Clinic Genolier - Allergology and immunology

Allergology and immunology cover two complementary fields of medicine. The first deals with all forms of allergy, the second with disorders resulting from changes in the body’s immune status.
Allergology treats allergic disorders such as:

- skin conditions such as eczema and atopic dermatitis  (a form of eczema),
- seasonal rhinitis (hay fever) or chronic rhinitis,
- seasonal allergic asthma, chronic asthma or asthma of effort,
- drug intolerance,
- allergic reactions to food.

The doctors carry out blood tests or skin tests to establish a diagnosis. They can then devise a personalized treatment programme to relieve the symptoms or to prevent the condition (desensitization) and can advise patients on how to protect themselves against or avoid the substances that cause the allergies. Care of asthmatic patients begins by measuring lung function as a basis for regular monitoring and to enable treatment to be based on asthma severity.

Immunology studies the way in which our bodies protect themselves against external attack by factors such as infections. Specialists research the mechanisms that the human body uses to protect itself against microbes, viruses, tumours and any substance that induces the formation of antibodies. They also intervene in the mechanisms involved in resistance and problems associated with the transplantation of organs and with allergies.