Allergies in South Africa - Learn More & Get Help With Online Doctor Consultations
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Allergies can be a year-round concern in South Africa, affecting many people and their quality of life. You're not alone if you're tired of sneezing, itching, or dealing with allergic reactions.
Join us as we discuss allergies in South Africa, how online doctor consultations can assist you and more with Doctor Chido. Discover the insights and solutions to manage your allergies more effectively and lead a healthier, symptom-free life.
Introducing Dr. Chido Siame, our Clinical Care Lead at Kena Health. We had a fantastic time speaking with her about commonly asked allergy questions together with online and in-person doctor consultations.
Dr. Chido is a dedicated healthcare professional with a strong commitment to ensuring top-quality care delivery and fostering the professional development of telemedicine practitioners at Kena Health. Her background in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pretoria, coupled with ongoing studies in Public Health at the University of the Western Cape, equips her with the knowledge to blend clinical expertise with a passion for public well-being.
With a substantial career that includes roles as a Doctor Clinician, OVCY Clinical Technical Advisor at FHI 360, and Hospital Team Lead at Broadreach Healthcare, Dr. Chido excels in clinical care, technical guidance, and program management. Dr. Chido has achieved international recognition through conference presentations, television interviews, and contributions to cutting-edge medical protocols.
So, read on for valuable insights Dr. Chido shared with us.
So, allergies are caused by various things that act as what we call allergens. These irritate or negatively stimulate your immune system and cause an allergic reaction.
Allergies can manifest in different ways. It can manifest as a running nose, itchy eyes, skin rash, or welts, like swollen blotches on the skin. It could become more severe. It can manifest as swelling of the lips and even the tongue in the throat, which can be dangerous and sometimes fatal.
Yeah, as I mentioned, the most common energy symptoms are itchy, runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny, watery eyes.
Sometimes also the itching of the palate in the mouth. You know where you feel like you want to scratch the inside of the top of your mouth? And then you can get skin rashes. Sometimes it can be severe, like eczema.
So many people are allergic to things in the air, right? Still, you know it can be a lot of different things. Still, we commonly find people allergic to pollen from trees or flowers, dust, or certain types of wild grass.
So, this is what you see in spring when you know it's a little bit drier coming out of winter, the flowers starting to bloom, which can give people really bad allergies at that time because there's a lot of allergens in the air. Still, you also get some common food allergies.
You get allergies from a large variety different things but the most common are pollen, dust and different types of wild grass.
So, allergies are episodic and usually come with seasons. Still, the allergy itself, depending on what you're allergic to, will last for as long as you're exposed to whatever it is that you're allergic to.
So, for example, if you're allergic to the pollen from flowers on the Jacaranda trees, your allergies will be full-blown when exposed afterwards, and the allergy dies down.
You can use medication. There are medications that are available over the counter. They're called anti-histamines, and what anti-histamines do is they stop that allergic reaction that you're having from your immune system that causes those symptoms.
Some of them are sedating, and some of them are not. But most commonly, we use antihistamines. When the allergies are quite severe, we can use steroids. Often, steroids are needed. If you're going to get a steroid, you need a prescription.
Then, there are EpiPens, which have Epinephrine or adrenaline. It's used in cases of some of the most severe allergies. I mentioned that when allergies are severe, your tongue or throat will swell, and you won't be able to breathe. So, that adrenaline shot helps open up the airways again and ensures you don't suffer fatal consequences from a severe allergy. You will also need a prescription to get an EpiPen.
If you're trying to figure it out yourself at home, you can be; it's more observational. So, say you have a food allergy; you might notice that every time you eat something that has, for example, turmeric in it, you'll notice that your allergies flare up every time you have turmeric.
So, these kinds of things take observation and maybe have a food diary or a diary of things you've been exposed to that day, even if it's flowers, etc. Pollen counts from trees, flowers or grasses vary with the season. So consider the time of year when allergies arise. This helps to narrow it down. But this is a difficult part because we're exposed to so many different things.
So, getting a proper diagnosis without going through to a doctor isn't easy or always possible. And there are two different types of tests that they do for allergy testing. They do a blood test, or they can do a skin test where they inject the allergens into your skin in different spots and see the different reactions from those allergens.
So, a proper diagnosis is required in conjunction with a doctor or a doctor consultation.
Allergy tests are often blood tests. You can do it in a hospital. The doctor can also take or send you to the lab; the process is there, and they get the results. Skin tests can be done in the rooms, but an allergist or dermatologist often does that. GPs rarely do skin testing in the rooms.
You absolutely can. You can, and it can either be from an in-person doctor consultation or online.
On the Kena Health app, you can do an express consultation for simple seasonal allergies for only R 120. The prescription is sent directly to your phone and can be redeemed at pharmacies.
So, an online doctor would get an explanation of your condition and the symptoms you are experiencing. It would help if you were quite specific to say, I get red blotches on my skin, runny nose, sneeze, etc. And then, according to the symptoms, they can give you symptomatic treatment. They can give you an antihistamine, which ends up with symptoms. Suppose allergies are slightly more severe or persistent and don't respond to the anti-histamine. In that case, they will give you a steroid, for example, that you can take for a couple of days, either in the form of a nasal spray if it's a blocked nose or in the form of pills that you can take if it's something like on the skin or it's the eyes, etc. So, there's a lot that an online doctor can do.
On Kena Health, you can do a standard consultation with a nurse or doctor for only R235 to diagnose some types of allergies and prescribe their relevant medications. Or if you are a seasonal hayfever sufferer, you can do an express consultation for only R120.
It's tricky because allergy testing is generally quite a bit pricey.
So if you find that the allergies that you experience are persistent and the symptoms are affecting your quality of life, and you want to find out precisely what it is that you're allergic to so that you can avoid it, then I would suggest that you go for an allergy testing at that point.
Suppose it's just mild seasonal allergies. You'll go for sneezing for a couple of days in September or even a week or two in September. In that case, it's only indicated if you want to know. But in terms of managing costs, only really go with the allergies that are either severe and you're having massive reactions or very persistent.”
Allergies absolutely can make you tired because of the symptoms that you experience.
You know, say you've got a blocked nose, then that's stopping you from getting proper rest of the night. If your nose is blocked, you're waking up intermittently, and you're not going into a deep rest or sleep.
Also, you're not getting enough oxygen in. If you have an allergic symptom like a rash or itchy eyes, those things don't stop when the sun goes down. So, all of you can be tired. Sorry, you broke up there after you said the symptoms don't go away after the sun goes down.
We had an excellent conversation with Doctor Chido, discussing allergies, and I look forward to catching up with her soon.
Allergies are a common concern in South Africa, affecting many individuals. However, with the convenience of online doctor consultations through dedicated apps, getting the proper guidance and treatment for allergies has never been easier. Whether it's hay fever, food allergies, or skin reactions, online doctors are here to help.
So, if you or your loved ones are dealing with allergies, don't hesitate to try the Kena Health online doctor app for professional guidance and support.
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