Are allergies becoming more common?

Are allergies becoming more common?

Harold Kaiser (Practicing Allergist and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School) gives expert video advice on: What causes allergies?; What happens in my body when I have an allergic reaction?; Are allergies becoming more common? and more...

Allergies are becoming more prevalent and common. The reason for this increase is not quite established. There are several theories as to why allergies are becoming more common. First of all, the diagnosis process is better. Secondly, patients are becoming more aware of allergies, and they report things that they might have previously suspected as a cold or the flu, but now think of allergies as part of the problem. Also, our lives have changed. More people are living urban lives, coming under exposure to dust and dust mites, and things that are in buildings are potentially causing a problem. There's another issue called the Hygeine Hypothesis. As a result of our cleaner living, our antibiotics in childhood, our immunization, the fact that we don't come into contact with as much dirt as we would if we lived more rural lives, allergies are becoming more common and all this may in some way not allow the body to develop the potential immunologic defenses to prevent allergies, so allergies develop. It's an attractive theory, the science is not quite rigorous yet, but it's one of the reasons people think allergies are becoming more common.