Allergies : Children and prevention

An estimated 20–25% of Canadians suffer from seasonal allergies. If an adult or child is suspected of having allergies, the first question to ask is whether someone else in the immediate family is a known allergy sufferer.

Heredity seems to play a key role in the development of allergies, including allergic rhinitis. If the parents suffer from an allergy, regardless of what kind, the odds are pretty good that the child will too:

• If it’s the mother, there’s a 30–40% risk of the child having allergic reactions
• If it’s the father, there’s a 30% risk
• If it’s both parents, the risk jumps to 70–80%

Moreover, the following factors make you more predisposed to seasonal allergies:

• You’re a man, so more prone to allergies
• You were born during pollen season
• You are a first-born child 
• You were exposed to cigarette smoke during your first year of life 
• You were exposed to dust mites

Given that seasonal allergies usually stem from a genetic predisposition, they are often accompanied by asthma or neurodermatitis (e.g. eczema), creating what doctors call an “atopic triad.” 

It’s not the allergy itself that you inherit, but rather a dysfunction of the metabolic process and the immune system. 

So if the youngest little member of your family has started scratching the folds of her elbows or knees and her parents suffer from allergies, there’s a good chance she’ll develop a pollen allergy.

For most people, seasonal allergy symptoms will show up during one or all of the periods likely to cause allergies:

• In early spring (mid-March to late June): allergies are caused by the pollen of certain tree and shrub species like birch, maple and poplar.
• In summer (late May to mid-September): allergies are caused by grass species such as typical lawn grasses, wheat, corn, etc.
• Fall (late July to October): ragweed allergies.

To help desensitize you to allergens before allergy season arrives, Pollinosan Allergy Relief Tablets can be a lifesaver. It has been noted that seasonal allergy symptoms diminish or disappear completely for some people after taking Allergy Relief for a few years during allergy season.

So regardless of your age, you can get a head start to help fend off allergies. All you need to do is take Allergy Relief a month before allergy season begins. This plant-based preparation helps minimize allergic reactions over the long term, and during allergy season it acts on the symptoms while boosting your body’s natural defences against allergens. This allows your body to prepare for and even avoid the allergic reaction altogether. 

The way Allergy Relief works is very different from other allergy products. Rather than simply targeting allergic symptoms, Allergy Relief helps drain from the body the toxins that cause allergic symptoms and overload the immune system. Allergy Relief is therefore recommended for fighting seasonal allergies because it helps the immune system get back to normal.

Allergy Relief in tablet form is safe for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women; the tablets can be taken a few weeks (or a month) before and during allergy season. 

By immediately making a few changes to your diet, you can reduce your seasonal allergy symptoms.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies in spring and summer, it’s best not to overload your body in winter with foods that make your body secrete mucus. 

Milk is often blamed for being one of those foods. People who are lactose-intolerant are more likely to see their allergy symptoms worsen when they have dairy products. This is caused by the poor breakdown of lactoalbumins and lactoglobulins, the symptoms of which include secretions, the formation of mucus and rhinitis. Even though milk is considered to be a healthy food, not everyone can tolerate it.

The following is a list of the kinds of foods that cause the body to produce mucus and which are therefore best avoied during the seasonal allergy period:

• Sauces containing butter and cream
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and food colouring
• Cold cuts
• Fried foods
• Dairy products
• Alcohol
• Bananas
• Foods containing gluten
• Refined sugar

Get a head start this year by preparing yourself and your family so that you can all enjoy the marvels of nature’s reawakening!

http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1172918/what-is-atopic-dermatitis
http://sante-medecine.commentcamarche.net/
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (Ed). Diseases & Conditions – Hay Fever, MayoClinic.com.