Reducing The Risk of Allergies
For Your Child
Allergies are becoming more and more prominent in the children’s playground these days. With more than just asthma on the scene, parents and teachers are sharing a very serious overloaded with the responsibilities associated with being ‘on the scene’ at the time of an attack.
Asthma, Glucose intolerance, Anaphylactic seizures, Diabetes, are just a few of the aliments common to today’s child.
Why are these more common
now than they were before?
It is possible that these illnesses and others did always exist but were previously undiagnosed due to lack of knowledge but there certainly were not so many documented cases in the school records as there are today. Whatever the case, they exist in today’s school environment to staggering proportions leaving school staff in a position that renders them accountable for taking the necessary precautions and administering accurate procedures in the case of an emergency.
There could be many reasons why children are suffering more with these problems, some suggestions on the causes are, an unbalanced diet, too many processed food products, too many artificial hormones and additives in our raw foods, a less active body, children not being breast-fed, living in an atmosphere where the air contains pollutants that can harm our respiratory system.
What can be done to lessen the risk
of your child developing such allergies?
Although research in all of these areas is still reasonably new, there are some things you can do to reduce the risk of your child growing up with these problems that most certainly restrict their childhood enjoyment.
A breastfed baby
A breastfed baby has an enormous advantage as far as building their immune system. Also with breast milk there is no thick gluginess in the baby’s intake that can convert into a phlegm-producing agent when the baby has a slight cold.
One of the most regular infant sicknesses that doctors have to deal with is bronchitis , which often progresses into Pneumonia. This is a more serious situation that one may first think. When a baby develops bronchitis during infancy, a change takes place in the respiratory system making it possible for them to contract the same illness repeatedly throughout childhood. It is quite normal for this situation to turn into asthma as the child grows, which is a condition that usually has to be dealt with for life.
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...It has been well documented that breast milk protects babies from infectious and chronic diseases and may provide some protection against allergies, asthma and eczema.”
Source: ‘Allergy New Zealand’ website: http://www.allergy.org.nz/shop/allergy+today+magazine/
articles/allergy+prevention:+eating+carefully+for+two.html
Dust
Keeping your child’s bedroom free from dust is important as the tiny particles can enter into their system and create irritations and reactions immediately. These irritations usually begin in the nasal passage and will result in a runny nose. Left unattended the mucus will thicken, it will also move further down into the respiratory system and create more serious problems such as those in the previous section.
Clearing the nose
With any sign of your baby having a running nose, your first line of attack is to clear the nose. You can purchase nasal cleaning solutions and systems from your regular pharmacy. These are inexpensive and highly effective in reducing the risk of the early symptoms developing into more serious cases. The solution used to clear the baby’s nose is a safe water solution, usually sea water or a saline solution. They are easy to use and come in various application forms.
One such applicator is small plastic amboula which you break the top off and squeeze up your baby’s nose. This moistens and loosens the mucus, as you let go of the amboula, the suction pulls back the wet substance in your baby’s nose and drags it out effectively clearing the nose. You would use these five times a day until the nose is clear.
Another form of application is a rubber bulb on the end of a dropper. This allows you to apply the water solution in a similar fashion to that described above. You will find different applications according to the country in which you are living but essentially they all do the same job.
Eat your Fruit and Vegetables
Eating fruit and vegetables regularly has been attributed to having a positive effect on allergy sufferers.
Start from the start
Many times allergic development has begun even before the baby has been born, this relates to the healthly living standards of the mother and father. There is such an information overload on what is and what is not good for you to eat these days that it is not suprising that a fear becomes associated with many foods.
What is not quite so clearly expressed is certain foods can be healthy or unhealthy in particular circumstances ie, depending on the other foods that you also eat, your general health condition overall or your emotional state. A food that is good for one person may not have the same result on somebody else. That is why, unless you have professional guidance, it is best to eat a well balanced diet.
This essentially means follow the food pyramid. It sounds so simple that one may ask if that is all there is to it, why are so many people sick. The answer is obvious, most people do not adhere to a healthy diet – at least not until they are sick.
Balance
Keeping happy has a terrific effect on your immune system. Scientists are finding more and more evidence to show that people who are happy also tend to be healthy and adjusted in an overall sense.
This is a reasonably new area of health in the western world, but it is now being taught in American medical education demonstrating more of a belief in the influence of other factors, other than the physical body being soley responsible for a person’s health.
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