Spring arrives, allergies return: tests for diagnosis and treatment

By Cristiano Antonino On Mar 25, 2022

In spring, with the good weather, allergies return. Allergy symptoms are easily recognisable by the way they present themselves, and we need to pay attention to our body’s signals: so if allergy symptoms always occur at the same time or under the same conditions, for example in contact with a pet, or in a dusty environment, then we need to be aware of the symptoms

Allergies: What tests should be done for diagnosis?

The process of diagnosis for allergies is quite simple and is done by prick testing, a common examination performed on the surface of the forearm, on which drops of solutions containing a number of inhalant or food allergens are placed.

The skin is then lightly irritated with a special instrument and, if a small pimple appears at the irritation, there is evidence of a reaction to one or more allergens.

This is the basic examination for general screening.

It is essential that allergic patients in the diagnostic phase have their respiratory function measured: asthma, dyspnoea and dry cough are also allergic symptoms.

Again, these are simple and non-invasive examinations, in which the patient is asked to perform resting and/or forced breathing manoeuvres in some apparatus.

Approximately one third of patients with allergic oculorhinitis test positive for bronchial hyperreactivity, which indicates a predisposition to develop asthma and is useful for the doctor to know.

Allergies: What are the treatments?

When an allergic patient feels the first symptoms associated with the onset of an allergy, it is a good idea to try to turn off the inflammation immediately by taking the therapy prescribed by the specialist.

Often allergic patients tend to take oral antihistamines too easily, but these are undoubtedly useful, but they also have side effects and are not considered by specialists to be the gold standard treatment for oculorhinitis.

When suffering from oculorhinitis, however, it is preferable to use antihistamine eye drops and topical corticosteroid nasal therapy, as well as daily nasal showers with saline solution, which cleans the mucous membrane, which will then be more responsive to the nasal spray.

Antihistamines should be used at a later stage, when eye drops and nasal spray fail to control the symptoms.

It is important to understand, however, that medication can only control symptoms.

The only causal therapy that teaches our immune system to tolerate the allergen responsible for the symptoms is allergen-specific immunotherapy, the so-called allergy ‘vaccine’, a state-of-the-art therapy that you can take yourself at home, in drops or tablets, prescribed by a specialist.

This therapy not only reduces the symptoms already present, but also stops the allergic march that leads, in the course of life, to the development of new allergies and increasingly intense and severe symptoms.

In general, however, an allergic individual should follow a few simple rules to manage his or her allergy, such as knowing which allergens one is sensitive to and trying to avoid exposure as much as possible, for example by consulting pollen calendars, easily available on various allergy websites, not leaving the house during the hours of highest pollen concentration, and not using natural remedies, because one might take in allergens without realising it.

As mentioned above, therapy for allergic symptoms should always be agreed upon with a medical specialist.

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