Courtesy of the BBC
Specialist UK clinics have told the BBC they are seeing a significant rise in the number of patients suffering from several allergies at once. They are also finding symptoms are becoming more severe, causing acute pain and in some cases even death. Many of those afflicted are reported to be children.
Staff from specialist clinics in Liverpool, Cambridge, Cardiff, Birmingham and London are among those to confirm the rise. Dr Jonathan North, a consultant immunologist in Birmingham, said: "We used to say that 15% of the population had an allergy of some sort, now the figure is nearer 40%. "As well as the well-documented increase in prevalence, the proportion of complex/multiple allergy cases is increasing."
The reasons for the rise are not fully understood. According to Dr Nasser, climate change is largely to blame. "Global warming is causing an increase in fungal spore levels as well as pollen, so this is something we are going to see more of. The season is also starting earlier and finishing later.
The UK has one of the highest diagnosed allergy rates in the world. Dr Nasser says the reasons for the growth in allergies are several and complex. He cites the hygiene hypothesis as one that is widely supported by the medical profession. "The UK is a developed society and allergies affect westernized countries. If a country passes from a rural to an urban society then the existence of allergies escalates. "The hygiene hypotheses is that in a developed society we avoid exposure to bacterial infection at an early age. This is unlike rural environments", he explains. As Dr Nasser said: "Some say modern life is making us allergic."
Steve - of course missing from "reasons not fully understood" is the fact that Western diets support using a few food staples that appear in just about everything. It should not come as a surprise that wheat, soy, milk, corn, and egg are the most allergenic substances. We eat them every day, several times a day, usually.
The UK and US have very similar public health patterns. So if the UK is seeing this spike in allergies, you can bet the numbers are higher here as well. Of course, this does not even address the food intolerance part of the equation.
1 comment:
Having started to suffer from airbourne allergies quite recently, I have become astonished by just how prevalent this is becoming. As my allergy is airborne, my readings have lead me to understand how many suffer and to what degree the air is polluted. A new gadget called a liquid ioniser treats the air in the same way the air feels clean after a thunderstorm due to its liquidion droplets, that reach out to every corner of the room.
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