[Sport and immuno-allergology]

In the past years, the importance of sports in everyday life has been increasing rapidly. Rhinitis and asthma account for the most common problems encountered by sport physicians. These pathologies are often linked to atopy and will require an investigation by an allergist. Less frequent, cholinergic urticaria and exercice-induced anaphylaxis require special attention as to therapeutics. Infections of the upper respiratory tract constitute a well-known problem in athletes. In numerous studies attempts were made to correlate susceptibility to infections to the immunological modifications occurring during exercise. Recently, the use of objective methods has made it possible to analyse these aspects and to demonstrate that other factors also affect immunological changes triggered by exercise.