Guidelines for allergy prevention in Hong Kong

Can Hong Kong take advantage of recent advances in allergy prevention?

“…1 In 2016, a public hospital recruited a paediatrician who had already completed his medical, paediatric, and allergy/immunology training in the United States. Nonetheless he is now required to spend a further 4 to 5 more years fulfilling the requirements of the Medical Registration Ordinance and specialty registration before he is recognised as a PIID specialist in Hong Kong.…”

“…Major opportunities have been identified recently to prevent allergic disorders including the early introduction of allergenic foods to infants [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and immunotherapy. 10,11 Breast feeding is still strongly encouraged, but new evidence suggests that the avoidance of allergenic foods in infancy to delay the onset of allergic diseases may have sustained rather than prevented food allergies and eczema.…”

Physical activity is also an allergy prevention measure

“…The evidence for the association of lack of physical activity with allergic diseases in both adults and children is interesting [1][2][3][4] but the results were obtained mainly through population-based crosssectional studies. Although there may be a true association between a decrease in physical activity and more atopic tendencies, one cannot exclude reverse causality of decreased physical activity in these groups of atopic patients, for instance an exacerbation of eczema after sweating; heat and dermatographic stimulation; or shortness of breath in exercise-induced asthma.…”

The unmet provision of allergy services in Hong Kong impairs capability for allergy prevention – implications for the Asia Pacific region

“…The findings suggest that despite some progress, Hong Kong is currently still unlikely to be able to fully deliver the marked changes required to implement international guidelines on preventing allergies. [3][4][5][6] Hong Kong's experience may parallel those of other Asian Pacific countries, many of which face similar challenges.…”