
The incidence of allergy and asthma is rising. On the other hand, primary care physicians have dealt with allergic conditions far more often than they may expect even before the recent increase in allergic conditions. Some examples of immunological disease that the primary care physician sees include asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.
Bellow are 10 important facts about allergies, common symptoms, treatment and specific allergen.
- The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) estimates that 40 to 50 million people in the United States suffer from allergies.
- Many plants carry pollens that can trigger allergies, but ragweed is the most common. In fact, 75 percent of people with seasonal allergy symptoms are allergic to ragweed, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
- The primary treatment for any allergy is avoidance, or refraining from contact with the triggering allergen. Though many drugs can help alleviate the symptoms of an allergic reaction, only avoidance can completely prevent an allergy from occurring.
- While indoor allergens are not usually seasonal like many types of outdoor allergens, late summer usually sees higher levels of dust mites (due to higher humidity), molds and some pollens (which can be tracked indoors or brought in on clothes).
- The airborne waste created by dust mites is the source of most dust allergies. Dust mites are microscopic arachnids (spiders) one-third of a millimeter long that live indoors in household dust. Between 100 and 500 dust mites typically inhabit a single gram of dust, though in some cases the number can soar to 19,000.
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