Immunology
Immunology private practice
Immunology is a branch of science dealing with the discovery and treatment of diseases affecting or closely related to the functioning of the immune system.
The immune system is one of the most important units of the human body, which helps protect our body from a significant number of diseases. It is a very sensitive system, which can cause problems in case of under- or over-functioning.
If it is very weak, even the slightest external impact can cause a serious infection, but if its operation is more intense than it should be, it can turn against the body, causing various autoimmune diseases and inflammations.
The task of immunology is to diagnose and treat these diseases, whether it is an allergy, infection, autoimmune complaint, inflammation or even a problem of viral origin such as HIV infection and AIDS.
When should you see an immunologist doctor?
Most diseases of immunological origin are very complex. Often only general complaints, but rather clusters of symptoms can indicate a change of this origin.
In any case however contact an immunologist if you experience the following:
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Colds, catarrh and upper respiratory tract infections are more common than usual.
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Persistent joint pain, which causes a serious problem, especially in the morning, in the first minutes after waking up.
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Patchy hair loss that doesn't ease even after taking vitamins.
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Constant fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, a significant decrease in endurance.
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An increase in temperature that appears permanently or returns at certain times of the day, or a feverish condition.
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Unreasonable enlargement of lymph nodes in several parts of the body.
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Dermatological problems unresponsive to external treatment, such as the appearance of rashes and blisters.
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If it was not possible to shed light on the background of the complaints even after the focal investigation.
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Simultaneous occurrence of fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, rashes, ulcers, diarrhea, weight loss, cough and night sweats (symptoms indicating HIV infection).
How is an immunological examination performed?
In all cases, the immunological examination begins with a thorough anamnesis. The attending physician must know what complaints the patient came to him with and what previous illnesses he had.
Since all immunological diseases are complex in nature, the attending physician typically asks the patient several questions before the physical examination.
In the hands of an immunologist, one of the main diagnostic tools is laboratory examination. Based on the parameters, you can get a complete picture of the processes taking place in the body, of possible inflammatory conditions.
In many cases, in addition to the laboratory examination, imaging diagnostics, such as ultrasound or X-ray, are also necessary in order to establish the complete clinical picture.
What kind of diseases does immunology deal with?
We have already described above that immunology deals with the problems of the immune system, but it is worth taking a closer look at the larger groups of diseases that are related to this.
Inflammatory diseases
The background of protracted inflammatory diseases is often an immunological pathology. Typical symptoms in this case are a persistent rise in temperature, pain, and fatigue, which often require a series of tests to uncover the underlying factors.
Inflammatory diseases can be triggered by incipient or as yet uncharted autoimmune processes, as well as non-existent or poorly treated infectious diseases.
Treatment of autoimmune diseases
We can talk about an autoimmune disease when the immune system turns against the body, that is, it produces antibodies against its own organs and cells, which can cause very serious conditions in the body.
There are many types of them, so we can talk about a disease affecting only a specific organ and also about systemic pathologies. In the latter case, several organs or complete organ systems are attacked by the patient's own immune system.
Common autoimmune diseases are, for example, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögdren syndrome, Basedow-Graves disease or SLE.
Treatment of HIV infection, AIDS
HIV infection and AIDS are among the most serious immunological diseases. The peculiarity of the HIV virus is that it significantly damages the immune system in the long term, which makes it unable to fight even the smallest infections.
AIDS develops as a result of untreated HIV infection, but not in all cases, only when the immune system is almost completely destroyed. In such cases, the patient may develop serious infections and tumors that would not be possible with a healthy immune system.
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Dr. Éva Lívia Nagy
