The Green Party has always taken a strong interest in the issue of allergies and asthma, increasingly common public health problems in Western society. We see allergies as an important area of health policy with strong links to a range of environmental factors. An allergy is a hyper-sensitive or exaggerated reaction by an individual’s immune system to an otherwise harmless substance in the environment. The allergic individual may react adversely to a food, grass, pollen, mould, pet’s fur, or house dust mite, for example. Allergies manifest themselves in a wide spectrum of medical conditions including asthma, rhinitis (chronic nasal symptoms), eczema, urticaria (severe raised skin blotches) and anaphylactic shock (which can be fatal).

It has been estimated that half of all Europeans will suffer from some sort of allergy by 2015 if this new epidemic goes unchecked. Allergies among children are a serious concern and are mainly responsible for the growing numbers suffering from asthma. Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that affects children and adults of all ages.  Asthma affects approximately 470,000 people in Ireland. One in twenty adults is diagnosed with asthma. Ireland is now second only to the UK in the European league table for childhood asthma. Between 25-45% of children in Ireland have asthma and lose on average 10 days of school every year.

The causes of asthma and other allergies are not fully understood but environmental factors, hygiene, modern living and house design are all believed to be linked with the growth in their incidence. As hygiene standards increase, our resistance to common allergens weakens. The EU is looking seriously at the issue of environmental influences on the growth of allergies and asthma in Europe. A key focus of the EU GALEN research programme is to examine the hypothesis that allergies are directly linked to the way we live, in bacteria-free homes. For example, children exposed to more infections in early life have been found to be less prone to allergies, and children raised on farms are less likely than others to get hay fever, asthma and eczema.

Research has suggested that environmental triggers for asthma and other allergies include active and passive smoking, air pollution, chemical sensitizers and other indoor and outdoor allergens.  Many homes and offices are filled with chemicals, and many people suffer from allergies from these environments. This is easily remedied by switching the products we use. A recent study showed indoor pollutant levels range from 2 to 50 times higher than outdoor levels, much of it from conventional cleaning supplies. Eco-friendly products can be inexpensive, simple to use and effective and are available through most health-food stores or over the internet. For example, there are a range of eco-friendly air-fresheners available now which dont contain any chemicals – just essential oils. Soapnut shells, which contain saponin (a natural detergent), create suds when in contact with water and are an environmentally- friendly alternative to soap, detergent and shampoo. Eco -friendly, solvent-free paints do not contain the solvents that are found in conventional gloss and emulsion paints, which can cause serious allergies. Finally HEPA filters in vaccum cleaners prevent particles and dust  from re-circulating in the air after vaccuming, and are also good for dealing with pet hair.  

The World Health Organisation estimates that in the ‘European Region’ children are at risk of exposure to more than 15,000 synthetic chemicals and a variety of other environmental hazards such as tobacco smoke, pollution from road traffic, contaminated food and the effects of global climate change.Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns are altering the length and timing of the growing season of plants producing pollen. On average, the length of the pollen season in Europe has increased by 10-11 days over the last 30 years. Longer and more intense exposure to pollen can raise both the number of allergic episodes and the demand for treatment.

Although allergic reactions can arise at any age, they generally begin in childhood. The most frequent presentation is dermatitis in infants. The disease often progresses from “atopic” dermatitis, to allergic rhinitis, and then to asthma. This evolution, known as an “allergy march” needs to be carefully followed and treated. As some allergic diseases can be risk factors for further allergic reactions and asthma, early and accurate diagnosis is crucial.

Unfortunately the response from successive governments to the growing incidence of allergies and asthma in our society has been less than adequate. We have insufficient numbers of medical experts in the country to serve the needs of the growing numbers of patients who are suffering from allergies and asthma. In Ireland there are only three public clinical immunologists and one paediatric allergist to serve a population of 4.6 million. In Australia, there are 130 immunologists and, in one state alone with a population equivalent to Ireland, there are 50 immunologists. In Sweden, 96 trained paediatric allergy specialists serve a population of 1.5 million children. The lack of specialist allergy service provision in Ireland is pacing an unfair cost burden on individual patients and is exposing them to further medical complications.

In order to properly tackle the growing incidence of asthma and allergies in Ireland, the Green Party believes that we need to implement a number of key policies.We support the development of full public immunology services across the country, including the establishment of a paediatric allergy centre with trained allergy specialists. We view a programme of ongoing allergy education and support to GPs and their patients as essential. We believe that scientific research into asthma and other allergies should be a priority, and would like to see the Department of Health and Education collaborate in establishing a new post-graduate diploma in Allergies. We also support the introduction of legislation to reduce the level of respiratory irritants in our everyday environment such as tobacco, car exhaust fumes and other chemicals shown to be linked with a greater incidence of allergies.Allergies can seriously interfere with the quality of life we enjoy. There are many positive steps that indivduals can take to manage their allergies. However government action is also needed if we are to seriously tackle the growing challenge of the allergies that we experience.

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Health and Children by Deirdre