In a few weeks, like thousands of others, 14-year-old Sam Odell will be sitting down to take his GCSE mock exams — but the good news is he'll do so with a clear head, free of the debilitating hay fever symptoms he's struggled with for years.
Mum Jana worried the swollen, streaming eyes, thumping headaches and fatigue Sam Odell experienced every spring would affect his ability to take exams 'I'd get bad headaches which sometimes made studying and exams harder, and I'd be tired at school because of the tablets.' Now experts are demanding it be made more widely available on the NHS — a call backed up by recent research highlighting its effectiveness.And whereas it was thought that the effects were targeted recent research suggests there may be wider benefits.
Over half of those affected can control their symptoms — typically a runny nose, streaming eyes, sneezing and headaches — with over-the-counter medication such as antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays and eye drops, which work by blocking the effects of histamine, a chemical released by your body when it detects an allergen.
Now charities such as Allergy UK are pushing for greater access to immunotherapy for the most serious cases of allergic rhinitis to prevent the need for further interventions as a knock-on effect. Immunotherapy is currently offered by the NHS for treating allergies to grass, tree and dust mite pollen and bee venom
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says it can be 'considered if the disease is severe, has not responded to standard therapy and the exact causative allergen has been confirmed by a skin prick test or blood test'. READ MORE: The 15 revolutionary tiny tweaks that can turbocharge your health - from the simple way to lose half a stone to the tricks that slash your risk of cancer
'As a result, there was quite a push back to only giving subcutaneous immunotherapy in hospital settings,' says Dr Dawson. A shortage of allergy specialists may be adding to the problem — according to Allergy UK there are only 11 adult allergy training posts in England There's also some data suggesting that if you've had immunotherapy in childhood, in the longer term your asthma will be less of a problem, with fewer hospital attendances.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: DailyMailUK - 🏆 7. / 90 Read more »
Source: DailyMailCeleb - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: DailyMailCeleb - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: DailyMailCeleb - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: DailyMailCeleb - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: DailyMailUK - 🏆 7. / 90 Read more »