How allergic reactions manifest in a child - symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Allergy in a child: why professional treatment is necessary? Allergy in a child to everything to do

Science and medicine have not yet made accurate conclusions about why allergies can develop in children. However, there are certain factors that contribute to the development of allergic reactions in the baby. So, for example, if a mother during pregnancy abused foods that are famous for allergens - for example, nuts, citrus fruits, honey, smoked meats, then it is quite possible that the newborn will have signs of allergies. If the mother refused breastfeeding or its duration was extremely short, the allergy can manifest itself in all its glory. After all, an allergy is an immune response of the body, and if the child does not receive the necessary antibodies from the mother, then the risk of developing the disease increases. It can also be provoked by a wide variety of food habits of the child - sweets, chocolate, fruits, especially tangerines and oranges. The allergens contained in these products can provoke sensitization in a child - the development of hypersensitivity to such substances. As a result of the immune response, the body reacts violently to the allergen, and with its subsequent use, an allergic reaction develops. Among the numerous other reasons that can provoke the development of allergies are frequent infectious diseases, constant contact with allergens - dust, animal skin, household chemicals, including baby skin care products. 1,2,4

But the common opinion that allergies are inherited is not so often confirmed in practice. Even if both parents suffer from allergic diseases, the risk of developing the disease in the offspring is approximately 60%. four

Kinds

Symptoms and signs

Diagnosing and prescribing the treatment of childhood allergies is often a real quest for specialists, because the manifestations of allergic diseases in children are diverse, moreover, they often “hide” under other diseases or occur simultaneously with them. So, for example, the diagnosis of allergic enteropathy is difficult, since it is easily disguised as a manifestation of other diseases, such as colic or dyspepsia. However, there are the most common manifestations of the disease, allowing you to more accurately determine their cause.

So, for example, the symptoms of rhinitis (nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose) indicate a respiratory (respiratory) allergy in response to the allergen entering the respiratory mucosa. In more severe cases, respiratory allergies are accompanied by a dry, obsessive cough, shortness of breath, and wheezing. A kind of "peak" becomes bronchial asthma. 1,3,4

Skin rashes on the cheeks, bends of the elbows and knees, behind the ears, around the eyes and wings of the nose, on the buttocks signal allergic dermatitis, which in children is often provoked by food, cold and drug allergies. 1.4

If the child's eyelids turn red, tears flow profusely (while he is in a normal mood), mucus in the corners of the eyes, itchy eyes - all this may be the result of allergic conjunctivitis.

But the most dangerous symptoms are anaphylactic shock, an allergic reaction of an immediate type that requires urgent medical attention. These include pallor, clammy cold sweat, shortness of breath, convulsions or twitching of certain parts of the body, involuntary urination and defecation, loss of consciousness, infrequent breathing, and a decrease in heart rate. 1.4

Diagnostic methods

If you suspect an allergy, you need to contact a pediatrician who, after conducting an initial examination, will refer the child to an allergist. And already there the doctor will prescribe all the necessary procedures that will help to understand exactly what kind of allergic reaction and what the child has. This includes skin tests and a blood test for general and specific IgE. As well as provocative tests with the application of the drug with an allergen on the mucous membrane of the eye, nose, respiratory tract, inside. Naturally, this study is carried out only under the supervision of a physician. 1.4

Diagnosis established

As with allergies in adults, the first thing to start with is to avoid contact with the allergen. For example, install filters and air washers, change the child's diet, start keeping a special diary in which to write down the menu of each day and carefully monitor it. in cases of allergy in infants, changes in nutrition will also affect the nursing mother. If these measures do not help to keep the disease under control, then after the examination, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment, including taking antihistamines and corticosteroid drugs (for allergies that are difficult to control and treat with conventional methods), substances that relieve swelling of the nasal mucosa (for rhinitis, hay fever), and also the method of allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), in which the child is injected with an allergen preparation, starting with microscopic doses, gradually increasing them. This technique trains the body, accustoming it to calmly react to the allergen, and then completely get rid of hypersensitivity. 1,3,4

Prevention

If the baby has a predisposition to allergies or the disease has already been diagnosed, then a number of measures must be followed to reduce the risk of repeated attacks. For example, keep breastfeeding as long as possible, adhering to an independent hypoallergenic diet. Be careful when introducing new foods into your diet. Refuse household items that can accumulate allergens: carpets, curtains, old bedding, books. Daily wet cleaning using special hypoallergenic household chemicals. Use sinks and humidifiers. And also dress the baby in things made of hypoallergenic fabrics. 2.3

Allergens in food are the ingredients that are responsible for "igniting" an allergic reaction. They are proteins that are usually preserved after heat treatment, withstand exposure to stomach acid and intestinal digestive enzymes. Eventually, the allergens survive, pass through the gastrointestinal lining, enter the bloodstream, and cause allergic reactions throughout the body.

Mechanism of food allergy

An allergic reaction involves two components of the immune system. One of the components is a type of protein, the allergy antibody immunoglobulin E (IgE), that circulates in the bloodstream. The other is the mast cell, a specialized structure that stores histamine and is found in all body tissues. Mast cells are especially abundant in areas of the body that are commonly involved in allergic reactions (nose and throat, lungs, skin, and intestines).

A food allergy is a hypersensitivity reaction. This implies that before a reaction to an allergen in a food can occur, a person must first "sensitize" the food. Upon initial exposure, the allergen stimulates lymphocytes (specialized white blood cells) to produce an IgE antibody specific for the allergen. This IgE is then released and attached to mast cells in various body tissues.

When a person repeatedly eats this particular food, its allergen removes a specific IgE antibody from the mast cells and induces the cells to release the substance histamine. Depending on the area where histamine is released, different food allergy symptoms occur.

The reasons

Allergies of any kind are on the rise for many reasons:

• Foods that may not have caused allergies in the past may affect children and adults differently in our changing world. Climate and chemicals affect what we eat and what we feed our children;
• an individual's tendency to produce IgE against something seemingly innocuous, like food, is inherited. As a rule, such reactions are common in children with allergies in families. Not necessarily food. You may have allergies to pollen, wool, feathers, or medications. Children with allergic parents have a 40-70% chance of developing allergies. The risk drops to 20 to 30% if only one parent has an allergy, and it drops to 10% if neither parent has the reaction.

Thus, a child with two allergic parents is more likely to develop a food allergy than a child with one parent with an allergy.

Symptoms of food allergies in children

All manifestations of food allergy in a child become noticeable from a few minutes to an hour after eating.

1. A food allergy may initially manifest as itching in the mouth and difficulty swallowing and breathing.
2. Then, when the food is digested in the stomach and intestines, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain may begin. Incidentally, the gastrointestinal symptoms of a food allergy are those that are most often confused with signs of various types of food intolerance.
3. Allergens are absorbed and enter the bloodstream. When they reach the skin, they cause hives or, and when they get into the respiratory tract, they can cause asthma.
4. If allergens leak through the blood vessels, they can cause confusion, weakness, and anaphylaxis (this is a consequence of a sharp drop in blood pressure).

Anaphylaxis is a serious reaction, even when it starts with mild symptoms (tingling in the mouth, throat, or abdominal discomfort). The reaction can be fatal if you don't react quickly.

Food allergy not mediated by IgE

Non-IgE mediated food allergies are caused by a reaction involving components of the immune system other than IgE antibodies. Reactions do not appear immediately after eating and are usually related to intestinal manifestations such as vomiting, bloating and diarrhea.

The mechanism of non-IgE-mediated allergy is not well understood. Although the immune system is thought to be involved, IgE antibodies are not associated with this condition.

Non-IgE mediated food allergy is less well understood than IgE mediated food allergy. Because symptoms are usually delayed compared to IgE-mediated food allergy, it is more difficult to find a link between eating certain foods and symptoms.

The most common causative foods for this type of allergy are cow's milk and soy proteins in infants, and wheat in older children. Unlike IgE-mediated food allergies, this category is very rarely life-threatening because they do not result in anaphylaxis.

How does non-IgE food allergy manifest itself in children?

Dietary Protein Enterocolitis Syndrome

It is an immune response in the gastrointestinal system to one or more specific foods. Usually characterized by profuse vomiting and. When the problematic food is removed, all symptoms disappear.

The presence of enterocolitis syndrome does not exclude the possibility of other manifestations of allergy.

The most common foods that cause enterocolitis syndrome are cow's milk and soy. However, any food can provoke such a reaction. Even those that are not usually considered allergenic (rice, oats and barley).

Enterocolitis syndrome often manifests itself in the first weeks or months of life or at an older age in an infant. Reactions usually occur when the first products () or formula are introduced.

As with all cases, the severity and duration of symptoms can vary. In contrast to traditional IgE-mediated allergies, enterocolitis syndrome does not present with itching, urticaria, swelling, or cough. Signs usually only involve the gastrointestinal system, with no other organs involved.

Eosinophilic esophagitis

It is an allergic disorder of the swallowing reflex. This disorder affects the esophagus, the part of the gastrointestinal tract that connects the back of the throat to the stomach. Eosinophilic esophagitis occurs when a type of white blood cell called eosinophils builds up in the esophagus. It is often caused by food.

An eosinophil is a cell that performs many roles. Some roles are specific, others are not, which means that there are a number of different processes in the body that lead to the appearance of eosinophils.

Eosinophilic disorders can occur in different areas of the gastrointestinal tract. Eosinophilic esophagitis occurs when an abnormal amount of eosinophils accumulate in the esophagus.

Not only various foods, but diseases can cause this abnormal production and accumulation of eosinophils in the esophagus, and these sources should also be considered.

Some other reasons include:

• gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD);
• other forms of esophagitis that damage the lining of the esophagus;
• infection;
• inflammatory bowel disease.

Eosinophilic esophagitis affects people of all ages, gender, and ethnicity. There may be a hereditary tendency in families.

Symptoms in infants and children under 3 years of age are irritability, eating problems, and poor weight gain. Older children may have acid reflux, vomiting, chest and stomach pain, and a feeling that food is "stuck" in the throat. Manifestations may occur within days or weeks after consumption of the food allergen.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is treated with special diets that eliminate the foods that cause the condition. Medications may also be used to reduce inflammation.

Allergic proctocolitis

Allergic proctocolitis is a manifestation of an allergy to a mixture or. In this condition, the lower part of the intestine becomes inflamed. The disease affects infants in their first year of life and usually ends at 1 year of age.

Symptoms include bloody, watery stools with mucus. Babies also have green stools, diarrhea, vomiting, anemia, and excessive moodiness. With a correct diagnosis, symptoms resolve after the allergenic food is removed from the diet.

What is cross reactivity?

Cross-reactivity is the occurrence of reactions to a product that is chemically or otherwise associated with products known to cause allergies. When a child has a severe reaction to a particular food, the physician will advise that patient to avoid associated foods that may also cause the same reaction.

For example, when a child has a history of severe allergies to shrimp, they may also have reactions to crabs, lobsters, and crayfish.

oral allergy syndrome

Oral allergy syndrome is another type of cross-reactivity. This syndrome occurs in children who are very sensitive, for example, to nectar or plant pollen. During the period when these plants are pollinated, you may find that when eating fruits, mainly melon and apple, the child quickly develops an itchy sensation in the mouth and throat. This syndrome affects 50% of patients with allergic rhinitis provoked by pollen.

Symptoms appear quickly after eating fresh or raw foods. Itching, irritation, and mild swelling of the lips, palate, tongue, and throat develop. Cooked fruits and vegetables usually do not cause a reaction.

Symptoms usually go away after a few minutes, although up to 10% of people will develop systemic symptoms, and a small number (1-2%) may experience anaphylactic shock. Tree nuts and peanuts tend to cause more severe reactions than other foods.

Food allergy triggered by exercise

Exercise can trigger an allergic reaction to food. A common scenario is when a child eats some food and then exercises. As the action progresses, his body temperature rises, itching and dizziness appear, and characteristic allergic reactions soon develop in the form of hives, difficulty breathing, abdominal symptoms, and even anaphylaxis.

The treatment (actually a preventative measure) for exercise-induced food allergies is to not eat 2 hours before exercise.

Conditions similar to food allergies

It is extremely important to distinguish true food allergy from other abnormal reactions to food, that is, from food intolerance, which occurs with many other diseases or food poisoning when spoiled food is eaten.

If you say to the doctor, "I think my child has a food allergy," the specialist needs to consider a number of diagnoses. Possible diagnoses include not only food allergies, but also other diseases that have symptoms caused by eating certain foods.

These include reactions to certain chemicals in food, such as histamine or food additives, food poisoning, and other gastrointestinal conditions.

Histamine

Some naturally occurring substances (such as histamine) in foods can trigger allergic-like reactions. A large amount of histamine is found in cheese, some types of fish, especially tuna and mackerel.

If a child has consumed a product that contains a lot of histamine, poisoning with this substance may occur, which is very similar to an allergic reaction.

Nutritional supplements

Another type of food intolerance is a negative reaction to specific compounds added to food to improve taste, provide color, or prevent microbial growth. Consuming excessive amounts of these substances can cause symptoms that mimic the full spectrum of allergic reactions.

Although some physicians attribute childhood hyperactivity to the use of nutritional supplements, the evidence is not conclusive and the cause of this behavioral disorder remains uncertain.

A compound often associated with adverse reactions that can be confused with food allergies is the yellow dye monosodium glutamate. Yellow dye can cause hives, although rarely.

Monosodium glutamate enhances the taste, but if consumed excessively, it can cause redness of the face, a feeling of heat, confusion, headache, a feeling of fullness in the face, chest pain. These symptoms appear almost immediately after eating an excessive amount of food containing added monosodium glutamate and are temporary.

Food poisoning

Food contaminated with bacteria and toxins is a common cause of food poisoning. Eating contaminated eggs, lettuce, meat, or milk causes symptoms that mimic a food allergy. Common microbes that can cause poisoning are Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Vibrio vulnificus, and E. coli.

Lactase deficiency (lactose intolerance)

Another cause of food intolerance that is regularly confused with food allergies, especially milk, is lactase deficiency. This common food intolerance affects one in 10 children. Lactase is an enzyme in the lining of the small intestine. It digests (breaks down) lactose into simple sugars.

If a child is lactase deficient, they do not have enough of this enzyme to digest the lactose in most milk products. Instead, other bacteria in the gut use the undigested lactose, thereby producing gas. Manifestations of lactose intolerance include bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

In general, food intolerance shares some symptoms with allergies, so people often confuse the two.

A food intolerance is completely different from an allergy because it is not associated with the functioning of the immune system. Intolerance occurs due to the inefficiency of the digestive system in digesting certain components.

celiac disease

This condition is associated with gluten intolerance.

Celiac disease is caused by a unique abnormal immune response to certain components of gluten, which is a constituent of wheat, barley, and rye grains.

Although sometimes referred to as a gluten allergy, studies have shown that this immune response involves a different branch of immunity from that of a classic food allergy. It refers to a misdirected response of the immune system called an autoimmune response.

Children have an abnormality in the lining of the small intestine. There is diarrhea and indigestion of nutrients, especially fat. Treatment for this condition includes avoiding foods with gluten.

Allergen products that provoke a reaction

A food allergy is specific in the sense that a child is allergic to a particular food or category of food that has a type of protein that the immune system sees as a threat. Any food can create an allergic reaction. The foods mentioned below are the most common allergens.

According to the rules, manufacturers must indicate the presence of the following products on the labels:

• peanut;
• hazelnuts;
• milk;
• wheat;
• egg;
• shellfish;
• fish;
• meat.

Together, these nine foods are responsible for over 90% of food allergies.

Peanut

Peanuts are a legume (belongs to the same family as soybeans, peas, and lentils), not a tree nut. About 20% of children with a peanut allergy eventually outgrow it.

Peanuts are one of the allergens often associated with anaphylaxis, an unpredictable and potentially fatal reaction that requires prompt treatment. Symptoms include trouble breathing, swelling in the throat, sudden drop in blood pressure, pale skin or blue lips, fainting, and dizziness. If not treated immediately with epinephrine, anaphylaxis can be fatal.

Less severe symptoms:

• itchy skin or hives, which may appear as small spots or raised streaks above the skin level;
• itching, tingling in the mouth or throat, around it;
• nausea;
• runny or stuffy nose.

tree nuts

According to studies, 25 to 40% of children with peanut allergies also react to at least one other nut.

Along with peanuts and shellfish, nuts are one of the allergens that are often associated with anaphylaxis.

Symptoms:

• abdominal pain, cramps, nausea and vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• difficulty swallowing;
• itching of the mouth, throat, skin, eyes, or other area;
• nasal congestion or runny nose;
• nausea;
• irregular breathing, shortness of breath;
• anaphylaxis.

Milk

Milk allergy refers to an immune response to cow's milk protein.

Although milk is one of the most important foods for a baby, it is also a common allergen.

Between 2 and 3% of children under 3 years of age are allergic to milk. Although experts once believed that the vast majority of them would outgrow this allergy by age 3, recent research contradicts this theory. In one study, less than 20% of children outgrew their allergies by age 4. But about 80 percent of children are likely to outgrow a milk allergy by age 16.

A child with a cow's milk allergy is allergic to milk from other animals, including sheep and goats.

Within a short period of time after drinking milk or its protein, the following symptoms occur:

• hives;
• stomach upset;
• vomit;
• bloody stools, especially in infants;
• anaphylaxis.

soy allergy

A member of the legume family, soy is a common ingredient in infant formula and many other processed foods.

Soy is a very common allergen in young children.

Soy allergy symptoms include:

• rash or hives;
• itching in the mouth;
• nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
• nasal congestion, runny nose;
• wheezing or other signs of choking.

Soy allergy rarely causes anaphylaxis.

Wheat

A wheat allergy makes life difficult for a child, given the number of foods that include this ingredient.

Symptoms of wheat allergy in children are similar to those of other food reactions:

• hives or skin rash;
• sneezing and headaches;
• stuffy nose or runny nose;
• suffocation;
• abdominal cramps and diarrhea;
• anaphylaxis, although not very common.

Eggs

Allergies occur when the immune system becomes sensitized and overreacts to protein compounds in eggs.

When an egg is eaten, the body detects the protein as the invader and releases chemicals to protect it. These chemical components give rise to the symptoms of an allergic reaction.

A child allergic to chicken eggs may have a reaction to this product from other birds such as goose, duck, turkey or quail.

Experts estimate that 2% of children are allergic to eggs. But the stakes are high: Children with egg allergies can experience reactions ranging from mild rashes to anaphylaxis.

Within a short period of time after eating (or even touching) eggs, symptoms may occur:

• skin reactions (edema, rash, hives or eczema);
• wheezing or difficulty breathing;
• runny nose and sneezing;
• red and watery eyes;
• abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
• anaphylaxis (less common).

clam

Shellfish allergies affect a large number of people every day.

Please note that a shellfish allergy is not a fish allergy. Thus, children who are allergic to fish are not necessarily allergic to shellfish and vice versa.

Within the shellfish family, the crustacean group (shrimp, lobster, and crabs) causes the most allergic reactions. Many people with allergies can eat shellfish (scallops, oysters, clams, and mussels) without problems.

However, anyone with a shellfish allergy should consult an allergist before consuming any other type of sea creature.

While true cross-reactions between shellfish are rare, they occur because different types of sea creatures are often kept together in restaurants and markets, causing pollution.

Shellfish allergy most often develops in adulthood.

Shellfish allergy symptoms:

• vomit;
• stomach cramps;
• indigestion;
• diarrhea;
• urticaria all over body;
• dyspnea;
• wheezing;
• recurring cough;
• hoarseness, trouble swallowing;
• swelling of the tongue and/or lips;
• weak pulse;
• pale or cyanotic (cyanotic) color of the skin;
• dizziness.

Fish

Unlike other food allergies that are common in infants and children under 3 years of age, a fish allergy may not become apparent until adulthood. In one study, up to 40% of people who reported allergies did not have problems with fish when they were children.

An allergy to finned fish (tuna, halibut or salmon) does not mean that you also have the same reaction to shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crabs). Some allergists recommend that people with fish allergies should avoid eating all types of fish. But it is possible that it is safe for a person who is allergic to one type of fish to eat other types.

As with other food allergies, fish allergy symptoms range from mild to severe:

• hives or skin rash;
• nausea, stomach cramps, dyspepsia, vomiting and/or diarrhea;
• stuffy nose, runny nose and/or sneezing;
• headache;
• suffocation;
• rarely - anaphylaxis.

Meat

Meat of any kind of mammal - beef, lamb, pork, goat, and even whale and seal - can provoke a reaction.

Allergy to meat can occur at any time in life. When a child is allergic to one kind of meat, it is possible that he will also have a reaction to others, including poultry such as chicken, turkey and duck.

Studies have shown that a very small percentage of children with milk allergies also have this same reaction to beef.

Manifestations:

• hives or skin rash;
• nausea, stomach cramps, dyspepsia, vomiting, diarrhea;
• nasal congestion/runny nose;
• sneezing
• headache;
• suffocation;
• anaphylaxis.

Diagnostics

To diagnose a food allergy, the healthcare provider must first determine if the child has a negative reaction to specific foods.

The food diary and the symptoms that occur are key information for the doctor in the early stages of diagnosis.

The physician makes an assessment using a detailed description of the parents, the patient's dietary diary, or an elimination diet. He then confirms the diagnosis with more objective skin tests, blood tests.

Disease history

It is usually the most important diagnostic tool in diagnosing food allergies. The doctor conducts an interview with the parents and the child himself to determine if the food allergy facts are consistent.

The specialist will ask you to answer several questions:

1. The time of the reaction. Does the reaction come quickly or an hour after eating?
2. Was the treatment of the reaction successful? For example, if hives are due to a food allergy, antihistamines should work.
3. Is the reaction always associated with a particular food?
4. Has anyone else gotten sick? For example, if a child ate a fish infected with something, then everyone who ate the same food should have become ill. But with allergies, only those who have a reaction to fish get sick.
5. How much did the child eat before the reaction appeared? The severity of the patient's reaction is associated with the amount of suspicious food eaten.
6. What is the cooking method? Some children will have a severe allergic reaction solely to raw or undercooked fish. Thoroughly cooking fish destroys allergens so that a child can eat it without an allergic reaction.
7. Were other foods eaten at the same time as the food that triggered the allergic reaction? Fatty foods can slow down digestion and thus delay the onset of an allergic reaction.

Diet diary

Sometimes the history alone will not be able to help determine the diagnosis. In this situation, the doctor will ask the parents to keep a record of the products of each meal of the child and the presence of reactions that are associated with allergies.

A dietary (food) diary contains more detailed information than an oral description. So the doctor and patient can better determine whether there is a consistent relationship between food and reactions or not.

Elimination Diet

This is the next step that some doctors use. Under the guidance of a doctor, the child does not eat foods that are tentatively provoking allergies (for example, eggs), they are replaced by other foods.

If the symptoms disappear after the product is eliminated, the doctor is more likely to diagnose a food allergy. When the child resumes the product (under the direction of the doctor) and the symptoms return, this sequence confirms the diagnosis.

The child should not start consuming the product again if the allergic reactions were severe because it is too risky to try again. This method is also not suitable if the reactions were infrequent.

If a patient's history, dietary diary, or elimination diet indicates that a particular food allergy is likely, the doctor will use tests, such as skin tests, blood tests, that will more objectively confirm the food allergy.

Skin test

A diluted extract of the suspected product is placed on the skin of the forearm or back. The skin is punctured through a drop of diluted allergen with a needle, then the doctor observes swelling or redness, which would mean a local reaction to food.

But a child may have a positive skin test result for a food allergen in the absence of reactions to this product. A specialist diagnoses a food allergy only when the child has a positive skin test for a specific allergen and the history confirms an allergic reaction to the same food.

But for people with severe allergies, especially if they have had anaphylaxis, skin tests should not be done, as they will provoke another dangerous reaction. Also, skin tests cannot be performed on children under 5 years of age and people with extensive eczema.

Blood tests

In those situations where skin tests cannot be performed, the specialist uses blood tests such as radioallergosorbent test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These tests measure the presence of food-specific IgE antibodies in a child's blood.

The results become known after a certain period of time. As with positive skin tests, positive blood tests support the diagnosis of a specific food allergy when the clinical history matches.

How to treat food allergies in a child?

1. dietary exception. Avoidance of the allergen in the diet is the main treatment in the child. Once an allergenic food has been identified, it must be removed from the diet. To do this, parents need to carefully read the ingredient lists on the label for each product.Many foods that trigger allergies, such as peanuts, milk, and eggs, are found in foods not normally associated with them. For example, peanuts are regularly used as protein supplements, eggs are found in some salad dressings, and milk is found in baked goods. The label is a crucial resource for those with food allergies.In restaurants, avoid ordering foods that are believed to contain ingredients that your child is allergic to.
2. Medications.Several medications are available to treat other allergy symptoms. For example, antihistamines can relieve gastrointestinal symptoms, hives, runny nose, and sneezing.Bronchodilators can help relieve asthma symptoms.

These medicines are taken after a child has accidentally ingested a product to which they are allergic. However, they are ineffective in preventing an allergic reaction when taken before meals. In fact, there are no medications to reliably prevent an allergic reaction to food before eating it.

How to treat an anaphylactic reaction in a child?

Parents of children with severe food allergies should be prepared to treat an anaphylactic reaction. It is important to be aware of the signs of a reaction and how to manage it.

To protect themselves, people who have had anaphylactic reactions are required to wear medical bracelets or necklaces with the warning that they are allergic to food and that they are susceptible to serious reactions.

• act quickly if your child has a severe allergic reaction;
• call 911 immediately if your child has trouble breathing or becomes very irritable or lethargic;
• try to keep your child calm when talking to him. Stay calm yourself;
• If your doctor has given you a step-by-step emergency plan, follow it carefully. You may be advised to give your child antihistamines or epinephrine through an auto-injector if the reaction is severe. If you are unsure if the reaction is severe enough to warrant an adrenaline injection, give it anyway, as it will not harm the child. If anaphylaxis is quickly treated with adrenaline, most children make a full recovery and experience no long-term complications;
• do not try to make your child vomit;
• if the child is unconscious but breathing, lay him on his side. Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation if breathing or heart stops.When the doctors arrive, they will save the child on the spot with an injection of adrenaline. It works within minutes to raise blood pressure, relieve breathing difficulties and reduce swelling. The child may be given an oxygen mask to help with breathing and intravenous fluids to raise blood pressure;
• in most cases, after an attack of anaphylaxis, you will need to go to the hospital for observation within a day. If symptoms return, the child may need to be treated with medicines such as an antihistamine or a corticosteroid by injection or drip.

Forecast

As described above, avoidance of allergenic foods is the main treatment for food allergies. The outlook is positive for those who are able to avoid consumption of the allergen and who are always ready to treat a severe reaction such as anaphylaxis.

There are no long-term complications associated with food allergy other than the risk of serious reactions.

Conclusion

Food allergies are caused by immune responses to food in a child. A number of foods, especially shellfish, milk, eggs, and peanuts, can trigger allergic reactions (urticaria, choking, abdominal symptoms, confusion, and anaphylaxis) in children or adults.

When a food allergy is suspected, medical evaluation is key to proper disease management.

It is important to distinguish true food allergies from other abnormal food reactions. There is a food intolerance that is much more common than a food allergy.

Once the diagnosis of a food allergy is established (primarily by history) and the allergen is identified (usually by skin tests), the treatment of food allergies in children is mainly to avoid the food that triggers the reaction.

The term allergy was first used in pediatrics at the dawn of the twentieth century and has long been associated with impaired function of immunoglobulins. Modern medical science distinguishes five types of hypersensitivity reactions - which is typical, scientists in the distant 1900s were right and it was the main first type that was assigned the corresponding name, as well as the basic etymology of the malfunction of antibodies E and lgE.

From the middle of the twentieth century to the present day, there has been a rapid increase in the number of cases of allergies in children of any age, especially in developed and developing countries. As shown by global studies, the main contribution to it is made by careful hygiene. Super-careful observance of it does not allow the body to come into contact with most antibodies, which significantly reduces the normal loading of the immune system. It is noteworthy that in third world countries suffering from massive bacterial / viral infections, there are practically no problems with autoimmune and immunological diseases - this is rationally explained by the low level of general hygiene among the majority of the local population.

Another important factor that provokes allergies is considered to be the active consumption of chemical products, which can act both as individual allergens and create the basis for disruption of the nervous / endocrine system, which leads to various allergic manifestations.

Allergic manifestations in children are more vivid and stronger than in adults.

Classic symptoms include:

1. Swelling of the nasal mucosa.
2. Eye redness and concomitant conjunctivitis.
3. A variety of skin rashes with itching in the abdomen, groin, elbows - from dermatitis to urticaria and eczema.
4. Breathing problems - shortness of breath, spasm, up to an asthmatic state.
5. Headache.

In more rare cases, with the strongest immune response to the allergen, in a small patient, the rapid formation of acute coronary syndrome, hypotension, extensive edema up to anaphylactic shock and, in some cases, death is possible.

How is it manifested?

The most typical manifestations for a child include:

1. Allergy on the face of a child. , severe redness of the eyes, facial rash.
2. Skin allergy in a child. Edema and rash all over the body, mainly on the bends of the elbows and in the groin, inflammation of the lymphatic system.
3. Respiratory allergy. Often has symptoms of true asthma.

Below are the main types of allergies found in a modern child.

Allergy to animal fur

Fluffy dogs and cats, especially during the shedding period, spread particles of their hair throughout the house, which can provoke allergic manifestations in your child.

food allergy

Medicine has long proven that a number of foods can cause an inadequate immune response in a child. Food allergies in children can be on vegetables / fruits of certain colors / composition, cereals, eggs, etc. and is usually determined in the first 3-4 years of life.

Allergy to cow's milk

Children's allergy to the protein present in whole milk deserves special attention. Such an allergic problem with intolerance to this product in the modern era is observed in children of all ages, including infants / infants.

Allergy to cold

A significant drop in temperature and can trigger an allergic reaction. Wind, frost and even a slight cold are a negative thermal catalyst for the immune system, if everything is not in order with it.

Nervous allergy

Provoke the formation and development of allergies, especially in the transitional / adolescent period, can be morally / biologically negative factors - strong excitement, stress, fears and experiences.

Allergy to dust/pollen

Household dust and pollen easily penetrates the lungs and can cause allergies even in relatively healthy children who previously did not have such problems.

drug allergy

Almost any serious medicine in the list of side effects has an item "allergic manifestations" - from a banal rash to Quincke's edema and even anaphylactic shock. It is noteworthy that even antihistamines i.e. antiallergic drugs in rare cases can provoke an allergic attack.

Allergy to insects

Another common type of hypersensitivity manifestation is insect allergy. Cockroaches, arachnids, micromites, stinging and blood-sucking creatures are a clear danger for a future allergic person.

Allergy to microorganisms

Antigens of helminths and fungi can strongly excite the immune system, giving an inadequate response to these potential allergens.

The most dangerous and unpredictable allergy in an infant. It manifests itself in the first days, weeks or months of life, often leads to anaphylactic shock in the absence of necessary therapy, and in the vast majority of cases is caused either by milk protein during artificial / breastfeeding, or by certain types of drugs used in case of necessary treatment of the underlying disease of the baby. At the slightest suspicion of such a manifestation, you should contact your pediatrician!

Diagnostics

The basic set of diagnostic measures for allergies is aimed at first searching for the groups to which the allergen belongs, and then for a specific component that causes an inadequate immune response with a view to its subsequent exclusion from the life of a small patient. In modern Russia and post-Soviet countries, the skin test method is the most common. It consists in introducing potential allergens under the skin by scarification and waiting for a possible inflammatory reaction of the epidermis.

In some cases, skin tests give a negative result - an alternative method of determining then is the assessment of the level of lgE in the blood serum. Radiometric or colorimetric immunoassay allows diagnosing a common possible group of allergens, after which a repeated detailed test determines the specific component that causes the rapid release of histamine and inflammatory mediators. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of an allergy, it is necessary to pass the so-called "pediatric panel".

Allergy treatment

Despite the fact that the pathological problem has been known since the beginning of the twentieth century, unfortunately, there is no guaranteed treatment that would permanently and certainly save the child from allergies. The main method of dealing with allergies is the most complete elimination of a reliably confirmed allergen from the patient's life. This may be a refusal to eat food (a food form of the disease), air filtration in rooms where the child is constantly (allergy to dust / pollen), careful selection of seasonal wardrobe (allergy to cold), etc.

Conservative drug therapy consists in eliminating the acute symptoms of the problem with the help of blockers of mediators and histamines - adrenaline, antihistamines, cortisone, theophylline. As innovative experimental therapies, the most promising are incremental dosed histamine immunotherapy, through which the body can adapt resistance to antigens and reduce allergic manifestations in the medium term, as well as regular injections of antibodies to lgE, which prevent the development of allergic reactions over a long period of time.

Treatment with folk remedies

Despite the fact that traditional medicine over the centuries of its existence has accumulated hundreds of recipes against allergies of various manifestations, they must be used very carefully for a child - most herbs and components themselves can act as strong allergens and even aggravate the patient's condition. Before using any of the recipes, be sure to consult a pediatrician and an allergist!

1. Pollen allergies can be helped by drinking celery juice. It is necessary to take 10-15 bunches of this plant, pass them through a juicer and mix the resulting liquid with four teaspoons of sugar, and then consume two tablespoons. spoons three times a day half an hour before meals for two weeks.
2. If you are allergic to dust, prepare the following recipe: five tbsp. spoons of centaury, three tbsp. spoons of dandelion roots, two tbsp. spoons of rose hips and horsetail, as well as one tbsp. Pass a spoonful of corn silk through a meat grinder, mixing the ingredients. Four st. pour spoons of the mixture with 300 milliliters of water at room temperature and let it brew for a day, then put on fire and bring to a boil, turning off the broth and cooling it for six hours under the covers. Store the resulting liquid in the refrigerator under the lid, drink a third of a glass 3 times a day before meals for six months.
3. General treatment of allergies in children by collecting herbs. Take in equal proportions a string, licorice and valerian roots, pharmacy chamomile, oregano, nettle. Pour one tablespoon of the crushed mixture with 300 milliliters of boiling water and leave in a water bath for 10 minutes. Strain the decoction, let it cool for an hour, use one teaspoon three times a day for a month.

There is no specific universal diet for any manifestations. The main measures to correct the diet are primarily aimed at excluding from the daily diet products that may contain a potential allergen. In the vast majority of cases, the restriction on individual dishes is used in case of food allergies, although it can be used for other types of hypersensitivity.

As medical practice shows, 9 out of 10 allergens with food allergies will hold on to milk, eggs, cocoa, legumes, nuts, honey, cereals and fish products. According to recent studies, canned and semi-finished products, as well as smoked meats, store-bought sauces and other “goodies” containing a large number of flavorings and taste enhancers, can cause negative manifestations.

If you are allergic to pollen, nutritionists advise limiting the use of honey, nuts, wheat bread, seeds. In case of negative manifestations when using medications (in particular, aspirin), it is advisable to abandon fruits containing salicylic acid derivatives - these are apricots, oranges, cherries, raspberries, strawberries.

In case of an allergy to wool, some experts recommend eating less red meat, and if ticks, daphnia or insects are the allergen, exclude dishes based on products with a chitinous shell (shrimps, lobsters, crabs) from the diet.

With pollinosis as a concomitant problem, you should be careful with dill / parsley, melon, watermelon, citrus fruits and spices. Is milk protein the cause of the allergy? Then not only it is contraindicated for you, but also products based on it - cheeses, cream, sour milk, ice cream, etc.

Of the general recommendations, it should be noted the restriction of the use of bright orange / red fruits / vegetables, bananas, kiwi, mangoes and pineapples. In addition, you should drink mostly pure or mineral water without gas, giving up alcohol, kvass, coffee, fruit drinks.

Prevention

There is no specific prevention for allergies. Among the general recommendations are the exclusion of a potential group of allergens from the life of a small patient, rational nutrition, regular walks in the fresh air, airing and cleaning indoor air with filters, physical education, minimizing the use of household chemicals, moving to a favorable climatic zone.

1. If regular allergic reactions occur, it is advisable to immediately contact a specialized doctor - the causes of the problem can be both environmental factors and a serious disease that will later affect other body systems. A set of diagnostic measures will help to accurately determine the allergen, which in turn will allow you to adjust your nutrition / livelihoods in order to minimize the unpleasant manifestations of hypersensitivity.
2. Do not get carried away with antihistamines - they only temporarily relieve symptoms, while long-term use can cause a number of health problems. The use of this kind of medication is justified only during periods of severe attacks and exacerbations under the supervision of your allergist.
3. You should know that miraculous anti-allergy drugs that could permanently save a person from this problem simply do not exist. There are experimental methods of immunotherapy that can reduce and in the medium term save the patient from hypersensitivity, but this process is quite lengthy, expensive and is not widely used in clinical practice. The most important factor in therapy under any circumstances is still the elimination of contact between the allergen and the patient - do not believe annoying advertising and try to follow the recommendations of your doctor.

Useful video

Food Allergy - Dr. Komarovsky's School

Allergy Medicines - Dr. Komarovsky's School

The child fell ill with a sore throat - they took a course of antibiotics, gargled his throat - and again you can play football, ski. But there are chronic diseases, and among the latter there are those that cannot be eliminated either with the help of an operation or with the help of injections. It is necessary to adapt the lifestyle of both the child himself and the whole family to such diseases. Allergy is referred to this group of chronic diseases.

Degree of danger. Usually, allergic reactions are mild, and therefore it is quite possible to treat them at home, but if the reaction is too fast and severe, especially if breathing is difficult, then immediately call an ambulance.

Symptoms and signs of allergies in a child

The mucous membranes of the mouth or nose may swell, there will be a burning sensation in the eyes, breathing will become difficult and noisy, a rash may also appear (small, but sometimes even large, in the form of blisters), with a stronger reaction, abdominal pain may appear, various intestinal disorders in the form of vomiting, diarrhea. In extremely severe cases, a state of shock occurs.

Why did the child develop allergies?

It is simply impossible to answer this question unambiguously, each child has his own causes of allergies. Allergy is a disease, the formation of which depends on many and not always the same factors. But almost always it is a disease with a hereditary predisposition. The risk of developing allergies is always high in a child from a family in which other relatives suffer from eczema, neurodermatitis, urticaria, hay fever or bronchial asthma. If the child's father has atopic dermatitis, and the brother is allergic to drugs, you can always assume a high probability of developing an allergy in the child himself.

However, risk does not mean disease. Hereditary predisposition may not manifest itself. For this child, you should try to protect yourself from additional trigger (from the English trigger - trigger) environmental influences and factors that exacerbate the effect of triggers. And these impacts are by no means extreme. Just during pregnancy, the expectant mother ate a lot of citrus fruits or honey. After the baby was born, she quickly ran out of breast milk and the baby had to be fed infant formula. Dad was nervous and therefore smoked without leaving the apartment. To make the child more comfortable, a rug was hung near his bed. And so that the baby does not grow up as an egoist and gets used to taking care of others from childhood, they brought a cute puppy. Familiar situations, right? But for some reason, the neighbors have a healthy baby growing up in the same environment, and your child had dermatitis at an early age, and bronchial asthma developed by school age. And the reason is that in the family of neighbors there were patients with strokes and heart attacks, but there were no patients with allergies, and in your family there were and are such patients.

You can say that “the train has left”, the child is already sick and is it worth it now to stir up “what and from where?”. It is worth it, because, firstly, the situation can still be changed and, secondly, what if you decide to have more children? Well, you will certainly have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And, remembering the peculiarities of your pedigree, you will certainly be careful, try to protect children from exposure to trigger factors, and the children will be healthy.

What can be inherited with allergies?

As already noted, it is not the disease itself that is inherited, but the tendency to it. Children usually look like their parents. Take a closer look at the color of the eyes, hair, shape of the nose, ears. Find out - this is your child! But there is a similarity hidden from your eyes - these are the features of metabolism and reactions to external influences, which are largely determined by the individually inherited traits of the child's immunity. It has been established that if one of the parents has an allergy, then the child develops it in 30-50%, and if both have it, in 70% of cases.

Immunity is the main system that provides protection against the penetration and development of foreign substances in the body. Due to this, in particular, immunity to infections is formed, tumor cells are destroyed. But in some people, the immune system is overly vigilant and unreasonably violently reacts to the body's contact with seemingly completely harmless substances for it: house dust, plant pollen, animal hair, etc.

The immune system of a healthy child, when a foreign product (for example, cow's milk protein) enters the body, ensures its rapid destruction. The first contacts with such a substance of an altered immune system make it alert, in its depths the production of powerful weapons (antibodies) begins, designed specifically against this substance - a specific sensitization to the substance is formed (from Latin sensibilis - sensitive). The number of contacts required for sensitization depends on how intensively the immune system produces antibodies. The child's body becomes not just sensitive, but hypersensitive to a substance that does not cause any extreme manifestations in other children. Such hypersensitivity, dependent on the characteristics of the immune system, is called atopy (from the Greek atopia - strangeness, unusualness).

And now, at the next contact, even with a small amount of this substance (allergen), a violent reaction occurs between the substance and the antibodies directed against it. At the same time, mast cells, on the surface of which antibodies are located, are damaged and emit a huge amount of biologically active substances that cause allergic inflammation - plethora and swelling of tissues develop.

Allergy is the hypersensitivity of the immune system of the whole organism, but it manifests itself in the hyperreactivity of its individual organs, called the shock organ or the target organ. The hyperreactivity of the organ may be due to heredity. For example, a mother suffers from neurodermatitis and in a child the allergic process affects mainly (although not necessarily) the skin. But more often, the hyperreactivity of the organ is formed during the life of the child. For example, a child suffers endlessly from colds, during which allergens (say, particles of house dust) easily penetrate the inflamed mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, causing an immune system response. The sensitivity of the respiratory tract increases both to dust and to other factors: temperature and humidity changes, etc.

At an early age, the target organ for allergies is predominantly the skin. In children after 3 years, along with the skin, the respiratory organs and other body systems are involved in the allergic process. With age, a change in target organs is possible.

However, other developments are also possible. If it was possible to establish the allergen and exclude contact with it for a long time, then the immune system “forgets” about it over time. Sensitivity to this substance gradually decreases. There is another way to rectify the situation: having established the allergen, actively influence the child's immune system in order to reduce its sensitivity to this allergen.

Without your help, no doctor will be able to establish the allergens to which your child is sensitive. Only your close attention to the child will help to suspect an inadequate reaction of the child to some factors. But to confirm or dispel your fears and choose a way to correct violations is the task of the doctor.

The air we breathe contains dust, plant pollen, and a variety of chemicals. In most cases, the child's body does not react in any way to these stimuli. But for many children, these seemingly harmless impurities become insidious enemies. Sometimes an allergic reaction can be provoked by one or another food product, contact with pets.

Many children are sensitive to so-called allergens (dust, pollen, mold, food, pet dander). Sneezing, runny nose, sore eyes, skin rash, shortness of breath are typical symptoms of an allergic reaction. The child has a feeling that he is haunted by a constant, never ending cold.

Every sixth child suffers from some form of allergy. Symptoms of the disease significantly affect the child's lifestyle, his daily activities at home and at school.

The immune system of children suffering from allergic reactions reacts violently to substances that are completely harmless from the usual point of view. When a child comes into contact with an allergen (for example, street dust), his body begins to produce antibodies. Antibodies trigger the mechanism of an allergic reaction.

There are many types of allergens. In particular, pet dander (and not wool, as is commonly believed) can cause an allergic reaction in some children. Certain foods (cow's milk, peanuts, fish, shellfish, nuts, and eggs) can also cause allergies. Rash, diarrhea, vomiting, shortness of breath are its typical symptoms. In especially severe cases, the child develops an allergic shock. Some specific diseases associated with allergic reactions (asthma, hay fever, eczema) will be discussed in more detail.

If your child's allergy symptoms are particularly severe, your pediatrician will likely recommend that you see an allergist. The allergist will examine your child and talk to him. He can ask the child the following questions: When did the unpleasant symptoms begin? What medications did he take? What potential allergens (plants, pets) are in the house or in the surrounding area?

Remember: the most effective remedy in this situation is to avoid contact with the allergen. Many children are allergic to dust mites (microscopic insects that live in house dust). If your child's problem is related to dust mites, you need to regularly wet clean the house and especially the child's bedroom. If your child is susceptible to allergic reactions, you must help him avoid contact with some of the most common allergens. In particular, pay attention to barely blowing tips and tricks.

• If your home has steam heating, change the filters in your central steam boiler as often as possible. You can put an electrostatic filter. If your financial resources are limited, put an air purifier in the child's room - it will be much cheaper.
• As often as possible, carry out wet cleaning in the house (and especially in the child's bedroom). It is necessary to clean floors and furniture daily with a vacuum cleaner, and it is desirable to carry out general cleaning at least once a week. Dusting with a damp cloth is the most effective way to get rid of harmful bacteria. You should not cover the entire space of the room with carpets.
• Do not keep pets in the house, even if your child does not suffer from allergies. Children very quickly develop hypersensitivity to a particular allergen, and pet dander can trigger this process.
• You should not keep objects with a pungent odor in the house (perfume, moth balls, tar, paints, camphor).
• For the sake of your child's health and for your own health, refrain from smoking. Do not smoke in the presence of a child.
• Close windows and doors in the child's bedroom (especially when no one is in the room).
• Put plastic pads on the mattress. The pillows of the child should not be stuffed with feathers, but with foam. Do not use woolen and wadded blankets, which collect a lot of dust. Prefer bed linen made of cotton or special fabrics.
• Remove toys made from wool and other fleecy fabrics from your child's room.
• When buying a particular drug, carefully read the information on the label. Does it contain ingredients that your child might be allergic to?

Appropriate medications usually help to relieve the symptoms of the disease. Most often, antihistamines are used in this situation. Sometimes the doctor may recommend decongestant medicines for the child. If the child's symptoms persist for a long time, your pediatrician or allergist will prescribe other, more effective drugs. In some cases, allergists perform allergy skin tests to help identify the allergen. This test is carried out as follows: the doctor makes a microscopic incision in the skin of the child, and then applies a small amount of potential allergen to the wound. This method allows multiple potential allergens to be tested simultaneously. If your child has symptoms of an allergic reaction (reddening of the skin), this means that the test drug is an allergen for him.

In especially severe cases, the allergist may recommend to the child injections containing microscopic doses of the allergen. Gradually, the sensitivity of the child's immune system to the allergen decreases, the body adapts to new conditions. Such treatment is quite effective: when a child encounters an allergen in everyday life, he does not develop the characteristic symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Allergies can be inherited. In some children, the symptoms of this disease disappear completely with age. In many cases, however, these symptoms persist throughout life. What's in store for your child? Unfortunately, it is impossible to answer this question: the reactions of the immune system are unpredictable.

What is an allergy?

Allergy is a pathological condition characterized by an increased and qualitatively altered reaction of the body to the re-penetration of substances of an antigenic nature (allergens) into the body, which do not cause painful effects in ordinary people. Allergy is based on an immunological mechanism - the production of antibodies by the body and the reaction of the combination of an antigen (allergen) with a specific antibody.

The concept of "allergy" (Greek alios - another + ergon - action) was introduced by the Austrian doctor Pirke in 1906 to characterize the altered reactivity of the organism.

Substances that cause allergies are called allergens-antigens (Greek anti - a prefix meaning opposition, and genos - giving birth).

Antigens -. These are substances that are foreign to the body, then “foreign”, against which the immune system works. Any cells that are not “our own” for the body are a complex of antigens for its immune system.
Antigens are divided into strong, causing a pronounced immune response, and weak, under the influence of which the intensity of the immune response is low. Strong antigens, as a rule, are proteins and have a molecular weight of more than 10 thousand daltons.

Antigens have two main properties

1. They are able to induce (cause) the development of an immune response, when they enter the body, they cause the production of antibodies.
2. They are able to interact with the products of the response (antibodies) caused by the same antigen. This property is called specificity.

All allergens have a wide spectrum of activity. For example, the same allergen can provoke the appearance of atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma.

In most cases, a person develops an allergy under the influence of several allergens at the same time - such patients suffer from a polyvalent form of the disease (they have an increased sensitivity to several allergens at the same time).

However, allergic reactions can cause not only substances that have the properties of full-fledged allergens (substances of a protein nature that are characterized by macromolecularity), but also substances that do not have these properties, but are also alien to the body - they are called defective antigens, or haptens. Haptens include many micromolecular compounds (some drugs - penicillin, amidopyrine, etc.), complex protein-saccharide complexes, plant pollen, etc.

When entering the human body, haptens do not immediately lead to the launch of immune mechanisms, but become full-fledged antigens only after they combine with body tissue proteins, forming the so-called conjugated (complex) antigens.

Allergens can also be the body's own tissues proteins, then they are called "self-allergens" (self-antigens).

Antibodies are serum proteins formed in response to the action of an antigen. They belong to serum globulins and are called "immunoglobulins" (Ig). Through them, a humoral type of immune response is realized.

Antibodies have two main properties

1. Specificity, that is, the ability to interact with an antigen, an analogue of the one that induced (caused) their formation.
2. Heterogeneity in terms of physical and chemical structure, in terms of the genetic determinance of education (that is, by origin).

In an immunological reaction, an antigen interacts with a specific antibody and an antigen + antibody complex is formed.

There are two types of allergies - seasonal and year-round. This is due to the nature of the antigen.

For example, "dusting" (flowering) of trees occurs in April-May; flowering of lawn grass and cereals - for June-July; flowering of composite plants (meadow grasses, wormwood) - at the end of summer.
The list of allergens is extremely extensive, they differ in origin, place of distribution, method of entry into the body.

Allergens can enter the body through the respiratory tract - these are aeroallergens (pollen, dust, etc.), through the gastrointestinal tract - these are food, medicinal allergens, through the skin and mucous membranes - medicinal substances that are part of ointments, creams, etc. e. Medicinal allergens can also appear in the body when administered parenterally (subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous administration of drugs, sera, etc.).
In the antenatal period (during fetal development), a significant allergenic load on the fetus can occur as a result of a pregnant woman taking various medications, with excessive consumption of foods with allergenic activity (eggs, oranges, smoked meats, etc.), while smoking. Then the antigens enter the child's body from the mother's blood through the placenta.

Allergens of non-infectious and infectious origin are distinguished. The most common allergens of non-infectious origin include pollen, household, epidermal, food, medicinal, etc. Infectious include allergens derived from bacteria, viruses, fungi.

Pollen allergens represent a large group of non-infectious allergens and are the cause of allergic diseases - hay fever. Pollen is a male germ cell and consists of many pollen grains with morphological features specific to specific plant species. Each region has its own "dusting schedule" of plants. In central Russia, among pollen allergens, the most common cause of disease development are tree pollen allergens (alder, birch, hazel, willow, oak, poplar, maple, pine, linden, etc.); from pollen of cereals and meadow grasses (timothy grass, meadow fescue, bluegrass, rye, corn, etc.); from pollen of composite herbs (wormwood, dandelion, coltsfoot, plantain, etc.).

Among household and epidermal allergens, the most significant are the following: household allergens - house dust, library dust, etc. According to statistics, about 6 mg of dust settles daily for every 1 m 2 of our house. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of dust particles are constantly in the city air, and we are surrounded by an invisible dust cloud. The allergenic activity of house dust largely depends on the presence of micromites and their metabolic products in it. Dermatophogoidoid.es jazinae mites are microscopic and not visible to the naked eye. They feed on scales of the stratum corneum of human skin, actively multiply in bedding, upholstered furniture, carpets, and soft toys. Ticks live 3-4 months, one individual produces about 300 offspring and excretes excrement, 200 times its own weight. Up to 10 million mites live in any mattress. The waste products of mites dry out, mix with dust, creating a highly allergenic mixture that affects humans all year round.

Epidermal allergens - feather, down, hair of cats, dogs, sheep, rabbits, horse dander, etc. There are no non-allergenic animals. Cat allergens are especially strong, which are excreted in saliva in cats, and in urine in cats: cats are more dangerous for sensitive people than cats. Its allergenicity depends to a small extent on the degree of wooliness of a cat: smooth-haired and bald cats can also become a source of the disease. Dog allergens excreted with saliva, urine and dander are somewhat weaker than cat allergens. Allergens are human hair.

Household allergens also include household chemicals, especially laundry detergents with bioadditives.

Drug allergy can be caused by almost any medicine (antibiotics, vitamins, antipyretic drugs, etc.). Most often, allergic reactions occur with the use of penicillin and other antibiotics of the penicillin group, and the frequency of reactions increases with repeated courses of treatment.

Insect allergens enter the body with poisons when stung by wasps, bees, bumblebees and in direct contact with insects (cockroaches, ants, etc.).

Almost all foods can be food allergens. The most common food allergens are milk, fish, eggs, meat of various animals and birds, food cereals, legumes, nuts, strawberries, tomatoes, chocolate, etc.

Industrial allergens are various substances that people have to deal with in production (turpentine, mineral oil, various varnishes, dyes, a number of metals, in particular nickel, and many other substances).
Infectious allergens are various microbes (staphylococci, streptococci, pneumococci, dysentery bacillus, etc.), viruses, mold allergens.

Food allergy is a “starter”; it develops in children during the first months of life. As a result of the impact of adverse factors on the mother (malnutrition, the use of various medications, smoking, adverse environmental conditions), the child, along with mother's milk, receives allergens, which cause food allergies. Clinical manifestations of food allergies can be in the form of regurgitation, vomiting, loose stools, intestinal spasms (the child is worried, knots legs), as well as allergic skin lesions (extensive diaper rash, itching, rash, etc.). These children easily develop allergic reactions to various medications and preventive vaccinations.

With age, food allergies in children decrease, but by the age of 3-5, household allergies develop in the form of allergic diseases of the respiratory tract (respiratory allergy).

Somewhat later, often at school age, pollen allergy appears.

Allergy treatment

• Removal of the patient from contact with the allergen.
• specific immunotherapy.
• Nonspecific therapy. Patients may be prescribed medications that protect against allergies (intal, ketotifen, zaditen, kropoz). In the acute period, antiallergic drugs are prescribed (suprastin, tavegil, claritin, claridol, zirtek.
• fenistil, fenkarol, pipolfen, etc.). These medications are to be taken as directed by your doctor.
• In the case of a severe course of allergies, hormonal preparations are used as prescribed by a doctor.
• Depending on the manifestations of allergies, it is possible to use other methods of treatment and drugs (for more details, see the relevant chapters).

Allergy is the body's immune response to allergens, which occurs with damage to organs and tissues. Today, about 30% of the population suffers from allergies, most of them are children.

Children's allergy has some features. First of all, we are talking about the most significant allergens that can cause a reaction in the body of a child.

Before the age of five, food allergens are the most common cause of allergies in children. The most allergenic foods are: eggs, milk, nuts, fish.

Over the age of five, children most often suffer from household allergies caused by dust, in addition, children at this age may be prone to pollen allergies.

Let's find out together why children have allergies, what are its main causes, how to treat allergies in children?

The main causes of childhood allergies

Today, about 30% of the population suffers from allergies, most of them are children.

Modern medicine identifies several main causes of different types of allergies in children:

- heredity- the most common cause of allergies, as you know, a predisposition to allergies can be transmitted from parents, if the mother suffers from allergies, then the child will also have allergies in 20-70% of cases, if the father is allergic - the child will have allergies at 12-40 % of cases, if both parents are susceptible to allergies, then the child in 80% of cases will also suffer from allergies;

- frequent infectious diseases, they create the prerequisites for the development of allergies, infectious diseases are especially dangerous in childhood;

- sterile living conditions, for the formation of immunity, the body needs to deal with various kinds of bacteria, infections, excessive sterility in the room can interfere with this process;

- ecology, allergies can be caused by adverse environmental factors, for example, polluted air, harmful exhausts, and so on;

- diseases of the internal organs especially diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

All of these reasons are considered to be the main factors that determine a child's propensity to develop allergies. It is important to note that there are many types of allergies, depending on which organs an allergic reaction occurs, but the nature of all types of allergies is the same - it is hypersensitivity to certain allergens.

The main allergens: where is the danger hiding?

As you know, allergens that can provoke allergic reactions can be hidden anywhere: in the apartment, on the street, in food, clothes and cosmetics. What are the main allergens that can provoke childhood allergies?

Household allergens: dust mites, house dust, pillow feathers, household chemicals. Most often, household allergens cause allergic diseases of the respiratory tract. Research scientists have shown that approximately 50% of allergy sufferers have a reaction to household allergens.

insect allergens: poison of stinging, saliva of biting insects. These allergens can cause local and general allergic reactions.

epidermal allergens: dandruff and animal hair, bird feathers, fish scales. The most common allergy is to cats and dogs. This type of allergy is usually manifested by respiratory symptoms.

Any drug can cause an allergy, but vitamins, antibiotics, local anesthetics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and drugs to reduce pressure are considered the most allergenic. Drug allergy can be manifested by allergic diseases of any organs.

Pollen allergens: pollen with a diameter of no more than 35 microns, that is, microscopic pollen that is easily carried by the wind, settles on hair, clothes. Symptoms of pollen allergy are seasonal in nature, because each season corresponds to the flowering of a particular plant species. Pollen allergens most often cause rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and allergic asthma.

Food allergens: most often allergens are fish, meat, eggs, milk, chocolate, wheat, beans, tomatoes. Food allergens in most cases cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, skin diseases, as well as diseases of the respiratory system.