Risk factors for allergies

Everyone is surrounded by house dust at home. Everyone comes into contact with pets now and then. And everyone is exposed to pollen outdoors in the spring. But not everyone reacts immediately allergic to the completely harmless, everyday substances. Why this is so continues to puzzle even scientists. Because whether someone suffers from an allergy or not, does not seem to be able to be influenced.

In fact, however, there are some factors that increase the risk of allergy:

• Stress: Just as too much stress can trigger various diseases, it can also be a risk factor for the development of an allergy. Anyone who suffers psychologically or physically from stress weakens the immune system and brings the internal balance out of control. The normal exchange of messenger substances no longer functions smoothly, and already a harmless pollen can be fought by the immune system as public enemy number one. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga or autogenic training can have a preventive effect. Also special breathing exercises can bring you down again in stressful phases and create a balance.
• Environmental factors: City people suffer more often from allergies than the rural population. The reason for this are the many pollutants and exhaust fumes that are part of everyday life in the big city and can easily cause the immune system to overreact. High ozone levels and exposure to chemicals also increase the risk of allergies. In contrast, children who have grown up on a farm suffer far less from allergies, even though they live right in the hay, so to speak. Through early contact with many different microorganisms, however, they can strengthen their immune system from an early age and are less susceptible to allergies of any kind.
• Hygiene: Excessive hygiene, especially in childhood, can result in the immune system is not built up sufficiently or is misdirected. If the body comes into contact with only a few viruses and bacteria, it can happen more easily that the body's defenses react even to harmless substances.
• Smoking: The handle to the cigarette belongs for many to everyday life. Healthy, however, he is not, that already knows every child. In addition to an endless series of diseases, smoking can also lead to allergies. This applies to both active and passive smokers, who are exposed to cigarette smoke from family members and colleagues in everyday life.
• Nutrition: An unhealthy diet with lots of sugar, unhealthy fats, fast food and industrially highly processed foods can promote the development of allergies. Preventive, on the other hand, is a healthy, balanced, Mediterranean diet that contains lots of fresh vegetables, fish and olive oil. Above all, the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids should be increased, according to a report in the Ärzteblatt, as they have an anti-inflammatory effect and can thus prevent allergy processes.
• Occupation: Regular contact with allergens such as fragrances, medicines, metals, latex or various dusts can promote the development of an allergy. If you can not avoid typical allergy triggers occupationally, you should at least take protective measures and reduce contact by wearing gloves, protective clothing or a mouth guard.

Researchers have already found out about a hundred years ago that the predisposition to allergies can actually be inherited. However, genes alone are not yet sufficient to trigger an allergy. Rather, the likelihood increases in people with a genetic predisposition that external influences will lead to an allergic reaction .

According to Allergy Information Serviceof Helmholtz Zentrum München, the risk is even measurable:

• If the father and mother are not allergic, the allergy probability is very low at 5 to 10 percent.
• If one parent is allergic, the probability is 20 percent that the child also gets an allergy.
• If both parents are allergic, the allergy risk for their child increases to 50 percent.
• If both parents even suffer from the same type of allergy, the risk for their child is highest at 60 to 80 percent and an allergy is therefore very likely.

However, only the tendency of the immune system to allergies is genetically determined, not the type of allergens to which it reacts. So children of hay fever patients need not also react to pollen. It is just as possible to have animal hair allergy, house dust allergy or food allergy as well. This was shown in studies of twins who, despite having the same DNA, were not necessarily both allergic.

Some people carry the predisposition for allergies in themselves through the inheritance of their parents and still get through spring without hay fever. With others it comes however to violent allergic reactions, although nobody is allergic in the family. The disposition alone belongs therefore only conditionally to the causes.

Unfortunately, yes, an allergy does not only occur for the first time in children and adolescents, but can also appear at an advanced age out of the blue. Why, is scientifically not yet completely clarified. The good thing is that an allergy can also disappear just as suddenly. However, you should not count on it. Because the symptoms of an allergy - whether severe or only mild - should in any case be treated with antiallergic nasal spray, antiallergic eye drops  or medications are treated to prevent a floor change to allergic asthma.