Modern medicine steps forward by leaps and bounds, but diseases keep up with it so quickly that sometimes they overtake. Hypersensitivity reactions in infants of the first month of life arise quite often, which is the reason for a detailed study of this issue in order to understand what allergy medications for newborns can be used in our time.
Causes of Allergies
- Mom's alcoholism and smoking during lactation and pregnancy.
- Errors in the nutrition of a nursing mother, that is, the use of products that can cause allergies.
- Feeding an artificial mixture that is not suitable in composition.
- Children suffering from hypoxia in the prenatal period are prone to hypersensitivity reactions.
- The transferred acute intestinal and respiratory infections caused by viruses aggravate the course of allergic reactions and contribute to their occurrence.
- Genetic predisposition, the presence of allergic diseases in close relatives.
- Detergents for washing children's underwear and clothes, perfumes, aerosols for household needs.
- Vaccines and medicines (antibiotics, drops from intestinal colic).
- Wool and dander of pets.
- Dust.
Symptomatology
- Skin manifestations - a rash in the form of red and pink spots on the body of various sizes and localization, peeling of the skin, peel, cracks, diaper rash and itching.
- Catarrhal and respiratory symptoms - sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, lacrimation, cough, shortness of breath, asthma attacks, Quincke's edema.
- Violations of the nervous system and sensory organs - sleep disorder, motor anxiety, irritability, photophobia, tearfulness, lethargy.
- Intestinal manifestations - bloating, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain.
Non-medication allergies for newborns: prevention
- Elimination of products from the mother’s diet that can cause allergies. Highly allergenic are: seafood, fish and its caviar, cow's milk, chicken eggs, semolina, carrots, red tomatoes, bell peppers, exotic fruits, bananas, citrus fruits, strawberries, melon, raspberries, chocolate, honey, coffee, cocoa, nuts, marinades, smoked meats, mushrooms and foods saturated with artificial colors and preservatives. You need to adhere to a hypoallergenic diet and introduce new products every two days in a minimal amount, monitoring the reaction of the baby.
- A healthy mother’s lifestyle is an effective allergy remedy for newborns.
- Prolonging breastfeeding or replacing an allergenic mixture.
- Hardening and strengthening the immunity of the newborn is carried out thanks to bathing, walking in the fresh air, gymnastics and massage.
- Maintaining cleanliness and order in the house so that dust and wool do not get into the baby in the crib.
- Washing baby clothes and clothes only with baby soap. Use of underwear and diapers from natural materials.
By fulfilling these simple requirements, it is possible to achieve that allergy products for newborns are not needed. The baby will grow healthy and strong.
Treatment with folk remedies for allergies in newborns
Light skin manifestations can be extinguished by bathing in water, in which herbal infusions are added. You can safely add to the list of allergies for newborns:
- A chamomile pharmacy, two tablespoons of which you need to pour hot water in a half-liter jar, let it brew for about thirty minutes and add to the bath when bathing. Such a bath will soothe the baby, reduce itching and irritation.
- A series can also be used for these purposes, having previously insisted it for 12 hours in the dark. A bath with this herb, made once a week, will help improve sleep, relieve peeling and itching.
- Bay leaf is brewed at the rate of 100 grams per liter of water for half an hour. It relieves skin inflammation and itching.
- Aloe (agave) is used for lotions that help eliminate itching, cleanse the skin from rashes, moisturize and nourish it.
Drugs approved for infants
Allergy medications for newborns should be safe, as the baby’s first month of life is very sensitive to all foreign objects and new components.
The mildest, not causing serious side effects, is Bepanten ointment or cream containing dexpanthenol as the main substance. It promotes the healing of skin lesions, including maceration, cracks and wetting elements. It is used from the first days of life 1-2 times a day.
Of the allergy preparations for newborns, “Zodak” can be given in drops, the active substance of which is cetirizine dihydrochloride, which effectively fights skin (urticaria, itching, flaking) and catarrhal (lacrimation, runny nose, sneezing, coughing) manifestations. The medicine can be given from two weeks of age, 4 drops once a day.
Fenistil is allowed from four weeks of age. This drug contains dimethindene as the main substance, which acts on histamine H 1 receptors, blocking them. Thus, a therapeutic effect is achieved that occurs after a half-hour interval. "Fenistil" is indicated in the treatment of urticaria, eczema, atopic dermatitis, contact pronounced skin inflammation, itching with insect bites, allergic rhinitis, intolerance to food and drug components and vaccinations, and angioedema. The dosage is calculated as follows: 2 drops per kilogram of the mass of the baby.
Doctors prescribe Suprastin to infants after four weeks at a dose of ¼ ampoule intramuscularly or ¼ tablets per day, the dose should not exceed 2 mg / kg of the child’s weight. The solution is used in case of urgent need (Quincke's edema). The tablets have a wide range of antiallergic activity, including skin manifestations and respiratory symptoms in the chronic and acute phase.
Contraindications
"Bepanten" is prohibited only with increased sensitivity to the main or secondary components of the medication.
"Zodak" can not be taken with impaired renal function and with individual intolerance to the drug.
"Fenistil" is not prescribed for asthmatics and in cases of intolerance to the drug.
"Suprastin" is contraindicated in cardiovascular pathology in infants, liver diseases, kidney damage, colitis and gastritis, lactose intolerance.
Side effects
Preparations against allergies to newborns should be given strictly according to age and in the amount recommended by the instruction in order to avoid unwanted reactions.
Bepanten can very rarely cause itchy skin.
"Zodak" can cause stool disorders in the form of diarrhea, abdominal pain, less often - nausea and dry mouth; on the part of the nervous system, lethargy and drowsiness are sometimes observed, less often - irritability and tearfulness. Allergic skin rashes and runny nose are possible.
"Fenistil" is able to cause such negative reactions from the central nervous system of the baby, such as drowsiness, lethargy, night apnea, tearfulness, fatigue, irritability. Dry mouth, nausea, regurgitation, impaired stool can be symptoms of a malfunction of the digestive tract from taking this medication. Allergic rashes, shortness of breath, Quincke's edema are possible.
"Suprastin" rarely produces adverse reactions, but they are quite extensive. The drug can cause a change in the quantitative and qualitative composition of blood components (leukopenia, anemia, agranulocytosis). From the side of the brain, drowsiness, lethargy, fatigue, trembling of the body and limbs, convulsions, overexcitation and crying, increased intraocular pressure can occur. A baby's heart can respond with tachycardia of more than 170 beats per minute. Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, stool disorders, both in the direction of liquefaction and constipation, dry mouth, urinary retention may disturb. Allergic reactions to the main active substance and auxiliary components of the drug are possible.
Overdose
Cases of overdose "Bepanten" was not observed.
Excessive amounts of Zodak can cause confusion, dilated pupils, weakness, restlessness and cry of the baby, headache, drowsiness, lethargy, trembling of the limbs and the whole body, heart palpitations (in newborns more than 170 beats per minute), urinary retention and diarrhea . You should immediately call an ambulance. Effectively washing the stomach and prescribing activated carbon powder (1/3 tablet per three kilograms of the mass of the baby).
"Fenistil" in an increased dose is able to inhibit the central nervous system, causing drowsiness up to respiratory arrest. Therefore, if this drug is prescribed for the newborn, then the prescription of admission should be strictly observed, monitor the child’s sleep, and if the condition worsens, call an ambulance team.
"Suprastin" in a large dose affects the brain, causing hallucinations, anxiety and agitation, crying baby, cramps, dilated pupils, coma. It is necessary to rinse the stomach, give the activated carbon powder diluted in water at the rate of a third of the tablet per three kilograms of the baby’s weight. If the condition worsens, you should call an ambulance.
The most effective means, according to reviews
Remedies for allergies for newborns, taking into account the reviews of doctors and parents who use them for their children, can be arranged in the following order:
- According to doctors and relatives of newborns, Zodak was recognized as the best antihistamine drug with a rating of 91%.
- Bepanten, due to its low danger and widespread use in the prevention and treatment of skin allergy symptoms, is gaining 90% of positive reviews.
- Suprastin is considered useful by 81% of people using this drug.
- Fenistil is slightly inferior to Suprastin in the rating, having 80% of positive recommendations.