Dubai Health Authority(DHA) advices people to be aware of allergies

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 20, 2014:  Up to one fifth of the country’s population may have allergies, said a top health official.

Dr Hussain Hattawi, the head of Dubai Hospital’s immunology unit highlighted during the DHA’s smart clinic that people need to be aware of symptoms that cause allergies so that they can treat them in time.

Dr Hattawi  said in 2013 the unit treated approximately 800 patients, majority of patients had allergies and few were treated for immunodeficiencies.

The top three types of allergies the clinic receives is allergic rhinitis, urticaria( mosquito-bite like symptoms) and food allergies.

A  2011 study found that a 10th of the world’s 400 million nasal allergy sufferers live in the Middle East.

He said the reason for a high prevalence of nasal allergies including allergic rhinitis is genetic predisposition and environmental factors.

Environmental factors include indoor and outdoor factors. Dust mites, pets or in some cases cockroaches are indoor allergens while grass and tree pollens are outdoor allergens. Coastal areas have a high prevalence of  dust mites due to the humidity.

Other outdoor irritants like pollution, construction, do not directly cause allergies but aggravate the symptoms in people who already have them.

He added that if allergic rhinitis is left untreated it may progress to asthma.  Allergic rhinitis symptoms include a runny or blocked nose,  frequent sneezing and it can be associated with allergic conjunctivitis which causes redness, itching and watery eyes.

“ If people have a cold and if it does not resolve in a week or two then they should visit a physician who may refer them to an allergy specialist if required.”

Treatment for allergic rhinitis first involves detecting the exact cause of the allergy, which is done by either a skin test or a blood test. Once the test results are obtained, the allergist will advise the patient to completely avoid coming into contact with the allergen/s. If that is not possible,  anti-histamine and intra-nasal steroids are used to alleviate the symptoms.
If medication cannot help patients they can be treated by immunotherapy, where a patient is exposed to the allergy in very small doses for a long period of time so that the body will get used to it. However, this needs to be initiated at a clinic under the supervision of a physician.

Food allergies:

He also highlighted the importance of people being aware of food allergies because that can have serious consequences if ignored.

Top food allergies in adults are nuts, shell-fish and grains. Top food allergies in children include milk, eggs, grains, nuts and some fruits.

“People will feel or suspect an allergy to the food item because of the reaction they experience when they consume it,” said Dr Hattawi. “This should never be ignored and they should seek an allergist’s assistance.

“People with severe food allergies should carry with them an epinephrine autoinjector device at all times. Some allergies can cause life-threatening anaphylaxis, and patients should have access to this device within five minutes of consuming the food and they should ideally visit the emergency department within 15 minutes of such an episode.

“Even children with food allergies should be taught at a young age on how to use  an epinephrine autoinjector device which should be kept with the school nurse. School staff including all teachers in that year group, should be made aware of the child’s allergies.”

He advised parents who want to introduce a new food items for the first time to children to firstly follow the pediatrician’s advice and he recommended the following method for introduction of food items.

“First parents can rub the cooked food item with their finger, just outside the child’s mouth. Wait for a few minutes and if you see any signs of itching or swelling or redness, the child is definitely allergic to it. Do not feed the child that particular food item  and visit your pediatrician who will refer you to an allergist. If the child does not experience any reaction, then  the child can be fed a very small amount. Do not feed the child any more of that food for 24 hours. Look for signs of irritability, diarrhea, skin rashes, vomiting etc.
If no symptoms persist, the child can be fed bigger amounts of the food subsequently.”

The DHA’s allergy clinic located in Dubai Hospital is open every Tuesday from 3pm until 9pm. Walk-in patients require a passport and visa information to register. The facility is a sister clinic to the hospital’s immunology clinic.