Taking care of a child until he/she is grown up is not an easy task. Sickness requires most of your attention as part of this responsibility. There are many diseases which can make your little one sick.
Apart from sicknesses such as common cold and fever, allergy is a condition that worries us the most. “My baby has a dust allergy, he will get an allergy if he eats this” These are things that we often hear mothers say.
What actually is this concern that we call an allergy?
An allergy is basically the hypersensitivity displayed by our bodies to certain things. Simply speaking, as soon as something enters our bodies, the immune system jumps into action and decides whether to destroy the substance or not. If it’s a germ that has entered the body, it will react against it and destroy it. In allergies, the problem is an unnecessary reaction of the immune system. When the immune system reacts to a harmless substance mistaking it to be harmful, various allergies will occur in the body.
Examples are rashes, itchiness, sneezing, and swellings. If any of these appear without a reason, you can suspect it to be an allergy caused by something. Although adults’ allergies can be easily identified, children’s allergies cannot be identified with 100% accuracy. This is why parents need to have a good knowledge about these allergies.
Most of the time, these conditions arise due to genetic factors. If a parent has a certain allergy there is a chance that the child too has the same. Environmental factors as well can influence this health condition. Small things in your environment such as dust, grass, perfumes, animal fur can cause allergies. Asthma is also considered to be such a condition. Since it’s difficult to identify children’s allergies with 100% accuracy as mentioned before, it is very important for you to learn about situations that can cause them.
It is crucial to know about food types that can cause allergies and also about symptoms. The lactose in foods such as wheat flour and milk can cause allergies. Food such as eggs and nuts can cause allergies that may result in breathing difficulty, swelling of the windpipe, noise inside the chest, itchiness, and swelling of the skin. Food such as prawns and cuttlefish can cause diarrhea, itchiness, and swelling of the skin, and cough. Food such as pineapple and tomatoes are also among high-risk foods that can trigger allergic reactions.
Not only food, certain types of medicine too can trigger allergic reactions. Nasal drops, syrups, pills, and capsules can cause allergies, and medicine such as penicillin can trigger simple allergic reactions such as rashes in some people, and itchiness, fever, and dehydration for others. Some allergic conditions can get very severe even resulting in death. Conditions such as breathing difficulty, asthma, and low blood pressure are considered to be dangerous. Besides food and medicine, allergies can also occur due to dust, pet fur, and clothes.
If you know that your child has allergies, it is good to maintain a record. For an example, if you can provide a clear report of what the child ate and the relevant symptoms, it will be easier for the doctor to determine what’s causing the allergy.
Now you know that an allergy is not just a skin irritation. Recognizing changes in your child and identifying the reason for those changes can help you determine whether it really is an allergic condition or not.
What can you do when the child is suffering from an allergy?
Firstly, you must seek medical advice for the child. Then the doctor will prescribe the required antihistamine medicines that are given for allergies. If you give the right medication according to the type of allergy your child has, you’ll be able to prevent it from getting severe. Patients with h4 allergic reactions are given medicines that fall under the category of steroids, and adrenalin is given to lower the intensity of the allergy. As doctors prescribe inhalers in such a situation, the allergy is controlled instantly. The reason is that through an inhaler, the medicine goes straight to the lungs, and only a minimum amount of the medicine enters the bloodstream. This lowers the risk of side effects. All this will happen only according to the doctor’s prescription, and you need to follow his instructions to the word. Also, when taking medication for allergies, you do not need to do it for life. You can gradually reduce the dosage according to doctors advice. If your child shows unusual allergic reactions, for example, life-threatening conditions such as unconsciousness and weakness, it is important to know about the injections that should be given in such situations and to discuss with the doctor and get trained in how to administer them.
If your child is allergic to medicine, every time medicine is prescribed for the child or when injections are given, tell your doctor about your child’s allergies.
In all allergies, what is seen from the outside is minor. But internally, more things are happening. Ignoring these conditions can even result in loss of life. Therefore, as parents, you must keep in mind to pay attention to your child’s allergies.
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