2023-06-01 15:16:35
Currently, about 4 million Dutch people suffer from an allergy to pollen, house dust mites or other allergy-causing substances.
That number is expected to increase further in the coming years, partly due to our Western lifestyle. Society will therefore have to adapt to living with allergies. Companies and governments can play an important role in this by making the living and working environment more allergy-friendly.
‘In addition to the physical and mental discomfort, allergies also have a significant economic impact,’ says Dr. Rick Pleijhuis, internist-allergologist/immunologist at the University Medical Center Groningen. During a symposium of the National Allergy Monitor on 1 June, Pleijhuis, on behalf of an expert group of experts, including pediatrician-allergologist Monique Gorissen of Hospital Deventer and chairman of the monitor, calls for more attention to be paid to the adverse effects of allergies.
Impact on economy
Pleijhuis: ‘Studies show that respiratory allergies lead to more absenteeism at work, reduced productivity and higher healthcare costs. The personal, social and economic impact of allergies should not be underestimated. The severity of the complaints can vary from mild to so serious that people are forced to stay at home during the pollen season, suffer from fatigue or suffer from a disturbed night’s sleep from concentration and mood disorders. If the group of allergic patients continues to increase, this will have consequences for the staffing of companies, hospitals, schools, universities, etc.’
Allergy friendly measures
Employers can prevent absenteeism by investing in an allergy-friendly working environment, such as smooth floors or ventilation systems that filter allergenic substances from the air. Governments such as municipalities can ensure that landscaping becomes allergy-friendly. By choosing trees, shrubs and plants that are the least stressful for allergy sufferers. Preferably no birches and hazels, but elms and poplars. This makes cycling or walking to school or work a lot more pleasant.’
Alternative treatment options
Every year, 5% of the Dutch people go to their GP for medical help with allergic complaints. That’s about 730,000 patients aged 16 and older. ‘Usually, medication is then prescribed to suppress symptoms. However, this medication has insufficient effect in some patients. Moreover, this does not remove the cause of the complaints’, Pleijhuis continues. ‘That is why we advocate more and better communication about alternative treatment options, such as allergen immunotherapy. This is a scientifically validated treatment with which the symptoms can be effectively suppressed or even completely eliminated in a significant proportion of allergic people. Next year, the National Allergy Monitor will provide additional information to GPs about the various treatment options for allergies. By adjusting our living and working environment and by communicating better about treatment options, we can prevent society from being disrupted by the consequences of allergies.’
Read on National Allergy Monitor.nl and do the Allergiescan
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