Childhood Allergies Causes And Transmission: What You Need To Do As A Parent

If childhood allergies are identified early on, it will improve the quality of life both for the child and the family and reduce school absenteeism and parental stress.

Allergic diseases are one of the key challenges in health management worldwide and it can make one feel like a zombie. Although it is difficult to point one reason for increasing incidences of allergies around the world, changing environmental factors and genetics play an important role. Allergies can involve all systems, but it may manifest in one or more. Early identification of childhood allergies will improve the quality of life both for the child and the family and reduce school absenteeism and parental stress. Innumerable allergens may cause allergies and to find exact allergen is impossible.

Transmission of allergens

Allergens can be transmitted via air, food or by direct contact. But airborne allergens are the commonest.

Automobile fumes are very high risk specially for children as these fumes are heavy and concentrate at around 3-4 feet which is the height of children.
This is seasonal and risk is high in April-May and Sept-October.
In winters viruses can be bad allergens.
The other common type is food allergy. Reactions vary from urticaria to anaphylaxis and death. Most children tend to outgrow milk and egg allergies.

Common Symptoms

Some of the most common symptoms of allergies are

Common Allergy Triggers

There are many triggers for allergies. Some of the common ones are

Outdoor triggers: Smog, dust, air pollutants, pollens, insect bites or stings
Indoor triggers: Pet's furs, cockroach dander, dust mites, (carpets, cushions, mattresses, curtains), mold
Irritants: Cigarette smoke-direct or passive, coal and wood fire smoke, perfume, aggarbattis, chalk dust, car exhaust, vehicle tyres rubbing on roads also produce dangerous particles
Foods: Tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, cow's milk, wheat.
Allergic rhinitis: It is most common, the symptoms include runny, itchy nose, sneezing and blocked nose (turbinate hypertrophy) along with itchy, watery red eyes, as well as itchy painful ears and chronic ear problems- like fluid collection in the ears causing decreased hearing and poor speech development in long run. Severe blocked nose and mouth breathing cause dry throat, infections of throat, lack of sleep and sleep apnoea and poor school performance. Severe congestion of surrounding areas leads to symptoms like headache, a swollen tongue, loss of taste and smell. Allergens can trigger rashes like eczema and about 50% may have other allergic manifestations also.

Food allergies in children

The common food allergens include eggs, tree nuts (pistachio, cashews, walnuts), wheat, soy and milk specially cow's milk, a favourite in Indian homes, fish and sea food (crab, lobster, crayfish and shrimp). Allergies tend to last lifelong although children often outgrow allergies to milk, eggs, soy and wheat.

Important information for parents

If you have a child who is prone to allergies, keep the following things in mind.

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All parents should be aware of the possibility of anaphylaxis a potentially life-threatening
reaction which impairs breathing, low blood and shock.
Parents must inform school authorities of any allergies.
Physical education and sports are an important part of the school curriculum. Children with asthma and allergic problems should participate in all sport activities.
For asthma, prescribed controller medication should be administered by an inhaler before exercise to prevent any symptoms in asthmatic children.
Diagnostic tests have limited value in identifying the offending allergen. Skin prick tests and blood tests are available in the field of diagnostics but have limited role. some supportive test can be done to establish allergy but then all cases may not show positive results.
Symptoms can be relieved by drugs like antihistamines, anticholinergics, leukotriene-modifying agents, topical and systemic steroids.
Immunotherapy against the confirmed antigens can be tried but again this is not very successful because identifying a single allergen is impossible.

(This article is authored by Dr Premila Paul, MD paediatrics, Academic and DNB coordinator, Madhukar Rainbow Children's hospital new Delhi)