[Therapy of Allergies and Allergy Immunotherapy in Children]

Adequate diagnostical workup for respiratory allergies and consequent therapy in children determine the individual course of disease. Therapy consists first of symptomatic treatment and includes in the next step the important option of allergy immunotherapy (AIT) as a causative treatment of disease. Children are an important target group for AIT, since AIT offers a proven longterm effect including secondary preventive properties with not only transiently reduced symptoms but moreover longstanding and beneficial disease modification.New strategies with AIT as primary and secondary preventive interventions are being evaluated with the aim to reduce clinical appearance and the amount and extent of sensitizations to allergens in high-risk children. Until implementation of such potentially preventive strategies the currently more attractive early intervention is the early adoption of AIT within the first 12 to 24 months of onset of symptoms as a first-line treatment of allergic rhinitis.Simplified treatment protocols can improve the willingness to perform an AIT and the adherence and compliance of children and their parents. The overall goal is to make AIT as the most important treatment modality available to more affected children.