Allergies

Because the symptoms of nasal allergies are much like cold symptoms, runny nose, watery eyes, cough, congestion, sneezing, it can be hard to tell the difference. The main indications for allergy as appose to cold are when your child is suffering from one or more of the symptoms below, to confirm your suspicions of allergy or if you are concerned its best to check it out with a G.P. Common symptoms are if:

it seem like your toddler always has a cold
the mucus that drains from their nose is clear and thin as opposed to yellow or greenish and thick
they sneeze a lot
their eyes are itchy, red, and watery
they have a dry persistent cough
their nose is always stuffy or running
their skin is irritated or broken out in an itchy red rash

What causes allergies?
An allergy is the body’s immune response to something in the environment; these substances are known as an allergen. When a child with allergies comes into contact an allergen either through touching it, breathing it in, eating it, or having it injected into them, their body views the allergen as an invader and releases histamines and other chemicals to fight it, these chemicals irritate the body and cause the symptoms.

People can be allergic to almost anything but the most common are food, drugs, animal fur, dust mites, feathers, meld, and pollen. It depends upon the allergy as to what type of immune response will occur it can cause, respiratory symptoms, skin symptoms, like eczema, or stomach problems usually from food allergies.

What is the allergy too?
Trying to establish what a child is allergic can be difficult and in some cases takes a long time or you may be lucky and find it straight away, it is important to keep tack or when reaction occur and try to establish a pattern. Doing this will help your doctor to decide what tests if any are needed, the most commonly used is a skin test. The skin test can establish what a child is allergic to and then a treatment can hopefully be found.

How to help
The most important thing you can do to help your child is reduce their exposure to the allergen. If your child is allergic to nuts or something like that remember to tell everyone they come into contact with, it is mind-blowing how many things contain nuts or are made in factories that produce nuts it is really hard but important to check every label. If the allergy is feather or down it is best to have non allergenic pillows duvets and a plastic mattress protector over. If it is dust mites, they live in fabrics and carpets and are common in every room of the house, especially the child’s bed room it is advised that you try to

Wash bedding once a week in hot water to kill dust mites, washable quilts and covers are available everywhere.
avoid having stuffed animals in your child's room they collect dust, if there are some that they love wash them as often as you can get them out of their hands or put them in the freezer overnight, cold kills the mites.
Dust everyday or as often as you can and vacuum everything including the mattress weekly, but make sure your child isn't in the room when you do it. The action of dusting and vacuuming can stir up residual dust-mite particles in the room. Wet dusting and buying a special hover with a hepa filters can help.
If your toddler has a severe dust mite allergy, replace the carpeting with wood and clean as often as possible but not when they are in the room as we have said.
If your child has a pollen allergy try to keep them inside on high pollen days, we know this is very hard but when they do go out once they return it helps to have a shower to remove pollen and to wash the clothes that they were wearing. You may also think about having an air purifier to help cut down the allergens in the house. Try to keep doors and windows closed that includes in the car.

Your G.P may prescribe antihistamines for your child so it is worth visiting the doctor if the symptoms persist.

For more information go to Allergy UK at www.allergyuk.org or call 01132 619898

Food Allergies

What causes Food Allergy?
Food allergies are rare and happen when a harmless food is wrongly interpreted by the immune system as being harmful. The symptoms of allergy (such as tingling lips, and rashes) are due to the efforts of the immune system in tackling the food. In some cases the reaction is severe, and affected individuals must avoid the problem food. This is not to be mistaken for food intolerance which covers non-allergic problems with foods.

Who’s at Risk?
It is just a sad fact that some families are more prone to food allergies and intolerances than others these families are categorised as a topic. This means they are more likely to develop conditions such as asthma or eczema. However, being in an a topic family doesn’t automatically mean that your baby will be affected, but it does mean that the risk of developing an allergy is greater.

The government guidelines suggest that if you have allergies in your family that you:

Breast feed for six months or longer
Wait until your baby is at least 6 months before introducing foods which commonly cause allergy (cow’s milk, eggs, wheat, nuts and shellfish)

The most common allergy in babies is milk allergy (understandably as that is all they eat)

Symptoms The symptoms of cow's milk protein allergy will generally appear within the first few months of life. An infant can experience symptoms either very quickly after feeding (rapid onset) or not until 7 to 10 days after consuming the cow's milk protein (slower onset).

The slower-onset reaction is more common. Symptoms may include loose stools (possibly containing blood), vomiting, gagging, refusing food, irritability or colic, and skin rashes. This type of reaction is more difficult to diagnose because the same symptoms may occur with other health conditions. Most children will outgrow this form of allergy by 2 years of age.

Rapid-onset reactions come on suddenly with symptoms that can include irritability, vomiting, wheezing, swelling, hives, other itchy bumps on the skin, and bloody diarrhoea. In rare cases, a potentially severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis can occur and affect the baby's skin, stomach, breathing, and blood pressure. Anaphylaxis is more common in other food allergies than in a milk allergy.

Diagnosing a Milk Allergy
If you suspect that your infant is allergic to milk, call your baby's doctor. The doctor will likely ask about any family history of allergies or food intolerance and then do a physical exam. There's no single lab test to accurately diagnose a milk allergy, so your doctor might order several tests to make the diagnosis and rule out any other health problems. In addition to a stool test and a blood test, the doctor may order an allergy skin test, in which a small amount of the milk protein in inserted just under the surface of the child's skin with a needle. The doctor may also request an oral challenge test. After you stop feeding your baby milk for about a week, the doctor will have the infant consume milk, then wait for a few hours to watch for any allergic reaction.

Treating a Milk Allergy
If your baby has a milk allergy and you are breastfeeding, it's important to restrict the amount of dairy products that you ingest because the milk protein that's causing the allergic reaction can cross into your breast milk.

If you are formula-feeding your baby, your doctor may advise you to switch to a soy protein-based formula. If your infant can't tolerate soy, the doctor may have you switch to a hypoallergenic formula, one in which the proteins are broken down into particles so that the formula is less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.

If you suspect your baby has a food intolerance or allergy, talk to your doctor straight away.