WHO considers allergyas being the fourth disease in the world after cancer, cardiovascular pathologies and AIDS and the number of people with allergies has doubled in the last 20 years. If allergies are pathologies having a genetic origin, we also know that the modification of our environment is also a triggering factor of the disease. But during the last French-speaking Allergology Congress, which is currently being held in Paris, allergists highlighted a new aggravating factor: the stress.
“Stress is a lever of pathology which often goes unnoticed but which has consequences on the onset of the allergy and the aggravation of symptoms” explains Dr Nhan Pham-Thi, pneumopediatrician at Necker hospital in Paris.
According to allergists, the earlier stress occurs in childhood, the more its role will become decisive in triggering allergic symptoms and in the duration of allergies, whether respiratory, dermatological or food. And this link between stress and allergy can start during pregnancy: “A future mother exposed to stress is more likely to give birth to an allergic baby. In utero, her unborn baby will already trigger phenomena that will later cause an allergy by acting on her immune system, ”explains Dr Pham-Thi.
Conversely, it is possible to fight against allergies by reducing stress. According to a Japanese study, relaxing activities for 30 minutes such as listening to classical music, laughing or kissing were successful in modifying the behavior of immune cells in allergic patients and reducing allergic reactions.
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