Every year: In spring, many people are affected by pollen. But there are new treatments for allergies - and Corona has something good to offer, too.
Carefree in the cow barn - How the problem could be prevented
Probably hardly anyone would have allergies if we had all grown up among the Amish people in the U.S., a religious community that lives secluded from the outside world. "Hay fever is almost non-existent there," says Professor Erika von Mutius of the Institute for Allergy and Asthma Prevention at Helmholtz Zentrum München. The medical expert was able to prove that a childhood on a traditionally managed farm is associated with a 50 to 70 percent lower risk of allergies. "And in that sense the best farms are just the Amish ones."
But the pediatrician also says, "Allergies are complex diseases. Many factors contribute to their development." Predisposition plays a major role - zero to 15 percent is a child's allergy risk in previously unaffected families, 50 to 60 percent if the parents are affected. Numerous environmental aspects also have an influence. And contrary to what is often claimed, dirt does not per se make people more tolerant: Smoking, for example, is an allergy accelerator, already affecting the unborn and, according to studies, into the grandchild generation. The same applies to car exhaust fumes, which is another reason why city children are more likely to suffer from allergies.
Longer and more severe - why complaints are increasing
Allergies are often called the "epidemic of the 21st century," even though the number of people affected is no longer on the rise. "Since about the turn of the millennium, we have reached a high, stable plateau," says Erika von Mutius. In almost half of the population, antibodies can be detected against at least one allergen, i.e. a trigger, according to a study by the Robert Koch Institute - this is referred to as sensitization.
About 20 percent also have symptoms, which are unfortunately increasing even now: In adults, hay fever is most common, in children neurodermatitis; many suffer more from year to year. Soot particles and nitrogen oxides, for example from combustion engines, make pollen more aggressive. In addition, plants produce more allergens when they are under stress, for example due to higher temperatures, drought or air pollutants. And last but not least, climate change is increasingly making hay fever a year-round problem - hazel and certain alder species now often bloom as early as Christmas.
It's never too late - Why allergies are not a question of age
When Erika Jensen-Jarolim, president of the Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology, diagnoses allergies in people over 70, she is sometimes surprised herself - "the subject is still underestimated in older people." But because our immune system must remain adaptable throughout life, it can also err for just as long and react to something that is actually harmless. "Often, however, you can see early in life whether it is heading in an allergic direction," says Erika von Mutius. "Young children often already show sensitization, even if the hay fever may not break out until they are 17 or 18, which is a very typical age for it." But during puberty, the chances are also good that complaints will disappear again - in almost four out of five children, allergic asthma then grows out.
Even later, one can still be lucky. "However, this cannot be predicted," says von Mutius. "On the contrary, more and more allergies can be added, such as first food, then house dust, then animals and eventually pollen." Erika Jensen-Jarolim advises, "It's never too late for an allergy diagnosis, even if other chronic diseases often take center stage in old age. Those who know what they have can deal with it better and avoid allergens, for example."
Corona and allergies - What impact the pandemic is having.
"Especially children of preschool age suffer less from their asthma because they have fewer infections overall due to the Corona measures," says Erika von Mutius. Many of her young patients are doing better than ever before. But could it not also be that the immune system lacks a bit of training? "In children, it certainly has an effect. The younger they are, the greater the effect," says Professor Monika Brunner-Weinzierl from the University Children's Hospital at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. "For a daycare child, up to 17 infections a year are normal. Of course, you don't have to take them all, but they are already good for the immune system, too. We know that children who go to daycare have fewer allergies later on." Whether the pandemic containment measures actually set immunological course in the long term remains to be seen. "It will definitely be exciting to watch over the next few years," von Mutius says.
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