Kolkata most vulnerable as allergy tentacles tighten grip

Even as an allergy epidemic grips India — there has been a 20% spike in allergic ailments in five years — Kolkata and Mumbai seem the most vulnerable, thanks to house dust mite-like organisms that thrive in humid weather.

"India has witnessed a 20% rise in allergies in the past five years, and the spike can be a direct fallout of our changing lifestyle that takes us away from trees and farmland. A city life makes us prone to allergies caused by house dust mites, parthenium, pollens. Weather can be a trigger as well," said Ruby Pawankar, president of Indian Academy of Allergy. Pawankar, in the city for Indian Academy of Allergy Conference (IAACON 2016), shared with TOI her various research findings, including those related to micro-creatures, which live off human skin scales and are the main cause for allergies.

House dust mite allergy is associated with asthma, eczema and most importantly and commonly, perennial allergic rhinitis. The incidence of allergic rhinitis, with symptoms similar to cold, like sneezing, congestion, runny nose and sinus pressures, was higher in Kolkata than anywhere else in the country, showed the study findings by Kolkata doctors A GGhosal and Raja Dhar in Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. "Allergic rhinitis cases are much higher in the eastern region (around urban Kolkata) than other parts," said Dhar, IAA executive council member and organizing chair of IAACON 2016. The study has found 90% asthma patients in Kolkata have allergic rhinitis. "This is not half as alarming as the corollary: 50% patients with allergic rhinitis in Kolkata have asthma," said Dhar.

Pretty sure it is. Almost every body sneezes in a public transport.Manu Mitra

Dhar agreed measures against house dust mites—which are of the size of a quarter of a millimetre and found in bedding, carpets, soft furnishings and clothing—would go along way in reducing allergic rhinitis and asthma. More often than not, the mites themselves do not trigger allergies but it's the protein in their droppings that are responsible.

The time of the year when one is infected the most depends on the airborne substances one is allergic to. Pawankar said, "As with other allergies, allergic rhinitis are a result of your immune system mistaking a harmless substance as harmful, and releasing chemicals that cause the symptoms." No wonder, some are only mildly affected by allergic rhinitis and rarely have to seek help. But it's better to be safe than sorry. "Ignore allergy at your peril," warned Pawankar.