Allergies and Pregnancy

The past 20th century was rightly called the century of allergies. The incidence of allergic diseases is growing rapidly - every 10 years since 1950, increasing by 10%, and today in the world, according to some estimates, up to half of the population suffers from various allergic diseases. Atopic and contact allergic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, bronchial asthma, hay fever (allergy to pollen), food and drug allergies - all these are manifestations of allergies. Pregnant women also suffer from allergies.

The most common organ affected by allergies in pregnant women is the nose. Runny nose, congestion and nasal discharge bother every second woman during pregnancy, usually in the second and third trimester. This can cause anxiety and sleep disturbances. If such manifestations were noted before pregnancy, for example during flowering or upon contact with dust or animal hair, then most likely it is an allergic rhinitis. However, more often than not, a runny nose during pregnancy is associated with the hormonal changes that occur in the body of a pregnant woman. It is called hormonal rhinitis of pregnancy. An increase in the blood concentration of pregnancy hormones - progesterone and estrogens - leads to relaxation of the smooth muscles of the nasal vessels and swelling of the nasal mucosa, which is manifested by difficulty breathing through the nose, sneezing, and clear mucous discharge. As with allergic rhinitis, with hormonal rhinitis of pregnant women, body temperature does not increase. It is important to be aware of the possibility of such rhinitis and not to overdo it with vasoconstrictor drops (naphthyzine and the like), which may be unsafe during pregnancy.

Another less common allergic disease is bronchial asthma. It affects an average of 2% of pregnant women. Asthma rarely begins for the first time during pregnancy; more often it already occurs in women. Observations of pregnant women regarding how asthma behaves during pregnancy allowed us to formulate the 1/3 rule: approximately 30% of women with asthma experience an improvement in their condition, in 30% of patients the condition does not change, and in the rest it worsens.

It is quite difficult to predict which woman will experience worsening asthma during pregnancy. As a rule, the condition of patients with severe bronchial asthma worsens. Typically, asthma exacerbation occurs between 24 and 36 weeks, and during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy, almost all women with asthma experience improvement.

Certain physiological changes occurring in the body of a pregnant woman have various effects on the course of bronchial asthma during this period. On the one hand, an increase in the blood level of hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin and cortisol inhibits the action of the allergy mediator histamine, thereby reducing the severity of allergies. On the other hand, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath as a manifestation of asthma should be distinguished from shortness of breath accompanying pregnancy. Most pregnant women experience shortness of breath, especially at the end of pregnancy - an enlarged uterus limits the movement of the chest, which can manifest itself in the form of difficulty and increased breathing.

Currently, bronchial asthma is not considered a contraindication for pregnancy. Modern medicine has a wide arsenal of effective anti-asthmatic drugs, which for the most part are not contraindicated for pregnant women and allow them to control the disease. With the interaction between the patient and the allergist and the prescription of adequate therapy, women successfully carry and give birth to a full-fledged healthy child without complications. Only every 10th patient with bronchial asthma reports symptoms of the disease during childbirth. These symptoms are usually mild and easily controlled.

An allergic skin disease in a pregnant woman (atopic dermatitis, eczema, neurodermatitis, urticaria) can easily be assumed if such manifestations were present before pregnancy and worsened after an error in diet, not