sensitized organism. Types of sensitization and methods of dealing with allergic manifestations

Sensitization is the process by which the body acquires hypersensitivity to annoying actions foreign substances. Simply put, sensitization can be represented as a kind of "bad" acquaintance, which threatens a person with various troubles.

The body does not immediately show increased sensitivity of its nerve receptors. This process takes place in a latent form, gradually forming future bright reactions. At this time, a person does not even know what is happening in the depths own body. But why is this reaction needed and what does it lead to?

Sensitization is successfully used in the treatment of alcoholism

This process leads to the fact that the human body begins to develop its own immunity to pathogens. various diseases. The principles of the sensitizing process are actively used by physicians when creating desensitization programs.

Desensitization is the elimination or a significant decrease in the too strong susceptibility of the body to the re-entry of a foreign substance into it, often of a protein nature.

The sensitizing effect is a kind of training human body allowing it to survive in an aggressive environment. external environment. The process of sensitization "educates" internal organs To negative impacts alien agents on them.

What does sensitization mean, its essence

Development of such defense mechanism extremely important in immunology. For example, the body, when it enters the causative agent of a certain disease, develops a strong immunity. This allows our body to withstand subsequent viral and bacterial attacks. fraught with the appearance of dangerous and even fatal diseases.

But more often, allergologists talk about sensitization, considering the development and appearance of various allergic reactions. It is sensitization methods that doctors use to identify a person's threshold of sensitivity to various allergens.

Types of sensitization

To understand what sensitization is, you need to study its many types. The reaction of the body that falls under this characteristic differs in the following types:

1. Autoimmune. Characteristic for the vast majority of numerous autoimmune pathologies. Such a process is due to the manifestation of hypersensitivity to abnormal protein compounds produced by one's own body.
2. Monovalent. Manifested in hypersensitivity to only one specific allergen.
3. Polyvalent. It is detected when there is sensitivity to many allergens of various breeds.
4. Active. Develops when a foreign allergen is introduced into the body by artificial means(as occurs with vaccination).
5. Passive. The sensitivity of the body is developed after the introduction of blood serum to a healthy person. The biomaterial is taken from the patient with active form sensitization.

The period of time between the ingestion of an irritating allergen and the development of hypersensitivity of the body to it is defined by physicians as the “sensitization period”. This time period is purely individual and can fit both in a few hours and in several years.

How does the sensitization process take place?

Sensitization and alcohol

Clinical manifestations of sensitization depending on its type

Alcohol is highly addictive on a physical and psychological level. Human, long time who takes alcohol, on his own is no longer able to give up mortally dangerous habit. He continues to drink, each time increasing the dose of alcohol more and more.

It was in relation to such personalities that doctors developed special program cleansing the body of carcinogenic toxins ethyl alcohol. In this case, sensitization reactions to ethanol are used.

Practice has shown and proved that body sensitization is effective techniques, allowing to free a person from the habit of drinking alcohol. And they are effective and effective even in the case of inveterate drunkards suffering from severe alcohol addiction.

How is "alcohol" sensitization carried out?

This technique involves the use of certain medications. By influencing the body in an appropriate way, drugs provoke a person suffering from alcohol addiction, persistent aversion to alcohol.

How is the treatment of alcoholism by the method of sensitization

The only condition for a successful outcome is complete failure from alcohol intake (at least 2-3 days). The procedure itself is quite simple. It is as follows:

1. After a forced period of sobriety, a small capsule is introduced under the upper epidermal layer to a person. The capsule is filled with a special drug prolonged exposure.
2. The trick of the remedy is that as long as the patient does not drink alcohol, he does not feel any discomfort. The person lives a full life.
3. As soon as alcohol enters the body, sensitization processes begin. In this case, the reaction of the body occurs even when a person only smells ethyl fumes.
4. The condition worsens sharply: the patient feels severe nausea, dizziness, weakness. Such effects are akin to sensations with the strongest intoxication of the body.
5. The state improves only after the person is brought to Fresh air or do not completely rid the body of traces of ethyl alcohol.

A prerequisite is to warn a person about the consequences of drinking alcohol after “encoding” (as the technique of “alcohol” sensitization is called in the common people). A receipt is taken from a person, which justifies all the actions of doctors.

Sensitization in the treatment of alcoholism justifies itself only in the case of permission for such a process of the patient himself and his desire to end the deadly habit. Very important positive attitude patient and his complete confidence in the doctor.

Experts advise that sensitization in pharmacology, used in the treatment of alcoholism, gives a positive result, it should be carried out simultaneously with psychotherapeutic sessions. Only in this case, the sensitizing approach returns the person to a normal and sober life.

Allergy is a change in the sensitivity of the body that occurs under the influence of some factors of the external and internal environment, called allergens.

In the vast majority of cases, allergens enter the body from the external environment, sometimes they are formed in the body itself (see). Allergens can enter the body through the respiratory tract (plant pollen, house pollen, dry food for, etc.), organs ( food allergens - egg white, milk, tomatoes, chocolate, strawberries, crabs, etc., some medicines - acetylsalicylic acid, etc.), through the skin and mucous membranes with medical manipulations(sera, antibiotics, topical application drugs on wound surfaces).

As a result of repeated exposure to the allergen, sensitization occurs - the process of acquiring increased sensitivity to this allergen by the body. The time between the first exposure to the allergen and the onset of allergic disease is called the sensitization period. It can vary from several days (with serum sickness) up to several months and even years (with drug allergy). In the process of sensitization in the body, they form and accumulate (allergic human antibodies are called reagins). By chemical composition antibodies are mutated. Their most important property is immunological specificity, that is, the ability to combine only with the allergen that caused their formation.

Sensitization state clinical manifestations does not have. Allergic reactions appear only after repeated, so-called permissive, contacts of the body with the same allergen. Allergens that have reintroduced themselves into an already sensitized organism combine with specific antibodies, either fixed on cells or circulating in the blood. Complexes of allergens and antibodies are formed on the surface of cells. This causes damage to the surface cell membranes and then internal structures cells. As a result of allergic damage, ions are released from the cells and biologically active substances(histamine, etc.), which enter the liquid media of the body (blood, lymph) and act on various systems body (smooth muscles, capillary walls, endings nerve fibers etc.), disrupting their normal function. As a result, there are general and local manifestations of allergic reactions (bronchospasm, inflammation, edema, skin rashes, vascular drop - anaphylactic shock, etc.).

The described mechanism is typical for allergies. immediate type; it includes (see), (see), (see), urticaria (see), angioedema (see), etc. common feature Allergies of the immediate type is the speed of development of the reaction. So, a skin allergic reaction in these cases appears a few minutes after the intradermal injection of the allergen. Skin reaction many hours (24-72) after exposure to the allergen is characteristic of the delayed type. Similar reactions can be observed with sensitization to bacteria (for example, with tuberculosis, etc.), with contact dermatitis workers, pharmacists, medical staff. The change after foreign tissues and organs, expressed in their rejection, also represents a delayed-type allergic reaction.

In the pathogenesis of delayed-type allergy, antibodies and biologically active substances are of little importance. The decisive role is played by the so-called cellular antibodies, strongly associated with sensitized lymphocytes, which come from the lymphoid organs into the blood and are involved in general and local manifestations of delayed-type allergies.

In the event of an allergy great importance It has hereditary predisposition. Family members with a hereditary predisposition are more likely to occur, although direct transmission specific disease from parents to offspring is absent. In such families, the so-called paraallergy is more often observed.

Paraallergy is a state of increased sensitivity of the body not only to the main specific allergen, but also to some others. non-specific factors, only sometimes resembling the main allergen in terms of chemical structure. For example, when sensitized to a person may have increased sensitivity to other antibiotics, and sometimes to quite a large number most different medicines. Often there is hypersensitivity To physical factors(heat, cold). Paraallergy usually goes away with the elimination of sensitization to the main allergen, that is, with desensitization.

Desensitization is the reduction or removal of the state of sensitization. In experimental animals, it occurs after anaphylactic shock(see) or as a result repeated injections small doses specific allergen(specific desensitization). The introduction of the allergen begins with very small doses, gradually increase the dose. As a result, special "blocking" antibodies are produced in the body, allowing them to overcome. Perhaps they combine with reagins modified in reaction with the allergen. As a result, damage to the cell is prevented and the state of sensitization is removed. Except specific methods treatment of allergies, there are also non-specific, somewhat reducing allergic reactions, - application antihistamines(diphenhydramine, etc.), chloride (10% solution), calcium gluconate, vitamins, corticosteroids (etc.).

Hypersensitivity to the allergen is manifested only after repeated contact with it. The primary contact of the allergen with immunocompetent cells leads to the production of antibodies - immunoglobulins and their fixation on target cells. There is a state of hypersensitivity to repeated exposure to the antigen.

The appearance of specific allergic antibodies in the body determines the state of sensitization, i.e. the appearance of hypersensitivity to some allergen. Sensitization is an immunologically mediated increase in the body's sensitivity to antigens (allergens) of exogenous or endogenous origin.

According to the method of obtaining, active and passive sensitization is distinguished.

Active sensitization occurs when an allergen is artificially introduced or naturally enters the body. It must enter the internal environment, bypassing the barriers (mucous membrane, skin), or by increasing their permeability. For sensitization, a very small amount of the allergen is sufficient - on the order of hundredths and thousandths of a gram. The state of hypersensitivity occurs after 8-21 days, persists in animals for weeks, months, years, and then gradually disappears.

Passive sensitization occurs when a healthy animal is injected with blood serum, another actively sensitized animal (for guinea pig 5-10 ml, for a rabbit 15-20 ml), or sensitized T- and B-lymphocytes. Adoptive transfer of immunocompetent cells can simulate immediate (B-cells) or delayed (T-cells) hypersensitivity. The state of hypersensitivity occurs 18-24 hours after the administration of the serum. This time is necessary for the antibodies contained in the foreign serum to be fixed in the tissues of the body. Stored for 40 days.

Sensitization can be monovalent with increased sensitivity to one allergen and polyvalent with sensitization to many allergens. Cross-sensitization is an increase in the sensitivity of a sensitized organism to other antigens that have common determinants with the allergen that caused the sensitization.

Clinical manifestations of allergies

Allergy is clinically manifested in a change in the functions of various organs and systems. First of all, changes are noted on the part of the nervous system: the phenomenon of parabiosis occurs, which can be expressed either by a sharp excitation or a sharp depression of the nervous system. Since the central nervous system and peripheral are disturbed, this leads to disturbances from other systems as well.

Circulatory disorders occur, blood pressure decreases, congestion (blood) appears in the lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract, vascular permeability increases, therefore, hemorrhages occur, especially in the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract.

The function of breathing is disturbed - at first, a sharp increase, acceleration, then breathing of a slow rhythm.

Gastrointestinal disorders - vomiting, diarrhea often bloody.

Metabolism does not go to the end products of decay, acidosis occurs, severe hyperglycemia, and then glucosuria.

The blood picture changes - at first the number of leukocytes increases, then it sharply decreases, blood clotting slows down, enzymatic activity decreases. The phagocytic ability of leukocytes decreases.

There are dystrophic and necrotic processes in the tissues. The general body temperature may rise, the joints swell, limited swelling occurs. With allergies, all chronic processes are exacerbated .

Sensitization is a doctrine in psychology that explains the phenomenon of increased sensitivity nerve centers due to the stimulus. In most cases, sensitization of the organism is simultaneously accompanied by the developing process of sensory adaptation. In different living beings, sensitization can be found in varying degrees expressiveness. Sensitization is an increase in the level of sensitivity due to the coordinated actions of the analyzers or regular exercises.

Body sensitization is detected not only exclusively due to the use of extraneous stimuli, but also after systematic exercises. There are two areas that cause an increase in the sensitivity of the analyzers. The first area includes disruptions sensor analyzers(for example, blindness), that is, sensitization occurs due to the need for compensatory actions. Activity is the second area that contributes to the increase in the sensitivity of analyzers. Sensitization in the second case is determined by the specific requirements of the activity.

Sensitization of sensations

Human sensations undergo changes due to the influence of the environment and as a result of a modification of the state of the organism. Sensation is the simplest process of the psyche, which combines reflection individual characteristics objects, phenomena of the surrounding material world and internal states the body, due to the direct effect of stimuli on the corresponding receptors.

Sensitization in psychology in a general sense is an increase in sensitivity, caused by the directed action of stimuli of a different nature.

The interaction of sensations is the process of transforming the sensitivity of a particular analyzer due to the impact of stimuli that affect other sets of receptors. The pattern of such an interaction is expressed as follows: strong stimuli, with their coordinated action, reduce the sensitivity of the analyzers, while weak ones, on the contrary, increase it.

Body sensitization is an increase in the sensitivity of the receptor complex due to the influence of mental factors.

Sensitization of sensations is an increase in sensitivity that occurs under the influence of internal factors of the following nature:

• complex work of receptors and their subsequent interaction (with a weak saturation of the sensations of one modality, the sensations of another increase, for example, with a slight cooling of the skin, light sensitization is detected);
• psychological attitude (it is able to adjust the expectation of any particularly significant event to the most clear perception of stimuli; for example, an upcoming trip to the dentist can cause increased pain in the tooth);
• acquired experience (in the course of performing activities, certain sensory analyzers develop. Sensitization examples: experienced musicians distinguish by ear the relative duration of notes or professional tasters who determine the finest nuances of the taste of dishes);
• impact on the body pharmacological agents(introduction various drugs, such as phenamine or adrenaline, provokes a significant increase in the sensitivity of receptors).

Due to overexcitation one analyzer system may experience a decrease in the sensitivity of another. The mechanism of interaction of sensations of a physiological nature lies in the processes of irradiation of excitation and its concentration in the cerebral cortex, in which the centers of analyzers are represented.

In accordance with the concept of I. Pavlov, an insignificant stimulus provokes excitation processes in the brain that are easily irradiated (spread). The result of the irradiation of the excitation process is an increase in the sensitivity of another analyzer system. When exposed to an intense stimulus, an excitation process is born, characterized by a tendency to concentration, which leads to inhibition in the centers of the analyzers, the result of which will be a decrease in the sensitivity of the latter.

Understanding the patterns of changes in the sensitivity of sensory analyzers, it is possible, through the use of side stimuli, selected in a specific way, to sensitize the receptor, in other words, increase its sensitivity. On this principle, some methods of dealing with alcoholism are based.

Alcohol sensitization is the introduction of a complex medications aimed at creating a kind of barrier that provokes persistent disgust to alcoholic liquids. In most cases, the effectiveness of sensitizing therapy is associated with a decrease or even total absence cravings for alcohol. Gradually, abusing alcoholic beverages change their attitude towards such drinks. They are more and more interested in a sober lifestyle. effect from this method treatment is fixed at the level of acquired reflexes. However, alcohol sensitization is a rather serious therapy technique that requires systematic medical supervision.

Often parents are interested in the question of sensitization in a child - what is it? In sensitization, repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a more intense activation of the organism, as a result of which it becomes more sensitive to such a stimulus. Thus, it is possible to explain the phenomenon, which lies in the fact that a stimulus that did not cause any reaction during a single exposure, repeating itself, provokes certain actions.

Sensitization depends on age stage development on which the individual is. The younger the baby, the less pronounced this phenomenon. In a newborn baby, all analyzer systems are ready for reflection in their structure, but at the same time they must overcome a significant path to their own. functional development. Sharpness of sensitivity sensory systems increases with the growing up of the child and reaches a maximum in the age range from 20 to 30 years, and then goes down.

Thus, sensations are generated and formed throughout human life and form its sensory organization. Personality development can take place on a rather limited sensory foundation, even if the two leading analytical systems are lost, their deficiency will be compensated by other sensory systems.

Sensitization Examples: Some deaf individuals are able to listen to music with vibrational sensitivity by resting their hand on an instrument.

Sensitization and synesthesia

The occurrence due to the impact of irritation on one analyzer system at the same time sensations characteristic of it and corresponding to another receptor system is called synesthesia. This phenomenon not considered a mental disorder.

Synesthesia can manifest itself in various variations sensations. Visual-auditory synesthesia is more common. For example, an individual has visual images as a response to the impact of sound stimuli. There are no coincidences in such synesthesias among different subjects, but at the same time they are quite stable for each individual personality. Some composers had the ability of color hearing.

The phenomenon of sensitization and synesthesia is another evidence of a stable relationship between the analyzer systems of the human body, the unity of the sensual. It is on synesthesia that the creation of color-musical devices is based, transforming the sound range into color images. Rarely, there are cases taste sensations as a reaction to auditory stimuli, auditory - visual stimuli.

Synesthesia is not for everyone. The most typical examples of synesthesia are the rustle of odors, color hearing, and color smelling.

Color hearing is the subject's ability to associate audible sound with some color.

Auditory synesthesia is the ability of individuals to "hear" sounds while observing moving objects.

Taste synesthesia is expressed in the appearance of taste sensations due to the pronunciation of any words, images. So, for example, many subjects, when listening to their favorite tune, always remember the taste of chocolate.

Therefore, sensitization in psychology is a phenomenon based on the interaction of sensations as well as synesthesia. After all, synesthesia and sensitization are closely related properties of sensations.

Sensitization and adaptation

There are two core forms of modification of sensitivity: adequacy and sensitization. Adaptation depends on the circumstances of the environment. And sensitization depends on the state of the organism. Adaptation is more pronounced in the olfactory, visual, auditory, tactile spheres and indicates a high plasticity of the body, its ability to adapt to environmental conditions.

Adaptation is the adaptation of sensory analyzers to the characteristics of influencing stimuli for their best perception and protection of receptors from congestion. Often found different stages the process of adaptation to special extreme circumstances: the stage of initial decompensation, the subsequent stage of partial, and then deep compensation.

Transformations accompanying adaptation affect all levels of the organism. Exercise plays a key role in the effectiveness of adaptation to extreme circumstances, as well as functional state individual, mental and moral.

Most adults are looking for an answer to the question of adaptation and sensitization in a child - what is it? Sensory adaptation occurs due to changes in the sensitivity of the analyzer and serves to adjust it to the intensity of the stimulus. It can manifest itself in a variety of subjective effects. It is achieved by increasing or decreasing the overall sensitivity and is characterized by the interval of sensitivity change, the intensity of such a change and the selectivity of modifications with respect to the adaptive influence. The patterns of adaptation demonstrate how the thresholds of sensitivity change with prolonged exposure to a stimulus. When sensory stimuli are applied, sensitization is usually hidden behind a concurrent process of sensory adaptation.

The correspondence between sensitization and adaptation processes can be assessed by parallel measurement of sensitivity to an electrical stimulus and a sensory stimulus. Simultaneously with a decrease in light sensitivity (i.e., adaptation), when the eye is illuminated, an increase in electrical sensitivity (i.e., sensitization) is observed. Whereas in the dark there is an inverse relationship. The electrical stimulus is addressed towards the nerve regions of the analyzer, which are located above the receptor connections, and is a direct way to measure sensitization.

Thus, the processes of sensitization, adaptation and the phenomenon of synesthesia are directly interconnected with the transformations of the sensitivity of analyzers and are related to the qualitative features of sensations. The method of sensitization and desensitization is based on this.

The method of desensitization consists in inhibition of anxiety reactions with the help of parallel induction of other reactions, antagonistic, from a physiological point of view, in relation to anxiety. When a reaction incompatible with anxiety is evoked simultaneously with a stimulus that has hitherto provoked anxiety, the relative connection between the stimulus and anxiety is weakened. The opposite in terms of effect to the desensitization method is the sensitization method, which consists of two stages and consists in creating the most stressful circumstances in the client's imagination, after which he actually experiences the frightening circumstances.

So, sensitization is an increase in the body's sensitivity to an influencing stimulus, due to an increase in the excitability of the brain. The physiological basis of sensitization of sensations is presented in the processes of the interconnection of analyzers, which is enhanced due to the participation of functions different analyzers in general activities.

The non-infectious-allergic form of asthma is associated with sensitization by animal allergens and plant origin, as well as some simple chemicals.

These allergens usually enter the body by inhalation and are therefore called inhalants.

In the process of monitoring patients, the features in the clinical course were determined, which was associated with the spectrum of causally significant allergens.

Allergological examination of 408 patients included a complete set of allergens up to 100 items. The survey was conducted using allergens house dust, dermatophagoid mites, feather (pillow feather) allergens, animal allergens (cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep wool) 15 items of pollen, 32 items of food, fungal, bacterial allergens.

In one patient, from 8 to 38 allergens could be determined. Depending on the spectrum of allergens, a combination of 2, 3 and 4 groups of allergens, clinical course asthma had its own characteristics. There were sharply positive allergic reactions on regional household and epidermal allergens.

For the sick bronchial asthma living in the KBR, a regional house dust allergen was prepared, collected in the dwellings of 20 patients who had no effect of treatment during SIT with standard commercial allergens. The implementation of SIT by "regional" allergens has improved therapeutic effect immunotherapy.

In patients with bronchial asthma under our supervision, an allergological examination revealed household sensitization, i.e., an allergy to house dust and pillow feathers in 100% of patients. In addition to the main form of sensitization, there was a concomitant allergy to plant pollen (25.9%) and food allergy (38.9%).

The antigenic properties of house dust depend on the presence of various kinds microscopic mites, for which house dust is a favorable habitat, especially for mites of the genus Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Favorable breeding grounds for ticks are bedding, including feather pillows. An ideal condition for the development and reproduction of ticks is also high humidity (75 - 80%). In houses with increased dryness, dust mites are absent or there is a small amount. In damp, old rooms, ticks of the genus D. pteronyssinus are found more often.

In some patients, there is a seasonality in the manifestation of the disease, i.e., an increase in asthma attacks in the warm periods of the year. The seasonality of the appearance of symptoms of bronchial asthma is associated with the development and reproduction of ticks during this period.

The allergenic composition and antigenic activity of the allergen from house dust depend on climatic and geographical factors. The prevalence of ticks in different regions different. In the Krasnodar Territory, mites were found in 51.2% of house dust samples; in Moscow, mites were found in 60% of samples; Rostov region in 73.5%, in the Republic of Kazakhstan - in 47.3%, in the Chuvash - in 100%, in Lithuania - in 96%.

IN foreign countries with wet maritime climate, such as Holland, Japan, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, sensitization to ticks among patients with bronchial asthma ranges from 70 to 100%.

According to our observations in the clinical course of bronchial asthma in 51.4% of patients with household and epidermal allergies, there was a pronounced sensitization to the house dust mite, which was confirmed sharply. positive results skin allergy tests with mite allergen and PACT data. More patients with severe sensitization to ticks were found among adults than among children.

Atopic bronchial asthma associated with sensitization to ticks was due to the living conditions of patients, usually located in old, damp, dark rooms, in houses with stove heating, more often in rural areas, with big amount pillows and featherbeds, where they arose good conditions for the development and reproduction of ticks. In these same patients, there was a predominant occurrence of asthma attacks at night, usually after 2-3 hours from the start of sleep, a clear elimination effect, i.e., the cessation of asthma attacks in the hospital or when changing the place of residence.

The study of the seasonality of the manifestation of allergy to the tick showed that in some patients seasonality was found in the disease, i.e., a clear connection between the periods of exacerbation of the disease and the season of the most active reproduction of the tick. Thus, 10.4% indicated an increase in asthma attacks in April-May, 20.8% - in June-July. Asphyxia attacks were especially frequent in August-September-October, which often caused diagnostic errors: bronchial asthma was regarded as infectious-allergic, the exacerbation of which is associated with the onset of cold weather(Table 10).

Table 10. Seasonality of asthma attacks in patients with atopic bronchial asthma associated with sensitization to the tick (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus)
According to our observations, the clinical course of bronchial asthma with a pronounced tick-borne component depended on the ecology of the dwelling: in 54.3±5.1% of patients, asthma attacks occurred only in the house.

With seasonality associated with the tick component household allergies, patients noted that in the period August-September-October, asthma attacks at home at night, in bed, became more frequent. At the same time, rhinoconjunctival syndrome was of little concern, in contrast to patients with pollen seasonality, when asthma attacks developed against the background of rhinoconjunctival syndrome.

Bronchial asthma of atopic form with a pronounced tick-borne component, for the most part, had a severe course, attacks of suffocation bothered every night from sharp deterioration state in autumn.

In patients with severe course asthma lost the features of atopic, as the foreground in clinical picture there were manifestations lung failure and associated bronchitis. In all these patients, asthma was interpreted in district clinics as infectious-allergic and in some cases it was already hormone-dependent.

The determination of the total revealed fluctuations in its level from 153 to 2000 IU / ml, and the average figure was 653.7 ± 33.2 IU / ml. When setting up skin-allergic tests with mite allergen, the majority showed sharply positive reactions.

We provide an extract from the medical history

Patient K. X., born in 1959 (case history No. 1172) turned to the allergological office. Suffering from bronchial asthma for several years. Notes attacks of suffocation at home at night. Lives in the village. The house is one-story, damp, dark. Sleeping on a feather. Attacks of suffocation occur at home at night, as soon as he goes to bed. Especially severe seizures suffocation in a patient in August-September. This period is difficult not only because of the flowering of ragweed, but also because of the coincidence with the period of active reproduction of the tick. The patient underwent two courses specific treatment allergen house dust and feather pillows. The effect of the treatment did not give. In the third year, the patient was examined with a tick allergen. The reaction was sharply positive, and the patient underwent a course of specific immunotherapy with household and epidermal allergens with the connection of the mite allergen. The effect was good. The patient changed his place of residence. A few months later, his wife brought him an old feather bed, on which he had slept before. On the same night, an asthma attack developed. The patient correctly assessed this fact: he took out the mattress and his condition improved.

This example confirms the presence of bronchial asthma with a pronounced tick-borne component.

In 48.6% of patients, it was not possible to identify a pronounced tick-borne component, since most of them (55.6%) lived in modern apartments with good living conditions. Attacks of suffocation also disturbed at home at night, but did not have a pronounced elimination character and did not depend on changes in living conditions. The atopic form of the disease in this group of patients was confirmed by positive results of skin-allergic tests with household and epidermal allergens. They were not allergic to ticks.

Bronchial asthma associated with sensitization to household and epidermal allergens, without a pronounced tick-borne component, proceeded more easily: asthma attacks occurred both at home and in the hospital, without much seasonality, asthma did not always have an elimination character. Attacks of suffocation occurred at home at night, but by morning they passed on their own.

The total IgE determined in these patients had fluctuation limits from 200 to 800 IU / ml, which averaged 298.7 ± 29.8 IU / ml, i.e. exceeded the norm, but to a much lesser extent than in tick-borne sensitization. When setting skin-allergic tests with mite allergen, the reactions were negative, and to house dust - sharply positive.

We have determined that atopic bronchial asthma with a pronounced tick-borne component has a more severe clinical course. This form of asthma is more difficult to diagnose, which does not allow timely connection of specific immunotherapy. The disease progresses more severely and more complications.

Epidermal allergens can also cause bronchial asthma (pillow feather allergen, hair of various animals - cats, dogs, sheep, rabbits, etc.), i.e. substances originating from the epidermis of animals - hair, dandruff, claws, scales .

In 45.3% of patients, there was a connection between the deterioration of the condition upon contact with sheep wool. The development of sensitization to the allergen of sheep wool is facilitated by the fact that local population engaged in animal husbandry, the manufacture of blankets and mattresses using sheep wool as a filler, as well as needlework. Positive skin-allergic reactions in patients with bronchial asthma to the allergen of sheep wool was the basis for the conclusion about the etiological significance of this allergen. The presence of an allergy to sheep wool was confirmed by the results of an allergological examination (skin-allergic tests, provocative nasal tests, laboratory tests).

Khutueva S.Kh., Fedoseeva V.N.