Allergies - Introduction

More and more people are developing allergies. Well-known allergic diseases include hay fever and eczema, and there is an allergic aspect to conditions such as asthma.

One in three Britons will develop an allergy, like hay fever [SPL].

Patients these days often have several allergic disorders. One third of Britons - some 18 million people - will develop allergy at some time in their lives. And certain severe ones are becoming more common. Peanut allergy alone affects one in 70 children. The number of people being admitted to hospital with allergies has shot up over the last decade, with some types increasing sevenfold.

Why allergies should be on the increase is not clear. For relatively affluent countries like Britain, the very lifestyles that protect us from environmental challenges - everything from vacuum cleaners to double glazing - may mean we are not so well-equipped to respond to the new things we encounter.

In all cases, an abnormal immune response is at the root of the problem. The best advice for sufferers is to avoid the substances that cause the reaction. But in some cases this is not possible, so medicines that block or relieve the symptoms are given.

More to follow...