How does an allergy manifest in infants and what to do at the first symptoms

Allergic reactions occur at any age, including the smallest. But, as a rule, you should not panic - with timely treatment, an allergy in a baby will pass and will not disturb when the child grows up. For this to be so, careful care and monitoring of the baby’s health is required.

How does an allergy in babies on the face, at risk

The earliest and most frequent manifestation of allergy is atopic dermatitis. Often it is mistakenly called diathesis. The disease is manifested by redness and rashes on the skin, itching, due to which the baby is combing sores and can infect them. Similar external manifestations of the disease - prickly heat and swollen dermatitis - are not allergic.

Less often, the baby has problems with the tummy: the baby is crying, refuses to eat, but cannot fall asleep due to hunger, and spits up.

Determination of diarrhea in infants is rather difficult, because normally babies will poop after each feeding. If defecation occurs more often, and the stool becomes liquid, then we can talk about diarrhea.

Respiratory and conjunctival manifestations of allergy (eye redness, nasal discharge, bronchospasm) are characteristic of older children. In infants they are extremely rare, which is not a reason for their exclusion from the list of diseases of infancy.

The risk group includes babies who have:

  • unfavorable allergic history (allergy, dermatitis, bronchial asthma in parents or close relatives);
  • there were pathologies of pregnancy or childbirth, including hypoxia.

Also here can be attributed to premature babies and children with congenital pathologies of immunity.

It should be clarified that much of the infant allergy is caused by the immaturity of the immune system — it is simply not ready for a large number of new antigens. If you introduce them into the life of the baby gradually, then his immune system will adapt, and the allergy will pass. The reverse is also true - if you “fill up” a baby with new antigens from birth: change the mixture often, introduce supplementary feeds early, use hygiene products of different brands - children's dermatitis will lead to the development of allergies in adulthood.

Food allergies

This is the most common type of allergy. If you can protect from all the other baby, you need to feed him in any case. The only product for which there can be no allergy in the child is mother's milk, but the mother can not always breastfeed the baby as much as needed.

On the mix

Most infant formula is based on cow's milk, which for humans is itself a source of foreign protein. That is why the mixture often causes allergies.

The reason may be not only the mixture itself, but also the discrepancy to its age needs of the baby (the mixture is intended for later age), over-feeding and prematurity.

Manifestations of an allergy to the mixture - severe diarrhea and abdominal cramps, rash on the skin. Manifestations may increase after feeding, but in severe cases they are not associated with food intake. It should also be noted that the composition of different mixtures is different, so when you change may increase the symptoms.

For the treatment of allergies requires several steps:

  1. Make sure that the mixture is suitable for the child in age. For premature babies, it is permissible to use a mixture intended for the younger age group.
  2. Properly prepared mixture - diluted in sufficient quantities, it looks quite liquid, so many parents add an excess of the mixture to water or dilute it with milk, this is wrong and dangerous to the health of the baby.
  3. If the product is selected correctly and applied according to the instructions, it is necessary to consult a doctor for the selection of a special hypoallergenic mixture on goat milk. It is more expensive than normal, but not more expensive than the health of the child.
  4. Regardless of the type of mixture that the parents feed the child, you need to adhere to the same brand - the variety at this age does more harm than good.

Often, these methods are sufficient, and there is no need for medical treatment.

Cow's milk protein

Even a breastfed baby sooner or later becomes acquainted with cow's milk and dairy products. If the baby did not eat the mixture before, parents may not know that he is allergic to cow's milk. Its manifestations are the same as in allergy to the mixture.

The reason is hereditary intolerance or introduction of complementary foods too early.

In the first case, parents need to completely eliminate any dairy products from the baby’s diet (and when he goes to kindergarten, warn the caregivers about this). In the second - wait with the introduction of complementary foods, and if there is a great need for this - consult with your doctor about how to do it correctly.

How to distinguish between heat loss and allergies in infants

Prickly heat and atopic dermatitis are very similar in manifestations - skin redness, rash, itching. Antibody tests that help identify allergies in adults and older children can be uninformative at this age. Therefore, come to the aid of simple methods that allow to distinguish allergies from prickly heat without tests.

  1. Localization - prickly heat is located in the natural folds of the skin: between the buttocks, under the knees, on the stomach, on the neck, and also in those places where the baby rubs a diaper. Allergic rashes are located on the face, arms, chest and back.
  2. What influences the intensity of the manifestations is that both diseases appear more actively in a hot room, but the symptoms of hemorrhage are relieved if the baby is wrapped, and the symptoms of dermatitis are eliminated if contact with the allergen is eliminated.

The easiest test - while feeding a baby, you can blow on the rash sites. If it is prickly heat, then the spots will fade noticeably, if atopic dermatitis does not change.

Reaction to drugs and vaccines

A very common type of allergy that can be life-threatening for a baby. The danger of this situation is that the presence or absence of allergy has to be detected empirically, because the baby has not yet encountered any of the medications.

In this case, parents can be advised to keep a diary of observations - if the baby has an allergic reaction to any medicine, you should write it down without relying on your own memory. If the medicine is quite common (Novocain, Acetylsalicylic acid and others), you can make a bracelet for the child with an engraving warning about this fact. This can help at the age when the baby will be able to walk on his own and get injured, which will require medical assistance.

If your child is allergic to vaccines, then vaccinations are contraindicated for him. In some cases, you can pick up a hypoallergenic drug and vaccinate according to a schedule, but if there is no such possibility, the baby will fall into the "fire percentage" - the risk group for infectious diseases.

Allergy treatment in infants

The use of antihistamines in infancy is almost always contraindicated. The most effective is the identification of the allergen and the elimination of contact with him.

If this is not possible or the risk of allergy is very high, the child is required to ensure a hypoallergenic lifestyle. This concept combines the use of special detergents and hygienic means for bathing, washing clothes and cleaning.

They should be used not only by the child, but also by all family members - after all, the parents take the baby in their arms, it comes into contact with their home clothes and bedding on the parent’s bed, and when it begins to crawl, its activity is not limited to its room.

In addition, parents will have to get rid of pets and plants - the most powerful source of allergens. Even food for aquarium fish can be a source of immune response. It should be remembered that allergens of animal origin are stored in the house for a month with regular cleaning. Every day in the child’s room you should do a wet cleaning, completely remove all dust and dirt.

The most important is nutrition. To make the menu for the baby you need under the guidance of a nutritionist. At an early age, hypoallergenic mixtures are shown, the lure is introduced gradually.

Preventive measures

Preventing allergies is difficult, but possible. For this you need to carefully monitor the diet and lifestyle of the child. The recommendations given above are difficult to implement, and if the child is healthy, then there is no need for them. However, care should be taken.

If the baby is bottle-fed, you should take seriously the choice of the mixture. It is advisable to consult with the pediatrician on how to properly transfer the baby to artificial feeding and how to choose the right product. It is important to prepare the mixture strictly according to the instructions and not to overfeed the baby, this leads to a strong allergic reaction.

For the introduction of complementary foods there are special tables with age norms, when one or another product can be. It should be noted that in premature and children suffering from intestinal diseases, these indicators will be different - they need to be given supplements later. Another rule is that you cannot enter more than one product at the same time.

Allergy in infants, unlike adults, is a treatable condition. With the right treatment, attention to the child, you can avoid serious problems in the future.

Watch the video: Do children out grow out their Food Allergy? - Dr. Shaheena Athif (March 2024).