the itchy and scratchy show
Filed Under Tips & Tricks | July 30, 2010
Allergies are confusing things. Some are seasonal, some are to food, some may be sensitivities and others may be outgrown or develop later in life. We took some of our top allergy questions and interviewed Dr. Sanjay Mohan Ram of the Crossroads Naturopathic Clinic to get more background on allergies and how to treat them in a natural way.
What are common seasonal summer allergies that affect kids?
Just as in spring, the biggest summer allergy trigger is pollen. Trees are generally done pollinating by late spring, leaving grasses and weeds as the biggest contributors to summer allergies. When pollen gets into the noses of certain people, they send the immune system into a hyperactive state.
The top weed allergens are Ragweed, Cocklebur, and Pigweed. The top grass allergens are Speargrass, Sage brush and Needle-and-thread Grass.
Dust mites are another common indoor allergen. Because they thrive in warm, humid temperatures, dust mite populations peak during the summer months. They nest in beds, fabric, and carpets. Moreover, their residue can get into the air, and into the nose, triggering sneezing, wheezing, and runny noses.
Are they hereditary? At what ages in kids do allergies usually present themselves?
The tendency to be allergic is often inherited, although some family members may differ widely in the kinds of things they are allergic to. One child may have asthma, while another is prone to hay fever. However, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life, as recommended by the Canadian Paediatric Society, helps to decrease the incidence of allergies in the early years of life.
You can also develop seasonal allergies after you are exposed to the allergens. It usually happens during the first few years of life, but it can happen anytime too – even well into adulthood. Sometimes a child’s allergy symptoms will diminish later in life, or even go away completely.
What causes them?
In allergies, airborne pollen or spores from various seasonal plants enter the body through the eyes, nose, or throat, and trigger an allergic response. Normally, the immune system does not react to these mild substances. But in sensitive individuals, the body’s defence mechanism views these allergens as it would an infectious agent and mounts an immune response. Once the immune system has detected the “invader,” it sets free a cascade of chemicals such as histamine and other compounds resulting in localized inflammation that leads to discomfort and allergies. The symptoms of an allergic reaction begin 5 to 10 minutes after allergen exposure, subside within an hour, and may return two to four hours later, depending on the levels of exposure.
How can you recognize the symptoms, especially in babies when they can’t tell you how they feel?
You cannot always recognize symptoms, and especially not in babies. For instance, many babies develop a wheeze when they get an upper respiratory tract infection. It isn’t usually the sign of an allergy, and most babies will outgrow the tendency to wheeze when they have a cold as they mature. If the wheeze often occurs in the absence of a cold, and it is still there at age three, there is an increased chance that the child has allergies or asthma.
How can they be diagnosed?
One way to detect the cause of an allergy is with skin prick tests, especially for allergic contact eczema, but these are unreliable in babies under 18 months of age.
However, babies sometimes develop allergies to foods, such as wheat, eggs, milk, soy products, nuts, shellfish, fish and citrus fruit. The symptoms of a true food allergy, such as a rash or wheezing, or swelling of the lips and tongue, generally appear within an hour of eating. If you suspect your baby may be allergic to a certain food, there are certain blood tests which can be ordered.
How can they be treated naturopathically?
For children, a hypoallergenic diet would be a starting point. This would include the certain foods in the diet, such as dark green, leafy vegetables, deep yellow and orange vegetables, carrots and yams. You could also eliminate offending agents from the diet, such as, dairy products, bananas, citrus fruit, chocolate, food colorings (tartrazine), peanuts, sugar, and wheat.
Supplements which include probiotics, Vitamin C, Selenium or Zinc are also beneficial. Nasal saline rinses are also beneficial for the congestion from seasonal allergies.
With infants, probiotics and homeopathic remedies, such as Allium cepa, Euphrasia or Natrum Muriaticum, are some the available options.
Is there any way to prevent allergies?
The simplest way to eliminate the problem of allergies in babies and children is to remove the cause. Potential allergens include tobacco smoke, down and feather pillows, perfume, pet hairs, dust mites, and wool blankets. Your child’s stuffed toy collection, which is a real magnet for dust mites, should be washed frequently.
If your child is allergic to airborne pollen, keep him indoors during heavy-pollen periods and on windy days, bathe him frequently, and avoid opening the windows on windy days.
Pets that cause an allergic reaction should be kept outside, or at least restricted to a certain area of the house. Keep your baby’s room as dust-free as possible. Clean frequently to keep dust to a minimum, though it’s not really the dust itself that’s the problem but dust mites.
Dr. Sanjay Mohan Ram has a Physiology Honours Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of British Columbia and went on to study at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Mohan Ram treats a wide array of health concerns from infant/child to adolescent to adult and seniors’ health concerns. He treats digestive health concerns (e.g. IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis), cardiovascular health (including hypertension, high cholesterol), hormonal health (e.g. PMS, infertility, endocrine disorders, menopause), sports medicine and musculoskeletal injuries, arthritis and osteoporosis, food and seasonal allergies, skin diseases and weight management.
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Heard recently that sufferers from seasonal allergies may be suffering longer each year due to global warming. Here are some sites that talk a bit about it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35879428/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/30/eveningnews/main1772819.shtml
Fantastic article, thank you for sharing! My son used to suffer from terrible allergies, and I really found probiotics to be of use, as you said. I actually buy an English brand called OptiBac – these are specialists in probiotics and so I have complete faith in their kid’s formula. I’d highly recommend going for a probiotic – a proper probiotic supplement as opposed to one of these sugary yoghurt drinks.