On July 8, people celebrate World Allergy Day. It was established in 2005 and designed to attract public attention to the problem of allergy, highlighting importance and necessity of compliance with preventive and clinical interventions.

According to statistics, currently from 20% to 40% of people in the world suffer from allergy. It turns out that about every third inhabitant of our planet suffers from allergy. Every ten years, the number of patients with allergies is doubled, and doctors projec that more than half the world’s population will be allergic in the coming years.

Researches show people are not sufficiently informed about the problem of allergy, while about 30% of population suffer from it. Unfortunately, many do not realize they suffer from allergy, often relating it to other diseases. Lack of awareness about the symptoms and treatment can lead to serious complications. We hope during World Allergy Day we can once again draw attention to the disease, need for its treatment and prevention.

Allergic rhinitis can be divided into three types: seasonal (pollinoz), year-round and professional (depending on prevalence of causal important allergens). The reason for seasonal allergic rhinitis - allergy to pollen of plants. Year-round rhinitis is most often caused by home allergens: dust, house dust mites, cockroaches, animal allergens. Mind that most of the patients has a sensitivity of both seasonal (pollen) and «house» (year-round) allergens.

Reduced contact with the allergen is the first and necessary step in the treatment of patients with allergic rhinitis. In most cases, achieving complete exclusion of contact with the allergen is impossible, but due to recommendations course of disease is relieved, need for medication is reduced. All patients with allergy should comply with the rules aimed at reducing concentration of allergens in accommodation. They must be well ventilated, regular wet cleaning is necessary. Pillows and blankets from special hypoallergenic materials should be washed every month. Pets are not recommended. Of course, with every form of allergy, there are recommendations to combat the disease. But in order to determine the allergen and follow recommendations to reduce exposure of allergen, one should consult with a doctor.

Antihistamine drugs are on the first place. Second-generation antihistamine medications are highly effective in allergic rhinitis treatment: while application of recommended doses, sleepiness and attention disorder are almost absent, what distinguishes them from first-generation drugs. They are effective 24 hours at 1 admission every day. Desloratadine has a good safety profile in terms of frequency of side effects and interaction with food and other medications.

Patients with allergic rhinitis are characterized by high frequency of opportunistic diseases. Allergic rhinitis may lead to development of otitis, sinusitis and pharyngitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is diagnosed most frequently in patients with allergy to pollen of plants - it is found in 50% of patients with allergic rhinitis. Timely diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent complications and facilitate their course.

Bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis are often combined (25% -35% of patients with allergy have also bronchial asthma, while more than 85% of patients suffering from bronchial asthma have allergy). It should be noted that if patient has one of diseases, he should be tested for presence of another.