It goes without saying that various guidelines have been developed for the treatment of allergic disorders by medical professionals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made some important contributions in this regard. What do these guidelines involve? A brief summary is provided below. The complete guidelines and recommendations are available to medical professionals as a pdf file download in the right-hand column.
The WHO Position Paper (1998) defines specific immunotherapy as the only causal therapy for the treatment of immediate type allergic disorders, such as hay fever (allergic rhinitis), allergic conjunctivitis, etc. (IgE-mediated allergies - see also the medical classification of allergies).
The 'Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma' (ARIA) report published in conjunction with the WHO attributes a high level of efficacy to immunotherapy, provided that it is administered in optimum doses. Furthermore, 'immunotherapy alters the natural course of allergic disorders'. It may prevent new sensitisation in mono-allergic patients and has been proved to reduce the long-term risk of asthma in children with rhinoconjunctivitis.
Click on Aria guidelines in the right column to download the full document.
