Allergies can be caused by things like pollen, mould and dust mites. If your child starts sniffling and sneezing as the leaves start to fall, the New York Times has some excellent tips for easing symptoms and treating childhood allergies.

DO: Find the right doctor. Minor allergies can be treated by a family doctor with over-the-counter and prescription medicine. But when allergies become more troublesome, an allergist can be a big help.

Our oldest daughter had significant chronic allergies, and allergy testing helped us to discover that dust mites are a big issue for her, but that she’s not allergic to much else. So now we know that going outside to play during high pollen counts are OK, sleeping with piles and piles of stuffed animals is not.

DON’T: Let allergies go untreated. Allergies are so easily treated today, and keeping them in check prevents complications.

DO: Use allergy medication as directed. Some prescription nasal sprays work by preventing symptoms, not treating them, so they need to be taken every day. Talk to your doctor about the best treatment for your child.

DO: Reduce your child’s exposure to known allergens. Keep the cat out of the bedroom, vacuum and wet-dust frequently (when your child isn’t home), wash bedding weekly and limit stuffed animals in the bedroom.

DON’T: Waste a ton of money special products. Air filters and mattress covers may help, but their worth is unproven. (An unscientific aside: Our daughter’s allergies did seem to improve after we encased her pillow and mattress, but we bought inexpensive covers from Target, so it didn’t cost much.)

And here’s one of my own: DO consider using a Neti pot. Neti pots use a warm saline solution to gently wash the nasal passages. They are easy to use (though it takes a little getting used to) and relieve symptoms almost instantly, without the side effects of medication. As always, ask your doctor first.

Does your child suffer from nasal allergies? What are your best tips?

A new trial funded by the Department of Health’s Institute of Health Research will involve more than 100 seven to 17-year-olds.  Kids will be given ever-increasing doses of peanut flour mixed into yoghurt–up to the equivalent of 5 nuts a day.

An earlier, similar study of 23 kids resulted in 20 of them being able to tolerate 30 peanuts per day after a year.

Doctors feel that this larger study could determine whether this approach is truly viable.  If successful, they feel treatment will be available in 2-3 years.

If this works, a lot of parents out there will breathe a sigh of relief.  No more anxiously pouring over food labels.   Grilling restaurant servers about each and every ingredient in each and every dish would be a thing of the past.  Let’s hope that they’re on the right track.

Image:  Planters

Mackie, you see, is allergic to her baby.

The Telegraph reported that Mackie noticed the blotches after the first time she tried to feed him. Once the blisters had spread to her entire body and causing tremendous pain, she sought medical help.

A skin biopsy showed that Mackie suffered from a rare condition, Pemphigoid Gestationis, caused by an allergy that she developed during her pregnancy.

So for her son’s first few weeks of life, she couldn’t touch, hold or kiss her baby. She watched while her husband bathed him. She stood helpless while her husband went to comfort him.

Eventually, a round of steroids has brought the allergy under control. Now she cuddles him all she wants.

[AndersonCooper360 blog]

Photo: i.ehow.com

Doctors are alarmed at the increasing number of children suffering allergic reactions to fresh fruit and vegetables.

The number of Sydney children reacting allergically to fresh produce has doubled in the past 10 years with kiwifruit, melon and banana causing the most problems. Some specialists are blaming the rise on the spread of certain pollens that react with fruit and vegetables.

I must admit I thought I was pretty clued-up on anaphylaxis due to food allergies. But I had no idea fruit and vegetables were culprits.

Experts still don’t know why food allergy is on the rise. One suggestion is the hygiene hypothesis: that we’re living in a cleaner world and are not exposed to as many germs. As a result our immune systems aren’t tested by as many bacteria and so they react to foods instead.

Another theory is that food allergies are on the rise because children today have a more varied diet. For example more children are found to be allergic to sesame now that humous is widely eaten.

I hope scientists find some answers soon. The number of Australians who have food allergies is frightening.  An Access Economics report found in 2007, 4.1 million Australians had at least one allergy and that figure was expected to rise by 70 per cent to 7.7 million by 2050.

[Source]

But an allergy to water? Are you kidding me? How in the world to you (1) develop an allergy to water and (2) what in the world do you drink?

One mum in the U.K., Michaela Dutton, developed such an allergy — she’s one of 30 known people to have been afflicted by Aquagenic Urticaria — after giving birth to her son a few years ago. Since then, she has had to avoid the substance, which, as you know, makes up 90 some percent of our bodies (hers included!).

Here’s how she copes: she takes 10-second showers once a week, avoids the rain (a challenge, considering where she lives) and — worst of all — can only cuddle her son while she’s fully clothed, she can’t bathe him, she can’t wipe his tears. If he drips or drools on her, she breaks out into a severely painful rash.

From the Telegraph:

Nina Goad, from the British Association of Dermatologists said the
condition affected the equivalent of one in every 230 million people.

She said: “The precise causes remain unclear but small weals occur on the
skin at the site of contact with water of any temperature, usually on
the upper part of the body. It develops within 30 minutes of exposure
to water and can be caused by both hot and cold water.

So how does she live without water? She only drinks Diet Coke. Unimaginable!

Photo: Telegraph

Allergies are reactions in the immune system against certain foods or substances. There is no clear answer for why this is the case, but there is plenty of speculation. One theory is that excessively clean environments lead our immune systems to focus on foods rather than bacteria. Opinions diverge as to what, if anything, parents can do to prevent allergies. Most paediatricians agree not to introduce allergen foods like peanut butter too early. Breastfeeding is known to strengthen the immune system in babies and can help prevent allergies. Some specialists believe that if the mother avoids allergen foods while pregnant and breastfeeding, this may decrease the risk of the child developing allergies. However, there is contradictory research which suggests that small doses of allergens while breastfeeding may actually lessen the likelihood of allergies in children. Before fretting over whether or not you should have eaten peanuts when pregnant, it might be comforting to remember that true food allergies aren’t particularly common, only around two percent of children have them. Dr. Sears calls food allergies “under-diagnosed by physicians and over-diagnosed by everyone else.”

Dr. Sears
“Tracking Down Food Allergies”

“Food allergies have been called the great masqueraders because they are a hidden cause of so many problems, ranging from mere annoyances to downright disease. Food allergies tend to be underdiagnosed by physicians and overdiagnosed by everyone else. The truth about their prevalence is somewhere in between.” …read the full article

BabyCentre Australia
“Food Allergies and Intolerances”

“Any childhood allergy can potentially be outgrown, but our child’s chances of outgrowing a food allergy or intolerance partly depend on what he reacts to. Up to 90 per cent of children will outgrow cow’s milk and egg allergy, and cow’s milk protein intolerance, for example, while only about 10-20 per cent may outgrow nut allergies.” …read the full article

Westmead Children’s Hospital
“Food Allergies And Eczema”

“Many children with a positive allergy test can eat that food without a problem. Removing many common foods such as wheat, milk, soy and egg from the diet is difficult to manage, particularly as the child grows older.” …read the full article

Raising Children Network
“Lactose Intolerance”

“Sometimes, symptoms we think indicate lactose intolerance are actually caused by a food allergy. An allergy to milk, for example, affects bottle-fed babies more than breastfed babies because the majority of infant formulas are based on cow’s, goat’s or soy milk. ” …read the full article

Kids Allergies
“Allergic Reactions In Babies

“An allergy is an immune system response. When a particular substance – known as an allergen – is inhaled, injected, eaten or touched, the immune system releases histamines and other chemicals that result in a cascade of symptoms such as an itchy, blocked or runny nose, a sore throat, rashes or diarrhoea, amongst other things.” …read the full article

ADDITIONAL LINKS
Dr Greene
“Allergy Care Guide”

In one study of 33 children, participants were given gradually increasing daily doses of nuts, beginning with
just one-thousandth of a peanut and eventually increasing to 15 nuts. The majority of the kids have had no allergic reactions to the treatment, with five children being able to consume nuts at their leisure. However, four kids had to drop out of the study due to allergic reactions.

Another study of 18 children used a placebo to test the effectiveness of this treatment. All of the children who had been given a placebo over the course of 10 months developed allergic reactions to a real
dose of nuts, while all of the kids who had been given the actual therapy were able to eat 15 peanuts without incident.

Clearly, these are small numbers of children in only two studies, so researchers plan to test out the treatment on a much grander scale before making any official assessments. In other words, do not try this at
home.

Photo: New York Times

Her daughter Emily, has allergies to soy, peanut, tree nuts and sesame seed.

Finding it a struggle to prepare meals that the whole family could eat, she slowly started to build a recipe bank.

Once Samuel started kinder, things became harder.

Many children with anaphalactic allergies don’t get invited to friends houses as parents are worried about providing a safe environment. “I didn’t want my son to be a burden”, said Suzanna. On the flipside, the parents of allergic children may find it equally hard to not be there to police everything their child eats.

Luckily, the other mums at kinder were supportive, asking lots of questions about Samuels’s allergies and advice for safe meals. Soon the idea was born for an allergy-friendly party food cookbook as a kinder fundraiser.

Suzanna put together a little party food book which went on to sell 100 copies and make $1200 for the Kinder fund. The copies spread far and wide, until one day she received a call from a book publisher.

And so Allergy-Safe Family Food was born. The book contains over 100 recipes, most of which avoid all eight foods which cause 90% of allergy problems: nuts, eggs, milk, soy, sesame seeds, wheat, fish and shellfish.

It’s broken down into starters, main meals and sweet treats and includes information Suzanna found it impossible to find herself, such as an allergy-safe shopping guide.

“You practically need a science degree to read food labels” she says, noting that there are 28 alternatives to ‘egg’ that manufacturers may list on an ingredients panel.

For Suzanna, a former registered nurse and midwife, the book is just one part of her mission to educate the community about food allergies. Food allergy rates in children are up to 1 in 20 and rising and 86% of allergies are food related.

“I look forward to my children, and all children with allergies, being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood, such as sleepovers, play dates and parties, without worry or fear.”

The fear is understandable. Anaphylaxis is a fatal condition, with several deaths a year Australia-wide. Alarmingly, only one state in Australia currently makes allergy and anaphylaxis training mandatory for all schools and childcare centres.

Most deaths occur in the 13-21 age group, as teenagers spend more time away from their families and need to make their own food choices. Nevertheless, Suzanna believes that “deaths are avoidable”.

Now a full-time mother, Suzanna also acts as an Anaphylaxis Awareness Trainer, providing workplaces and organisations with training and awareness of allergies and anaphylaxis, including the administration of an EpiPen, which delivers life-saving adrenaline to a person undergoing an anaphylaxis attack.

But at the heart of the book is simply a desire to create recipes that lead to inclusion for all family members and friends – after all, food is at the centre of most Australian celebrations.

“When members of our extended family visit, we find ourselves catering for egg, peanut, tree nut, soy, dairy, sesame seed and gluten allergies. That is seven of the nine main food allergens! We all enjoy good food and many laughs together.”

Allergy-Safe Family Food is available from Harper Collins for $19.99.

As reported in The Age,

About one in every 200 children born in 1995 developed the allergy by age six, according to an ACT-based study which has national application.

The incidence jumped to about one in every 140 children when the study was conducted on six-year-olds born in 2001.

Dr Ray Mullins crunched the figures again for babies born in 2004 and found the rate had climbed again.

This time it was about one in every 90 children, and this cohort would not be six for another year, meaning more cases were likely to emerge.

Dr Mullins, a clinical immunology and allergy physician, says that the results of the study reinforce anecdotal evidence from allergy clinics: “that we have seen a flood, a tsunami, of little kids with food allergy.”

If that’s not worrying enough, the fact is that we still have no idea what causes food allergies. As with autism, it seems to be something about the Western lifestyle. Changing guidelines around the introduction of solid foods to infants has made no difference to allergy rates, instead it may have made the situation worse.

Now The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy says there is no reason to delay the introduction of potential allergens past 6 months. Wheat, dairy, eggs and nuts – go for your life apparently. As a parent, it’s so hard to keep up with these changing guidelines. I hope more funding goes to to immunology research so we can figure out whats causing these allergies once and for all.

The rise in false allergy diagnoses is due to a little something called modern convenience. (Speed coming at the price of accuracy? No!) Instead of administering lengthy food challenges—in which doctors watch children consume a whole variety of foods—most doctors now test for allergies by giving kids a blood test for certain antibodies. The problem is that this test falsely identifies allergies more than half of the time.

Given this finding and other studies that have linked early peanut exposure to a lower allergy risk, doctors’ groups are considering revising allergy guidelines to encourage parents to introduce high-risk foods like peanuts and shellfish earlier rather than later.

In the meantime, parents may need to start relying more heavily on the only tried-and-true allergy test there is: if your kid can eat it, he’s not allergic.

Photo: MSNBC