Every day, an increasing number of parents are worried about why the children are allergic, how can it be diagnosed and how to choose the right approach to its treatment.
The development of allergies is primarily associated with increased sensitivity of the body to a certain substance. Contact with it causes various reactions in the form of rashes, redness, itching of the skin and mucous membranes, as well as reactions from the respiratory and digestive organs.
The hypersensitivity of the body is associated with a number of reasons:
– The hereditary predisposition to the stimulus is a potential risk of developing allergies in a child is much higher when his parents are allergies;
– Features of intrauterine development, depending, first of all, on the correctness of the nutrition of the future mother;
– too early rejection of breastfeeding, violation of the sequence of complementary foods;
– a special environmental situation in this region (air pollution, water);
– violation of immunity in connection with the prolonged use of antibiotics, transferred infectious diseases or the presence of intra -acid parasites;
– too “sterile” home environment, in the conditions of which the body’s adaptability to any type of pollution decreases;
– Overpatement of life with chemicals.
Symptoms of allergies in children can be different and differ by one and that irritant. But still, in most cases, food allergy is manifested in the form of external skin rashes that look like red spots or acne on the cheeks, ass, tummy in babies and edema in adult children. With aggravation of the situation, eczema can develop, characterized by the presence of blisters, thickening of the skin, peeling and itching.
Sometimes an allergy to food products acquires a symptoms of atopic dermatitis, when itchy irritations affect the elbow and knee joints. In infants and children up to one year old, allergies can often be intestinal colic, diarrhea, constipation, stools with foreign impurities.
A reaction to air allergens is a runny nose, cough, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes (conjunctivitis), tearfulness.
Sometimes the reaction of the body to allergens can be quite serious and dangerous, up to anaphylactic shock or Quincke’s syndrome (when mucous and subcutaneous tissue swell).
You can determine the predisposition of the child to one or another type of allergy using laboratory diagnostic methods:
– through skin samples on an allergen (the reaction manifests itself within half an hour);
– radiometric and colorimetric analysis;
– provocative samples;
– RAST test – modern and accurate method for determining allergens.
Types of allergies in children and their features
Food allergies in children are more familiar under the folk name diathesis. For the first time with this type of allergies, mothers of babies face. It can be triggered by the appearance in the diet of a nursing mother of very allergenic food: chocolate, smoked meats, citrus, honey, products containing red or orange dyes. Red peeling spots appear on the face or ass of the baby.
A fairly common among children under 2-3 years is an allergy to cow’s milk and egg protein (most often in those that were on artificial feeding). The reason for this is the unwillingness of the digestive system to complete processing of such complex substances.
Food allergies in children can be caused by both a separate product and a combination of several. It is important to determine and exclude it (or them) from the diet of the baby. Sometimes it’s hard to do without the use of analyzes, since allergies can appear both an hour after eating and the next day.
It should be remembered that allergies can be caused not only by dangerous products and additives (orange and red fruits, honey, chocolate, nuts, eggs, seasonings, aromatizers), but, at first glance, harmless – potatoes, buckwheat, cheeses, zucchini , pumpkin.
Allergies to the cold
Sometimes you can see that after a long stay in the cold, raw air, draft, wind, and even after consuming ice cream, redness or swelling appears on the skin, which can peel off and itch. Most likely, the child has an allergy to low temperature (not necessarily frost). In this case, you should limit the baby’s walks in cold weather, close the skin areas as much as possible, use protective creams.
Allergic reactions to the cold can be temporary, showing itself only at the time of stay on the street. These include a runny nose, redness of the eyelids and increased tearfulness. As a rule, after returning to heat, everything stops.
Allergy to dust
A fairly common type of allergy, especially in conditions of the child’s constant environment with soft toys and furniture, carpets that have the ability to absorb and hold dust. Actually, the danger is not the dust itself, but its composition. Most often, there are microscopic products of the life of a dusty tick, particles of pets wool, spores of mold mushrooms.
Symptoms of allergies to dust can be a cough, shortness of breath, runny nose. In a chronic form, asthma attacks are possible.
Regular wet cleaning of the room, compliance with the optimum temperature and humidity mode, timely cleaning (or processing of steam) of pillows, carpets, toys will help prevent the development of an allergic reaction. If an allergy occurs to a natural filler of a pillow or mattress, it is better to replace it with a hypoallergenic synthetic.
Allergies to pets
Pets often cause allergic reactions in children. The most “dangerous” in this regard are cats, since the stimulus on their part is not only wool, but the specific composition of saliva and urine. After contact with the animal, a rash and itching on the skin may appear, from the side of the respiratory organs – cough, wheezing, runny nose, and the scratches obtained during the game cause inflammation.
Many children love parrots. But, as it turns out, these birds can also cause quite serious allergies, manifested in the form of coughing, a runny nose, fever, respiratory disorders, and in chronic cases even allergic alveolitis. A similar reaction in a child will cause a visit to the chicken coop, plucking chicken in the kitchen.
Seasonal allergies in children are due to the sensitivity of the body to the characteristics of this time of the year. In the spring and autumn, it can be a spore of mushrooms in the air (humid air is an ideal environment for them), the smell of charming leaves. The end of spring – the beginning of summer is a period of mass flowering of plants that enriches the air with allergic pollen. These allergens provoke various reactions: from a cold, tearfulness and cough to asthma.
Seasonal allergens include insect bites (bees, OS, mosquitoes). The reaction of the child-non-allergic to them is a slight redness of the place of the bite, possibly a little itchy. Allergicism develops not only a local reaction, but the general intoxication of the body, manifested in the form of vomiting, diarrhea, fever, fever, and even anaphylactic shock.
Prevention and treatment of allergies
The main method of eliminating allergies is the exclusion from the diet or environment of a child that provokes it. That is, with food allergies, we remove the allergen product. If it is difficult to determine a specific product, then you should replace the usual menu of the baby with special, hypoallergenic, and after recovery it is gradually introducing one ingredient, while carefully observing the reaction of the body to it.
If an allergy is detected to a pet, you will have to separate the child with him, and also ensure that the baby does not contact yard animals.
With seasonal allergies, you can only help the child survive this period. Now there are many drug antihistamines that are aimed at blocking the body centers that are sensitive to this allergen.
It is very important to prevent allergies from developing into a chronic form. Therefore, the treatment of any type of allergy should be comprehensive, which involves the correct diagnosis of the disease, respectively, the selection of specific drugs that help relieve its symptoms.
In no case can you ignore even the most harmless allergic reactions in a child. Allergies in children should alarm by the fact that a small organism is very unpredictable and requires careful handling of it. Take care of your children!
