Allergy is a reaction of the body to a potentially dangerous substance from the environment. Having discovered a possible pest, it includes protective functions, which are manifested in the form of a runny nose, tearing or rash. Nowadays, allergies confidently swept almost the entire planet, sparing neither adults nor kids. Already in the first days of life, the baby may show symptoms of the disease. Parents do not always understand how dangerous this is, often they do not know where they treat allergies in children and how to do it correctly at home. Therefore, doctors advise: if your baby constantly sneezes, coughs, itches, or behaves uneasily, immediately contact your attending pediatrician - he will refer you to the right specialist for qualified medical help.
Main types
If a child has an allergy, how to treat it? It’s enough to start from the environment of the baby to remove all objects that can provoke her. Depending on what became the starting point of the development of the disease, the main types of allergies are distinguished:
- Food. One of the most common. It usually occurs in infants. Distressed products: honey, citrus fruits, eggs, milk, tomatoes, berries (especially red), fish.
- Breathing Pollen of plants, animal hair, dust, spores of fungi and so on constantly circulate in the air around us. Not all children can tolerate these components normally, therefore, breathing them in, they feel constant discomfort in the nasopharynx, often reaching actual suffocation.
- Dusty . It should be distinguished separately, since the cause is not the dust itself, but the microscopic mites living in it.
- Pollinosis . Seasonal pollen allergy .
- Skin allergy. It appears in the form of a rash and red spots. Usually it is dermatitis, urticaria, eczema. Heavier subspecies: Quincke's edema, Lyell's syndrome.
- Allergy to insects. It develops due to bites or inhalation of waste products. For example, ordinary home cockroaches often cause bronchial asthma.
- Allergy to animals. It is caused by wool, skin flakes, saliva and urine of our smaller brothers. Often children react to cats, dogs, birds, horses and rodents.
In some cases, babies are diagnosed with an allergy to vaccinations and medications. As for drugs, often intolerance is caused by penicillin, novocaine, vitamin B, as well as various analgesics and sulfonamides.
Symptoms
They can occur in any single part of the body or simultaneously in several. In addition, symptoms can be disturbing from a few minutes to three days. If they do not pass immediately, then contact your nearest medical institution. There they will make the correct diagnosis and tell you in detail what the allergy in a child is, how to treat it and protect the baby from irritating external factors. As for the main symptoms, they include a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, tearing, conjunctivitis, itching of the palate, shortness of breath, lack of air, asthma, redness of the skin, the appearance of a rash and blisters with fluid.
Each of these symptoms can manifest itself to one degree or another - it depends on the individual characteristics of the child's body. If the action of the pathogen is not strong, then you can independently help the baby. Before this, of course, it is necessary to familiarize yourself in detail with how insidiously and unpredictably an allergy in a child can go, how to treat this disease at home so as not to do harm. Indeed, in the case of unprofessional actions, serious complications can arise: rapid pulse, tachycardia, cold sweat, stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, cramps, acute heart failure and anaphylactic shock.
Causes
Allergies in a child ... How to treat, reviews, folk remedies, drugs, preventive measures and first aid - information about all this today is quite simple to find. If the baby is prone to illness, it is better to stock up on the latest edition of the medical guide and make it a reference book. Especially if other family members get allergies. After all, it is proved that the genes are the main cause of the disease: they store information about the inherited reaction to the allergen. If mom or dad have several types of allergies at once, then the chance of her appearance in a baby is 40%. At the same time, it doubles if both parents are allergic, and the same.
The main causes of the development of the disease can also include environmental exposure. If you are a lover of wildlife, and even she lives with you on the same couch, your offspring may be allergic to wool. It also occurs due to dirty air: the sulfur dioxide and ozone contained in it lead to asthma. By the way, mold spores flying in your apartment often become the cause of this dangerous illness. As for insects, dust mites and cockroaches are the main carriers of allergens. Unfortunately, getting rid of ginger Prusaks is sometimes tens of times more difficult than getting rid of the disease itself. In addition, the disease occurs due to inhalation of exhaust gases, especially the results of diesel combustion in trucks. This theory has recently been confirmed in the laboratory.
What can you do?
If your child has an allergy, your doctor will tell you how to treat it. Parents must make every effort to eliminate all possible foci of the disease. First, take the baby to a medical institution and do a test for allergens: it is performed on the skin or using a blood test. The data obtained will help to prescribe the exact treatment, which several times increases the patient’s chance of healing. Secondly, immediately clean the house. Forever abandon carpets and feather-beds, soft toys and feather pillows, make sure that the baby respects the rules of hygiene. During the flowering period, keep the windows closed. Do not be lazy to do wet cleaning: dust mites will disappear, the child will be able to breathe freely, and this is very important in the treatment of allergies.
Follow the regimen prescribed by your doctor. All pills and medicines should be taken on time. If the baby is recommended to wear a special protective mask, try to persuade the offspring so that he does not take it off at home, or even less on the street. Interestingly, sometimes some infectious diseases become the cause of the start of allergic processes. Therefore, strengthen the baby's immunity with physiotherapy exercises, cold douche, proper nutrition and exercise. An additional protection factor will be influenza vaccination. Often, and from the effects of smells, an allergy can occur in a child. How to treat her in this case? Try to minimize the baby’s contact with the aromas of tobacco, as well as cologne, perfumes and other cosmetics that in most cases become the causes of the disease.
Medications
To cope with the consequences of the disease help therapeutic agents. Using them, you can control the symptoms of bronchial asthma and rhinitis. Of course, antihistamines have a positive effect - for babies they are released in the form of syrups or instant capsules. For example, Fenistil, Zordak, Zirtek. Various nasal sprays, inhalers will also become your allies in the fight against the disease. Cope well with the problem of "Avamis" or "Nazonex." It happens that inflammation of the mucous membranes becomes a consequence of the painful processes that cause an allergy in a child. How to treat eyes? It is necessary to purchase drops from conjunctivitis: "Albucid", "Tobrex", "Lockferon". Special ointments, which are recommended to be applied to the lower eyelids before bedtime, also help. Erythromycin, for example, can even be used to treat babies.
An ailment that affects the skin requires constant lubrication of the diseased parts of the body with special creams. They are either bought in a pharmacy, or ordered in a medical laboratory. For the smallest, "Elidel" or "Advantan" are ideal. To improve the baby’s life and remove the main symptoms of bronchial asthma, they use a new generation of drugs: leukotriene receptor antagonists. These are chewable formulations approved not only in our country, but throughout the world. The group includes “Zileuton”, “Singular”, “Akolat”. Only in this case, a consultation with doctors is needed. Sometimes very serious complications cause an allergy in a child. How to treat sinusitis or purulent otitis media, developed due to the disease? In this case, one cannot do without hospitalization: only under the constant supervision of experienced doctors and with the help of a course of antibiotics and other potent drugs will it be possible to recover from an insidious disease.
Folk remedies in the treatment of skin allergies
Often, babies suffer from urticaria. It is characterized by the appearance of blisters, itching and redness. To get rid of this trouble, you need to drink celery juice. It is necessary to squeeze it out only from a fresh root. Take a natural medicine before meals, three times a day for half a teaspoon. If at the same time the baby is tormented by itching, lotions will facilitate his condition.
If a child has skin allergies, how to treat? Komarovsky, a well-known pediatrician, recommends wiping irritated skin with alcoholic extracts of calendula, vodka or a solution of drinking soda - one and a half teaspoons in a glass of water. These substances dry the skin and relieve itching.
Another common disease is allergic dermatitis. It is characterized by bright redness of the epidermis with severe edema. In this case, bubbles may appear that burst and leave wet erosion. Traditional medicine recommends treating dermatitis with a decoction of oak bark. A compress can be made from it, which will relieve inflammation and will promote healing. Rosehip is also beneficial for skin irritations. Wipes soaked in fruit pulp extract should be applied to sore spots several times a day.
Allergies in a child: how to treat eczema?
This disease is accompanied by itching and a variety of rashes. Eczema is an inflammation of the upper integument of the skin, characterized by a prolonged course and constant relapse. Healers say: you can lubricate discomforting sores with apple cider vinegar or fresh birch sap. If a child has skin allergies, how to treat eczema on his hands in this case? Traditional medicine suggests using fresh cabbage for these purposes. We attach the leaf to a sore spot and walk with it for several days. Then remove the natural dressing, wash the wound and apply a fresh compress.
Infusions of wild plants also help eczema patients. Here are the recipes for three popular fees:
- Two parts of buckthorn root and fennel fruits are needed, one each - watch leaves, dandelion roots and chicory. Four tablespoons of the mixture pour a liter of boiling water. Cook for half an hour on low heat. We insist hour. Take 3/4 cup three times a day.
- We take two parts of a series of leaves of blackcurrant and strawberry, burdock root, violets of yarrow flowers, one each of walnut leaves and chicory root. The cooking method is the same. Only need to take 1/3 cup six times a day before meals.
- We mix two parts of horsetail grass, centaury, plantain, St. John's wort, yarrow, wormwood and nettle, one each - juniper fruits and sage leaves. Cook, as in the first recipe. We drink half a glass six times a day before meals.
Please note the dosage is for adult patients! For children, it should be adjusted individually, in consultation with a pediatrician. Otherwise, you can harm the baby's health.
Such natural medicines not only relieve allergy symptoms, but also have a beneficial effect on the stomach, heart, kidneys, liver and spleen.
Conjunctivitis and rhinosinusitis
Both are the main manifestations of the disease: the beloved "weapon", which uses an allergy to attack the body. In a child, how to treat these negative phenomena with folk remedies? Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye, accompanied by redness of the eyelids, increased lacrimation, and photophobia. The ailment is serious enough and requires qualified medical help. As for folk remedies, chamomile broth works well with this disease. They should be washed periodically. It is good to treat affected areas in the morning with a solution of potassium permanganate. At the same time, sterile cotton wool is used for each eye so as not to transfer the infection from one eyelid to another.
Allergic rhinosinusitis is also called hay fever. The main symptoms are burning in the nose, copious discharge from it, attacks of sneezing, swelling of the mucous membranes. Possible general ailments, fever, drowsiness. Often, rhinosinusitis is a precursor to bronchial asthma, and therefore requires immediate treatment. Healers suggest trying to relieve symptoms with ordinary beets. Juice from boiled or fresh vegetables is instilled 5-7 drops in each nostril three times a day. You can also rinse the nasal passage with a decoction of beets by adding a spoonful of honey to it. Cotton swabs moistened in juice also help, which they put into the nostrils for 20 minutes.
Bronchial asthma and anaphylactic shock
The child has an allergy: how to treat? Reviews of ordinary people left at various medical forums indicate that it is dangerous to joke with an ailment. Especially if bronchial asthma develops on its basis - a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract. The main symptom is asthma attacks. The patient initially coughs, then his breathing becomes noisy, shortness of breath appears, his face turns pale. In an asthma attack, it is recommended to breathe over the pan in which the potato cooked in its uniform is located. You should also drink plenty of tea from cranberries. After the attack, you must immediately go to bed and take cover with a warm blanket. A healing tincture of 100 ml of alcohol and 100 g of elderberry also helps. Mixed ingredients should be stored in a dark place for several days, then drink 30 drops three times a day.
Anaphylactic shock is one of the most dangerous manifestations of allergies. A person may lose consciousness, his pressure drops, convulsions begin. Often this leads to death. Usually anaphylactic shock is the result of taking drugs, injections. It is also caused by insect bites, less commonly food allergens. In such a difficult situation, folk methods will not help. To save a person, you must immediately call an ambulance!
Other
Allergy-induced laryngitis develops rapidly, usually at night. The baby cannot breathe, he has a barking cough and severe cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle. In this case, a warm drink will help: a cup of milk, mineral or alkaline water. It is also good to gargle with decoctions of sage and chamomile, do warm compresses on the neck, hot foot baths. It should be understood that with increasing symptoms of suffocation, you should immediately call an ambulance!
As for tracheobronchitis, in this case the above treatment will also be appropriate. To these procedures, you can only add cans and taking decoction of Ledum.
Having discovered that the child is allergic, you will already know how to treat the ailment. At the very least, it will not be difficult for you to competently provide the first qualified help to the baby before the arrival of the team of doctors. Correct and immediate action will be the key to improving the patient's condition, quick and easy course of the disease and a speedy recovery. You can live with allergies. The main thing is to approach the solution of the problem that has arisen responsibly and seriously.