Hay fever: Can airborne allergies be cured?


Growing up on a farm seems to protect against allergy to pollen grains (Image: Larry Towell/Magnum Photos)


In some cases, yes. Sometimes they disappear of their own accord, and there are effective drugs for managing the symptoms, including tablets and nasal sprays.


For some poor souls, however, the symptoms never let up and even regular and correct use of these medicines isn't enough to offer relief. That's where a relatively new treatment called immunotherapy may help.


Unlike antihistamines and steroid sprays, which merely dampen the immune system's reaction to allergens, immunotherapy is designed to retrain it. In some cases allergies can be completely cured this way.


The treatment involves regularly exposing the immune system to high doses of the problematic allergen in order to desensitise it, although exactly how it works is unclear. The thinking is that when B-cells and T-cells in the lymph nodes are exposed ...


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