1Allergy and asthma are disorders of the immune system. The immune system of an allergic person fights back against pathogens like pollen or foods that are completely harmless to non-allergic people.
2The immune response includes the formation of antibodies and changes in the responses of cells. This causes various symptoms, usually affecting the respiratory mucous membranes, the conjunctivae, the skin or the alimentary tract.
3One in two Finns suffers from allergic symptoms at some point of their life. About 70 per cent of all allergies are mild. The situation is similar in many other countries, particularly in Western Europe.
4The most common allergic diseases include atopic disorders: allergic rhinitis, asthma, reactions of the conjunctivae and eyelids, atopic eczema (infantile eczema, flexural eczema) and hives. Slowly developing contact eczemas, such as nickel allergy, are also common.
5About 10–20 per cent of Finns suffer from pollen allergy. Symptoms are caused by broad-leaved trees in late spring and early summer, by grasses in high summer and by mugwort in late summer. Some people with pollen allergy also get symptoms from food.
6Atopy refers to a hereditary predisposition in the person to form IgE (immunoglobulin E) antibodies against proteins that are normally present in our environment. Atopic reactions, such as allergic rhinitis, can develop in just a few minutes in a sensitised person.
7Atopic allergy occurs in all ages, but most frequently in children and young adults. Asthma is most common in children and over 40-year-olds. About 5 to 10 per cent of Finns experience asthma-like symptoms. Eighty per cent of asthma patients also suffer from rhinitis. Asthma may even be seasonal.
8Antigens are compounds that cause an immune response in the body. Antigens that cause allergic reactions are called allergens.
9In cross-allergy, proteins with similarities in their structure are recognised as identical. Allergic symptoms can be caused by plants from different genera, sometimes even animals and invertebrates once the person has become sensitised to one of them
10An anaphylactic shock is a severe, acute hypersensitivity reaction. A strong allergic reaction dilates blood vessels so strongly that the blood pressure drops. The first thing to help the patient in Finland is to immediately call the emergency number 112.