Galway Advertiser 1999/1999_01_21/GA_21011999_E1_012.pdf 

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O'Connor
N e w s Views Fashion Features

Coping with an allergy
" C O U L D IT be an allergy?" is one of the questions people most commonly ask their doctors. Hardly a day goes by but we hear of new allergies, from certain household cleaners and gas to latex or flour.
Allergies are hypersensitive reactions to otherwise harmless substances in the environment, says Doctor Joe Fitzgibbon, a Galway based allergist whose latest book, Could it be an allergy? provides a comprehensive guide to this area. The allergic person may react adversely to a wholesome food, a grass pollen, or an animal hair, he says. The eyes, nose, and lungs are frequently affected by allergic disease, he says. The skin is also a well recognised target for allergy. But other parts of the body are also likely to react, including the muscles and joints, bladder and kidneys, mouth and intestine, the heart and blood vessels, even the brain itself. Allergies may occur in isolation too, affecting just one part of the body, or as a multiple problem, affecting many organs at once. The range of potential allergens is endless, he says. It is possible to be allergic to anything under the sun, including the sun! Reactions to these substances are diverse, ranging from a simple itch to a potentially fatal collapse. Indeed, not only do reactions vary enormously from patient to patient, they can also vary at different times within the same patient. "One person m a y s n e e z e in the presence o f a horse while another may w h e e z e , " explains Fitzgibbon. "They are both allergic to the same thing, but have very different reactions to it. "Similarly, s o m e a l l e r g i e s o c c u r dramatically, within seconds of e x p o s u r e t o t h e o f f e n d i n g agent, whereas others are more cumbersome. They may take days or e v e n w e e k s to develop. T h e former are usually well known to the patient but the latter are seldom so." There is much misery in store for sufferers - the 'constant c o l d ' , sinus trouble, skin rash and s o on, h e says. Allergies are believed to play a part in many other ailments, including hyperactivity, migraine, arthritis, and chronic fatigue. The most c o m m o n allergy related conditions are asthma, eczema, rhinitis, and hayfever, he says. T h e allergic triggers for asthma include house dust mites, pollen - from grass, trees, and w e e d s - feathers, and cat, horse, and d o g hairs. Ingested allergens are food and drink and their additives, and s o m e medicines, including beta blockers and aspirin. Occupational allergens e x i s t t o o . including latex g l o v e s , w o o d dusts, such as mahogany or oak, and dyes. E c z e m a is a term loosely applied to a w i d e range o f chronic inflammatory skin c o n d i t i o n s . It is increasingly common in early infancy and c h i l d h o o d . E c z e m a i s frequently complicated b y allergic triggers, says Fitzgibbon. m a y be used to diagnose food allergy a m o n g e c z e m a sufferers. "The best test o f all is the L o w Allergy Diet w h i c h consists o f 10 to 12 foods rarely eaten by patients before this. They eat a s much a s they like o f these foods for 10 days. People with a food allergy will notice a dramatic reduction in itch while o n the diet and an equally dramatic reduction in itch w h e n allergic trigger f o o d s are reintroduced to the diet." A l l e r g i c rhinitis refers to an inflammation o f the lining o f the nose due to allergy. The symptoms include a runny and itchy n o s e , s n e e z i n g (usually in bouts o f several or many sneezes), itch o f the back o f the mouth and the ears, and nasal obstruction. S o m e 10 per cent o f children and 3 0 per cent o f adolescents suffer from allergic rhinitis, s a y s F i t z g i b b o n . Children can develop it in early infancy or at any stage in adulthood, including old age. Usually a long term disorder, it is caused by an allergy to something in the air. S o m e t i m e s , the problem is an allergy to f o o d o r t o an allergen encountered at work. T h e symptoms fluctuate depending o n exposure to allergens, weather, etc. Hay fever is b e c o m i n g more c o m m o n today. It h a s the same symptoms as allergic rhinitis with the addition o f itchy and watering eyes. These symptoms m a y be accompanied by a cough, wheeze, and shortness o f breath. While these may be related to hay, they can as easily be caused by other air-bome allergens. Life threatening allergies, such as anaphylaxis - a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal allergic reaction - are becoming more c o m m o n today. This may be due to the introduction of different foods into people's diets at an earlier a g e , e s p e c i a l l y nuts among under fives, says Fitzgibbon. Anaphylaxis can be caused by a number of triggers, including insulin, vaccines or other injected medicine, xray d y e s , insect stings or biles, anaesthetic agents, some drugs such as aspirin and morphine, foods, such as seafood, nuts, berries, food addities. and drinks. Other triggers are latex in surgical g l o v e s , exposure to the cold, exercise, and food dusts. Anaphylaxis can cause great anxiety, he says. S o m e six to eight people in the British Isles d i e from it each year. Anybody can get it. However, patients with a history o f asthma are likely to have more severe anaphylaxis when they d o get it.

'ft is possible to be allergic to anything under the sun, including the sun,'says Dr Joe Fitzgibbon.
"In e c z e m a , there are three main allergic triggers which are worthy o f consideration - allergy to the foods w e eat, the things in the air w e breathe (house dust mites and pollen), and to the things w e touch." Food allergy plays a role in many cases of eczema, he says. Some researchers s a y up to 7 0 per cent o f children affected will i m p r o v e o n appropriate diets. Skin and blood tests