Doctor Francesca Puggioni, pneumologist at the Personalized Medicine Center – Asthma and Allergies of Humanitas, and Professor Enrico Heffler, teacher of Respiratory System Diseases at Humanitas University, starred in a Facebook live interview about inflammatory lung diseases and in particular, asthma and allergies.
Speaking about asthma, Doctor Puggioni highlighted that “the scenario has changed, both because nowadays more reliable diagnoses are possible, and because we have very different therapies at our disposal. Nowadays we can diagnose asthma to a patient, but we can also know which inflammation is affecting them and which inflammatory cells are involved. This way, we can suggest the right therapy to the right patient”.
Precision medicine is a hot topic: Professor Heffler explains that “this approach aims to pinpoint the mechanisms of action of allergies and asthma, in order to choose the best, most precise medication for each patient and to personalize the therapeutic approach”.
How can you recognize allergies?
“First of all, you have to consider the repetition of symptoms. In general, people suffering from allergies present the same symptoms as those suffering from a simple cold, but they always do so in the same season and over many years”, Prof. Heffler says.
“Allergies don’t just happen during spring, but also during summer. This happens, for example, with pellitory pollen, with Alternaria spores and with ragweed pollen, that spreads from 10-15 August until September”, the professor explained.
The topics of the Facebook live interview
The two experts gave important information about asthma and allergies, and also answered the questions of some users.
Some of the topics were:
- The biological medications for the treatment of asthma.
- The importance of personalized sports for asthmatic people
- The link between asthma and sinus polyps
- The difference between food allergy and sensitivity
- The likelihood one will develop an allergy if they have allergic people in their family
