Press - Lay Media

The following articles are available:

Online survey on treating allergic rhinitis: Patients mostly want to improve their quality of life
Tuesday, 26. April 2011

The potential for improving the quality of life is the most important property of any hay fever medication for those affected. So said the results of an international survey carried out on the Internet platform www.azelastine.info. The aim of the survey was to find out which properties of hay fever treatment patients see as most beneficial to themselves in their daily lives. Increasing the quality of life and fast relief were the properties that received not only the highest average values but also the highest values overall. The pressure felt by patients suffering from hay fever (allergic rhinitis) is very high. Those affected by it experience severe limitations to their activities in all areas of their lives. The desire for a fast-acting and easy-to-use therapy is thus easy to understand and also in keeping with the notions of the international association ARIA*. According to their guidelines, a hay fever therapy should not only aim at reducing symptoms but also offer sufferers, among other things, an ability to pursue their daily commitments and take part in leisure-time activities without any limitations. Such an improvement in the quality of life is possible by employing a custom-tailored therapy with Azelastine nasal spray and eye drops. This antihistamine from the family of new histamines, H1 receptor blockers, acts local, at sites just where it is needed. It starts to work against all symptoms¹ in just 10 to 15 minutes⁴. Azelastine has the advantage that it can be used when symptoms appear¹⁰ as well as a preventive.

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And in first place, it´s azelastine nasal spray! Banish those hay fever symptoms and reclaim spring
Monday, 19. April 2010

Spring is in the air at last! Most of us look forward to the end of the cold dark winter months and all the delights of the spring season, but for hay fever sufferers, it is the worst time of the year. Unfortunately for them, spring is not the only thing in the air at the moment. Over the coming weeks and months grasses, trees and weeds will release vast quantities of pollen into the air. And there is no getting away from it; wind-borne pollen has even been detected 400 miles out to sea! An astonishing one quarter of the planet’s population suffers from hay fever (or allergic rhinitis to give it its proper medical term).The symptoms can be incredibly aggravating and include a runny or even stuffed nose, frequent sneezing and intense itching of the eyes, nose, ears and throat, all of which spells misery for the hay fever sufferer. These symptoms can have an enormous negative effect on people´s lives, affecting everything from driving, to performance at work and school and even impairing sleep patterns. In a bid to avoid pollen, sufferers can become veritable prisoners in their own homes, only venturing outside when absolutely necessary. And the news just keeps getting worse! Not only can we not escape pollen, new research from Italy suggests that higher temperatures associated with global warming actually lengthen the pollen season for some plants and trees, increasing the amount of pollen they produce, and causing a rise in the number of people who are developing hayfever. In 2008, a staggering 18 million adults and 7.1 million children were diagnosed with hay fever in the last 12 months according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.¹ Lengthening of the pollen season means that people with hayfever may need to start taking their allergy medication earlier, and continue it for longer periods of time. But which allergy medication to choose? There is a bewildering array of hayfever medications on the market, but some are more effective than others. A recently published article by Sardana and colleagues², from Penn State University in the US, confirmed azelastine nasal spray (Allergodil®*) as the treatment of choice for hayfever sufferers. Azelastine, which is applied topically as a nasal spray, is effective, fast acting (relieving all symptoms within 15 minutes), long-lasting ( 12 hours), well-tolerated, and can be used on an as-need basis for the treatment of hayfever in both adults and children. With azelastine, one can banish those hay fever symptoms and reclaim spring.

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(Please find press releases in the languages CZ, DE, EN, ES, IT, HU and PL at the corresponding country websites.)

Get Your Hay Fever Under Control: Sufferers would like fast and straightforward help
Wednesday, 07. April 2010

Frequent sneezing, nasal congestion, with red, itchy and watery eyes often adding to the fun, are intensely annoying, not only distracting from day-time activities, but also disturbing nightly rest, all of which reduces patients’ quality of life. Many try every conceivable remedy in a vain attempt to be rid of the aggravating symptoms – with mixed results. According to a survey, two-thirds of all patients are not satisfied with their hay fever treatment.

Please click on the flag symbols to download the press release as PDF file in your language.


(Please find press releases in the languages CZ, DE, EN, ES, IT, and PL at the corresponding country websites.)

Hitting allergy symptoms right where it hurts!–
Applying antihistamines directly to the source of the problem im-proves quality of life for hay fever sufferers!
Tuesday, 23. March 2010

The long, cold winter is finally over! The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, the grass is getting greener, and the flowers are beginning to bloom. Yet the beginning of the growing season also marks the beginning of an all too familiar nightmare for the allergy sufferer, with a long season of sneezing, a stuffy, itchy nose, and runny eyes to look forward to. The symptoms of hay fever - also referred to as "allergic rhinitis" in the medical com-munity - are an extreme nuisance to sufferers and greatly reduce their quality of life. For people with hay fever, it's hard to look forward to long bike rides or walks in the country with a stuffy nose or runny eyes. Luckily, a customized type of treatment can give allergy sufferers that much longer for freedom from their symptoms. So-called 'modern antihistamines', which can be applied directly to the site of the allergic reaction (i.e. the nose and eyes), satisfy patients' needs in every way. They not only take effect quickly and are easily tolerated, but also allow for flexibility of treatment. This means that allergy suf-ferers only need to use their nasal spray or eye drops - both containing the active ingredient Azelastine - when allergy symptoms are actually present, rather than having to keep a weather eye on pollen counts. As a recently published study by Professor Friedrich Horak of the University of Vienna shows, troublesome symptoms disappear within minutes after application and are held at bay for up to 12 hours. Allergy sufferers agree that a specially-tailored treatment with immediate effectiveness means true improvement of their quality of life. Springtime and summertime activities in the great outdoors are suddenly fun again!
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Today allergic rhinitis, tomorrow asthma? - Get off the allergy train!
Friday, 29. January 2010

As an allergy sufferer you are only too aware of the misery that accompanies the constant sneezing attacks, stuffed or permanently runny nose and watery eyes that signal the beginning of the allergy season. What you may not know, however, is that the pollen season is starting earlier and earlier as a consequence of changing global environmental conditions. This means that instead of the pollen season starting in Spring, which has traditionally been the case in the past, it can now start as early as January!. Although drugs with a fast onset of action are available for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, the annoying symptoms experienced by allergy sufferers are often inadequately treated and even ignored in some cases. But beware! Allergic rhinitis is not a disease to suffer and ignore! Left untreated, it can turn into something far worse, effectively 'marching down' the respiratory tract to develop into asthma! Experts term this an "allergic march". Conversely, people with asthma frequently develop rhinitis. Armed with this knowledge, the non-government organization ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) sensibly recommend that patients with persistent rhinitis should be evaluated for asthma, and those with persistent asthma should be evaluated for rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis affects the upper airways, and asthma affects the lower airways, so ideally, a combined strategy should be used to treat both upper and lower airway disease in order to optimise treatment efficacy and safety. Whether treating allergic rhinitis or asthma it is important to deliver effective medication directly to the site(s) of inflammation. The antihistamine azelastine, for example, an effective and reliable topical treatment for allergic rhinitis, is delivered directly into the nose by nasal spray. Similarly, when treating asthma, inhalation therapy is the most common and effective way to deposit different drugs directly into the lungs. An inhaler device called the Novolizer® has a proven track record as a patient-friendly, effective and reliable device, capable of delivering a range of asthma drugs to all areas of the asthmatic lung.
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Enjoy outdoor season despite hay fever: Modern antihistamines provide fast-acting and long-lasting relief
Monday, 01. June 2009

The outdoor season started! Nature is in full blossom but for allergy sufferers the onset of the most beautiful time, the spring, signals their worst time of the year. Plagued by sniffling, sneezing or a congested nose, this beautiful season can hardly be described as enjoyable for patients with allergic rhinitis and conjuncticvitis. However, it does not have to be this way: even in spring and summer, the quality of life can be improved with the help of topically applied antihistamines such as Azelastine nasal spray or eye drops. In a recent synopsis (Horak 2008), Professor Friedrich Horak from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University Clinic of Vienna states that the agent only needs to be applied when symptoms actually occur and significantly improves symptoms within a few minutes. Hay fever sufferers don´t have necessarily to avoid outdoor activities such as cycling, jogging or visiting the local swimming baths.
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New e-mail newsletter about allergic rhinitis
Friday, 23. January 2009

A novel e-mail newsletter about allergic rhinitis will provide patients with a new opportunity to obtain recent and helpful information about their affliction. AzelastinE-News will be launched in the beginning of 2009 as a service of the internet platform www.azelastine.info. The website offers useful background information about allergy, its treatment in general and the treatment with azelastine in particular. Azelastine nasal spray is a topical anti-histamine and effective within a short period of time. Hence it enables patients to fight sudden symptoms of allergic rhinitis in a quick and flexible manner.
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Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)
Thursday, 31. January 2008

Ragweeds (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) are a genus of flowering plants from the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Ragweed occurs in the USA and Canada from where it found its way into Europe.
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Modern H1-Blocker to Combat the Winter Allergy
Monday, 19. November 2007

People with red, itchy and runny noses are a common sight in every doctor’s surgery during the winter months. Not all of them have a flu-like viral infection though. In many patients, the cause is allergic rhinitis. Besides pollen, this can be caused by foods, pets and house dust mites. The house dust mite allergy in particular has high season during cold, damp weather. Colloquially, this is referred to as the ‘winter allergy’. The topical antihistamine azelastine (Allergodil®) H1-type blocker not only effectively reduces the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, but thanks to its rapid response and its good tolerability, it also contributes to a significantly increased quality of life for patients.
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Tips for Reducing the Symptoms of a House Dust Mite Allergy
Monday, 19. November 2007

House Dust Mites
Monday, 19. November 2007

House dust mites do not appear as a result of insufficient hygiene, but are in fact natural cohabitants of ours. They belong to the arachnid family. Worldwide, there are approximately 150 different species, and they measure 0.1 to 0.5 mm in size.
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Would you have guessed? European and American noses react the same
Sunday, 01. April 2007

One spray of Azelastine in each nostril twice a day is enough for the treatment of hay fever. That was the conclusion of a recent study conducted by American scientists on a group of over 500 patients. Background info: the nasal spray is approved for two sprays per nostril in the U.S., whereas most of the European countries have approved the dosage of one spray per nostril. The study proves that the Europeans have got it right.
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New product information website
Thursday, 01. March 2007

MEDA Pharma, headquartered in Solna, Sweden, has established a new informational website for patients concerning allergy therapy with the active ingredient Azelastin (i.e. in Allergodil® akut).
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Hay Fever Medication - It's all about Application
Monday, 01. May 2006

The way a medication is taken has a critical influence on its efficacy. A current study from a Vienna group of researchers with hay fever patients shows this dramatically. In this study an antihistamin was given in form of a nasal spray. The active ingredient was Azelastine and the study was in comparison to the effects of an antihistamin delivered orally as a tablet. In the latter case, the active ingredient was Desloratadine. A control group was used with a placebo, a pseudo-medication without any active ingredients. The nasal spray was superior to both the tablets and the placebo in several ways.
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Year after year - hay fever dampens the joys of spring
Sunday, 01. January 2006

At last the cold months are gone, the days are getting longer once again, the air is becoming milder, and people are full of joy as nature awakes. Unfortunately, the pleasure of experiencing the first buds and blossoms is not unbridled in everyone: approximately 30 million people in Europe suffer from hay fever. Depending on the temperatures and the type of pollen, for some people their days of suffering begin as early as the end of February or the beginning of March. In those who are affected, the mucous membranes in the upper respiratory tracts react allergically to blossom or grass pollens. The results are sneezing, itching and watery eyes and not uncommonly an asthmatic cough. The patients find themselves under a great deal of psychological strain, and their quality of life and ability to perform are severely restricted.
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