Allergies – mild, moderate and severe reactions – are increasing in the developed world. It is a concern, not just for ourselves and our children but also when we are looking after other people’s children.
Whilst training parents, teachers and carers during our First Aid Courses, we are often asked why this is. Looking at the current theories and evidence, the immunologists believe it may be a combination of the following:
increased awareness of the diseases – we know what to look out for, we understand allergies better.
improved diagnostics – doctors are able to diagnose allergies more accurately with new tests.
genetic susceptibility – we have an inborn predisposition to becoming allergic to certain substances.
psycho-social influences – there is an increasing understanding and social awareness of allergies.
allergen exposure – there might be more things in our environment that we can become allergic too.
decreased immune-system stimulation – maybe we keep ourselves too clean!
underlying disease – illnesses that we suffer may make us more vulnerable to developing allergies
anti-allergic therapy – the medications we take against allergies might be making the situation worse.
pollution – are the chemicals in our environment from cars, manufacturing processes making our bodies react?
