Allergy clinic at PGI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 25

An allergy clinic was opened at the Postgraduate Institute of Medica Education and Research (PGIMER) today.

The clinic was inaugurated by PGI Director Prof Jagat Ram at the Department of Otolaryngology. The clinic will be functioning once a week (Thursday). The department organised a small inauguration ceremony where Prof Naresh K Panda and Prof Satyawati Mohindra delivered a brief talk. Prof Jagat Ram apprised the audience of the importance of diagnosing allergies early and their treatment.

A skin prick test was performed on seven patients. The most common cause of allergy was dust mite. One of the patients tested positive to three allergens.

Patients must register for the routine OPD and those requiring the skin prick test will be sent to the clinic.

Notably, nearly 20 to 30 per cent of the total population suffers from at least one of the allergies in India.

From 1964 – 2000, the rate of allergic disorders has increased from 10 to 30 per cent.