Allergy awarness week!

World Allergy Week is a series of events organized by the World Allergy Organization (WAO) to raise awareness of allergic diseases. This organization is an active advocator for making available for all Health Care Professionals trainings and resources in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of these diseases, which are rising in prevalence around the world. 

The World Allergy Organization vision is bringing together Health Care Professionals and other groups of interest such as medical educators, patient advocates, policy makers, the public, and health care authorities for an integrated approach to address the needs of patients who suffer from allergic diseases and asthma and those who provide care for them. 

The World Allergy Week for this year was held last week, from June 5th to June 11th. Since 2011 every year, the World Allergy Organization (WAO) organizes several educational activities throughout the World Allergy Week addressing different topics, each year. Their main goal is to raise awareness. To accomplish this, WAO provides information for physicians as well as for the general public with webinars, infographic, and additional information to educate and spread awareness on the topic. This year the focus is on the connection between asthma and allergic airway diseases. 

Referring to the latest article from the WAO (world allergy organization) allergic airway diseases of the respiratory system are the most common chronic diseases in humans. These diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic cough, eosinophilic bronchitis, and others often occur together. Asthma affects over 350 million people worldwide, and allergic rhinitis affects between 10% and 50% of the population depending on geographic location. Research indicates that the percentage of asthma cases reported in patients with allergic rhinitis can be up to 38%. The percentage of nasal symptoms present in patients with asthma can be as high as 85%. The upper airways include the sinuses, nose, mouth, and throat, and the lower airways include the windpipe, bronchial tubes, and lungs. “Because allergies and asthma often occur together, and upper airway diseases may worsen asthma, it is essential to diagnose and treat them together,” according to Yoon-Seok Chang, MD, PhD, of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea, who is Chair of World Allergy Week 2022 

 MSc. in Pharmacy Beki Kokona