching, congestion and sneezing must be avoided. In Pollen Allergy, drug therapy, drugs that correct the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and drugs that improve it are used. Most of the drugs we will use for pollen allergy are to relieve complaints. When we stop the drugs we use for Pollen Allergy, the patient’s complaints often come back. Antihistamines, nasal steroids and leukotriene receptor antagonists are the main drug groups used.
Pollen allergy is sometimes not alone, and if there are other accompanying diseases, asthma or eczema, treatment should be started for these diseases as well.
Complaints such as urticaria can sometimes increase during pollen seasons. Especially in those with pollen allergy, urticarial rashes occur when patients eat fruit or vegetables, as sometimes there is a cross-reaction between pollen in fruit and vegetables. Although the main cause of this picture, which we call oral allergy syndrome, is pollen allergy, there are complaints with cross-reactive fruit. Therefore, both should be treated in patients with urticaria who are allergic to pollen.
Medication is required in pollen allergy. It helps to control the complaints, but its use alone does not prevent you from developing asthma in the future or the progression of the patient.
Are allergy vaccines necessary in the treatment of pollen allergy?
Vaccine therapy (immunotherapy) is currently the best treatment available for the treatment of pollen allergy. Vaccination (immunotherapy) against the allergen that causes allergic rhinitis in adult patients is the best treatment method that can eliminate the symptoms of the disease, prevent the progression of the disease and the development of asthma.
Allergy vaccine (immunotherapy) treatment is a treatment approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). With the use of allergy vaccine, the need for drug use decreases and the problem begins to occur when encountering allergens that previously caused complaints. In addition, if asthma has not developed, it can prevent the development of asthma that may develop in the future. Currently, the only treatment that has the potential to stop the progression of allergic rhinitis to asthma is the allergen-specific allergy vaccine.
In patients diagnosed with pollen allergy by allergy tests, allergy vaccines should be administered for which pollen allergy is present. Allergy vaccines are made individually depending on the pollen you are allergic to. That’s why it’s so important to identify it correctly.
Allergy vaccines for pollen allergy can be administered as tablets or as a subcutaneous injection applied to the arm.
Allergy vaccines produced for pollen are extremely effective. In particular, vaccines in the form of tablets or injections, which are started before the pollen season, allow the patient to spend the pollen season comfortably without any complaints and without the use of drugs.
Importance of Education in Treatment
Treatment in Pollen Allergy, as in other allergic diseases, consists of the combination of many parts. In the treatment of Pollen Allergy, each of these parts has a different place and should be evaluated as a whole. In the treatment of Pollen Allergy, it is very important to provide training on how to do prevention methods, when and how to use drugs, and how to use allergy vaccines. In the treatment of Pollen Allergy, the lack of one part causes the others to be missing. Special treatment schemes should be created for each patient, including all of them, under the control of allergy specialists.
If diagnosed and treated by allergy specialists, the patient’s quality of life, work and school life improves, but if not treated, a more dangerous process that results in asthma begins. So realize your allergy and say stop to pollen allergy!
