Pediatric Immunology and Allergy Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Hikmet Tekin Nacaroğlu, who stated that there has been an increase in allergy cases in recent years, explained the reasons for this situation and also listed his suggestions. Nacaroğlu stated that people should be careful about products they are allergic to when buying products from open areas and eating in restaurants during the summer months, and said that anaphylactic shock, which is defined as a situation where a person’s immune system reacts excessively to an allergenic substance, is very serious. Prof. Dr. Nacaroğlu said that the adrenaline autoinjector is a lifesaver.
“IT HAS INCREASED 7-FOLD IN THE LAST 10 YEARS”
Providing information about what people should pay attention to against allergic shock, Prof. Dr. Hikmet Tekin Nacaroğlu said, “Anaphylaxis; allergic shock is our most serious reaction. Especially, it is an abnormal, exaggerated immune system response of our body against medicine, food, venoms such as bees. In case of allergic shock, we may encounter very serious reactions such as redness on the lips, swelling on the skin, difficulty in breathing, coughing, wheezing, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, cardiac arrest, which may result in death. In such cases, when the allergic shock situation recurs outside, in any external environment or after an accidental encounter, we definitely want them to carry an adrenaline autoinjector or pen with them. The adrenaline pen is a lifesaver because we have a food allergy, let’s say we come across food, death due to cardiac arrest can occur within 30 minutes or this can occur in 5 minutes in case of drug allergy. It can occur within 15 minutes after a bee sting, it may not be very common to apply to a health institution in such a short time.”
“YOU CAN ENCOUNTER IT ANYWHERE”
Stating that caution should be exercised in holiday regions with the summer season, Nacaroğlu said, “If we have a shock level allergy, we prescribe 2 autoinjectors. After quickly applying it to the area where blood flow is best on our leg, we need to wait for 10 seconds. Anaphylaxis, which we have started to see very frequently in children, especially due to food allergies, also occurs in bee allergies. With the summer, we can unfortunately experience allergic shock after bee stings in holiday regions, restaurants, boats, anywhere, in open areas, in picnic areas. Therefore, if we have a bee allergy, we definitely need to carry an adrenaline autoinjector with us. We vaccinate, we try to desensitize. If you are in shock especially after a bee sting, you definitely need to see an allergy specialist for vaccination treatment.”
“ALLERGY EPIDEMIC OF THE LAST 10 YEARS”
“Food allergies have been increasing in recent years,” said Prof. Dr. Nacaroğlu, adding, “Eating in open areas and using open buffets increases the risk of accidental encounters in food allergies. Bee venom can enter food and drinks sold in open areas. Our parents definitely need to be careful about this. We need to inform restaurants when we eat out. It is not clear when, where and how they will encounter it. That is why adrenaline autoinjectors are lifesavers. We call food allergies the allergy epidemic of the last 10 years.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR IS…
One of the most important risk factors is the use of processed, genetically modified foods, the use of sweeteners and preservatives in foods, cesarean section birth, and the decrease in the variety of good bacteria in the intestines due to antibiotic use has been shown to increase food allergies. Another important issue is that a recent study has shown that especially in this type of industry, in restaurants outside, in dishwashers used by the industry, high concentrations of detergent are used and dishes are washed in a very short time. Accordingly, high amounts of these detergents remain as residues on plates and glasses. When we use those plates and glasses, we unfortunately ingest some of the detergents. When we ingest these detergents, the barriers in both our esophagus and intestines are disrupted and food allergies are increasingly common. When using detergent at home, rinsing with water again after washing can be a guide for us in terms of staying away from such harmful factors.
“UNFORTUNATELY, IT CAN RESULT IN DEATH”
Prof. Dr. Nacaroğlu, who stated that the society should be aware of allergies, continued his words as follows: “Especially peanut allergy, a very common allergen in the USA and England, can cause anaphylactic shock. We need to raise awareness in our society on this issue and our patients should definitely be careful. Unfortunately, we are not very aware of this issue, even the amount passed with the same knife used, even the contamination on the same counter can cause shock. Here, we definitely need to prevent contamination and accidental encounters. While we did not see food allergies 10 years ago, now we have started to see food allergies in almost one in 17 children in our polyclinic every day. The food allergies we see now continue until older ages, they are more serious. They come before us with shock-level reactions. Both the frequency and severity of allergies have increased, and unfortunately the prolonged and permanent nature of the allergies seen is increasing.
THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION
In order to prevent it, we must definitely pay attention to our live bacteria in the intestines, avoid cesarean section, unnecessary antibiotic use, and consumption of products with additives. By paying attention to these, we can prevent the increase of food allergies by increasing our good bacteria in the intestines. In parallel with this increasing food allergy in children, anaphylaxis has unfortunately increased 7-fold in the last 10 years and continues to increase. Children with food allergies can sometimes accidentally try to expose themselves to other children. Every parent and every child needs to be informed about this issue. Allergic shock can unfortunately result in death. Our patients should definitely carry adrenaline autoinjectors with them. (İHA)