Childhood allergies

Main article: Allergy

For 2018, according to official statistics, in Russia every fourth child suffers from allergies, according to unofficial ones - at least half.

Causes of allergy

Among the causes of childhood allergies are:

• deterioration of the environmental situation,
• harmful products,
• lack of breastfeeding,
• uncontrolled use of drugs,
• excessive focus on sterility.

Disruption of the natural lifestyle led to the fact that the immune system, whose task is to protect the body, suddenly declares war. Why? The mechanism is simple: the child's immunity has not yet been formed and is only learning to distinguish between dangerous and safe external influences. Experts have repeatedly proven that children in rural areas have a significantly lower risk of allergies. And all because without constant contact with natural stimuli, the immune system begins to be lazy and randomly reacts to everything, and in the city of allergens at least enough. Finally, immunity finishes off taking antibiotics "just in case" and for any reason.

Types of allergies

Food allergy

Food allergies. It occurs when using products containing histamines, preservatives, antibiotics, flavors, stabilizers and dyes. Babies most often react to cow's milk and mixtures, older children - to citrus fruits, eggs, sugar, honey, tomatoes, nuts, red berries and wheat. The first signs of the disease are skin rashes, frequent regurgitation, long-term colic, bloating.

Animal allergy, plants and dust

Animal allergies, plants and dust. The cause of animal allergies can be not only wool, but also saliva, epithelial cells and urine. It is believed that the likelihood of an immune response is less if the child is in contact with a pet from the first day of his life. When responding to pollen from flowering plants, pollinosis occurs. Tiny dust mites cause an allergy to household dust. All these allergens lead to respiratory problems: itching in the nose, prolonged runny nose without other signs of a cold, frequent sneezing, nasal congestion, coughing and tearing. If action is not taken in time, allergic asthma or bronchitis may develop.

See Allergic rhinitis (AR)

Contact allergy

Contact allergies. Sources are household chemicals, cosmetics, insect bites, improperly selected diapers and bedding. For example, artificial latex-like mixtures and adhesive compositions are added to coconut coir mattresses to enhance strength, which lead to the evaporation of formaldehydes with a characteristic chemical odor and sooner or later cause allergies. Skin rashes are always located in the area of ​ ​ contact with the allergen, most often localized on the cheeks, chin, back, forearms, buttocks and abdomen. Lack of treatment can lead to eczema.

Drug allergy

Drug allergy. Most often occurs after a course of antibiotics against the background of dysbiosis, with an incorrect combination of drugs and long-term treatment with the same drug. It can cause both a local reaction in the form of urticaria and a life-threatening condition - anaphylactic shock.

Cross-allergy

Cross-allergy. There are cases when several antigens cause a reaction at once. For example, the immune system first reacts to the flowering of one plant, then another, increases the allergy combination of some plants with food.

Rules for combating childhood allergies

Food

Nutrition. If possible, do not deprive the child of breastfeeding, remember that mom's milk is the main building material for your baby's immunity. Follow a diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Make food only from fresh food, avoid canned, smoked and other products with a long shelf life - they contain harmful additives. Don't overfeed the baby. According to Dr. Komarovsky, the approach "is not so much as necessary, but how much it will fit" leads to the fact that the body is not able to digest all food and, as a result, gives an allergic reaction. As a rule, the child intuitively himself feels how much, what and when is.

Treatment

Treatment. Do not self-medicate. This applies to allergies, and other diseases, even a banal seasonal cold. Only a doctor will be able to choose the correct treatment, taking into account the peculiarities of your child and concomitant diseases. Avoid using a large number of medicines at the same time, this significantly increases the allergization of the body.

Home improvement

Home arrangement. Do wet cleaning regularly, ventilate the room and maintain optimal humidity levels. Do not smoke at home, passive smoking increases the risk of allergies and diseases of the respiratory system. Filter the water in which you bathe the baby, since tap water contains chlorine, use only children's cosmetics and special laundry powders. Get rid of breeding grounds for dust and harmful microorganisms: heavy curtains, carpets with a long pile, a large number of soft toys. Pay special attention to bedding. It is better to give preference to modern hypoallergenic materials, since, for example, a huge amount of harmful bacteria, mites and fungi literally lives in a down pillow, even with proper care, and poor-quality bedding contains dyes. For an allergic person, mattresses and pillows made of polyurethane foam are well suited: the material is environmentally friendly and completely eliminates the appearance of harmful undergrowths. Best of all, if the mattress has a CertiPUR mark on the packaging. It guarantees compliance with European standards for the emission of volatile substances.

General Immune Strengthening

General immune strengthening. For permanent housing, it is better to choose places of less accumulation of people, for example, the outskirts of the city or the near suburbs. Together with the doctor, develop a program to increase the child's immunity - hardening, proper regimen, healthy diet, sports, vitamins, etc.

Taking care of the psycho-emotional state

Take care of the psycho-emotional state of you and the child. According to psychotherapist Mark Sandomirsky, many allergic and pseudoallergic disorders are psychosomatic in nature. Simply put, the cause of the disease lies in a deep emotional internal conflict, which is reflected in physical condition. At the same time, the source of the disease is parents: their relationship with each other, with the child. Allergies become a kind of way to obtain emotional discharge and secondary benefits - it is more convenient to justify yourself through the disease than to realize what is happening and solve the problem. What should I do? According to the expert, parents (primarily mother) should understand and rework emotional conflicts, achieve reconciliation for the sake of child health. Modern psychotechnics teach methods of emotional and physical relaxation together with the baby, how to give him positive emotions and receive detente.

Doctors advise: do not dramatize or register your child as allergic for life, often with age the disease goes away. But, of course, you do not need to be removed if you see how he suffers.