Unfortunately, in the modern world, the frequency of allergies in children is steadily increasing. How to protect your child from food allergies so that there are no serious consequences?
It is necessary to think about the future health of the child even at the stage of intrauterine development. The most important rule of the expectant mother is diet. It is necessary to reduce the consumption of citrus fruits, vegetables and red fruits, chocolate.
How does allergy manifest in children?
Most often, characteristic symptoms appear almost immediately after eating. In severe cases, even the smell of food can cause an allergic reaction.
In addition to skin manifestations (rash, urticaria), it is possible to disrupt the activity of many body systems:
1) There may be changes in the work of the cardiovascular (tachy- or bradycardia, decreased blood pressure) and digestive systems (nausea, heartburn, vomiting, heaviness in the abdomen, diarrhea, regurgitation, flatulence, colic).
2) Respiratory disorders include: rhinitis, laryngitis, bronchial asthma.
Complications of food allergies can be: Quincke's edema, bronchospasm, anaphylactic shock (manifested by depression of consciousness, pallor or cyanosis of the skin, shortness of breath, pronounced decrease in blood pressure). If you do not provide help to the patient in time, the outcome can be fatal.
How to identify allergies?
First of all, it is necessary to identify allergenic foods. The allergist collects anamnesis, tells how to keep a food diary (indicate when, what and how much your baby ate, as well as reactions to certain types of foods).
There are so called "skin tests". For this, small scratches are made on the forearm and various allergens are dripped. This method is used only during the period of remission against the background of a hypoallergenic diet. And in the acute period, immunological tests are carried out, which make it possible to determine specific antibodies in the blood:
How to prevent allergies in a child?
If your child is at risk, be vigilant when taking any new types of food, watch the reaction of the body. You need to start with a small portion, gradually increasing it. If signs of allergy appear, the product should be discarded immediately.
The main principle of diet therapy is the exclusion of foods with increased sensitizing activity (eggs, cow's milk protein, citrus fruits). Within a month, you must follow this diet, then gradually try to introduce new foods into the baby's diet.
Any elimination diet (with the exclusion of foods that cause allergies) is carried out only under the supervision of a doctor!
