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lergic reaction might be. A person with a peanut allergy might react with a tingle in the mouth, a case of hives or a full-blown anaphylaxis, depending on many variables, including how much peanut they ate and in what form. These tests along with an elimination diet which should only be done under medical supervision, are considered the usual way to help diagnose allergies to specific substances. There are other allergy test such as candidiasis allergy testing , electro acupuncture biofeedback, hair analysis, or urine autoinjection, Vega test, and kinesiology ,which may work , but, as yet, are unproven methods. It is recommended to have allergy testing done by a medical or health care professional trained in this area of medicine.
MY three-year-old daughter suffers from severe eczema. I got her tested for food allergies and I was told she was allergic to seven foods. Should I cut out these foods from her diet completely? How do allergies affect children and do they grow out of them?
Dr Niamh Houston
FAMILY
TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:02/03/2011Time:14:34:12Edition:04/03/2011FeelgoodXH0403Page:10
Dr Niamh Houston is a GP with a special interest in integrative medicine. If you have a question about your child’s health email it to feelgood@examiner.ie or send a letter to Feelgood Irish Examiner City Quarter Lapps Quay Cork
A. Children seem to be more vulnerable to allergies than adults. Allergies to food, house dust mites, animal dander and pollen are the most common. These allergies can show up as allergic rhinitis (hay-fever), asthma, and atopic dermatitis (eczema). Also, frequent ear infections may be related to allergy. Symptoms of an allergy develop as the body releases special antibodies called IgE, which trigger the release of Q. I get itchy scaly skin between chemicals that can cause the physical my toes frequently and would like to symptoms and changes associated with OUTGROWING PROBLEM: About 80% of children with know if there are any natural treatallergies such as hives, runny nose, ments for athlete’s foot that can itching or swelling of the lips, tongue allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, dairy and soy outgrow them, usually by age five. Picture: iStock help? or throat, upset stomach, cramps, bloating or diarrhoea, wheezing, diffiA. Athlete’s foot is caused by a fungus that culty breathing or anaphylactic shock — a lives in dead skin found in toenails, hair and life-threatening reaction that needs emergency treatment. antibodies to a large number of foods, and it outer skin layers. It is very common infection and thrives in warm, moist, damp conTo find that your child has food allergies can be challenging to sort out which really ditions found in shoes, socks, swimming can be both welcome and unsettling news. do pose problems. Experts say that up to pools, public changing rooms. But not all With the use of allergy tests booming, more 20% of children are wrongly diagnosed and itchy scaly feet mean you have athlete’s foot. parents are coming away not fully underdo not eat certain foods because they think standing what they mean. Confusion over they are allergic to them, but have not had a Your doctor can scrape some skin off the affected area and send it to the lab to confirm test results has made it harder to track the confirmed medical diagnosis. Also many of the type of infection and best treatment. true prevalence and growth of allergies. the symptoms of food allergy are common There are many anti-fungal creams/ointWhat experts agree on is that the most imto other complaints, and so it’s not always ments that are available over the counter portant part of a food-allergy diagnosis is easy to identify correctly. that can be used in the initial treatment the history. What did the child eat and what Skin prick tests are the most common phase. There are also oral anti-fungal tablets kind of reaction did he/she have? tests for allergy — small amounts of suspect that can be taken. Skin-prick and/or a blood test to confirm allergy triggers are introduced through the Steps used to prevent athlete’s foot include that the child has antibodies to the suspect skin of the arm or back by pricking or wearing protective footwear when in public food will be needed too. puncturing the skin with a needle. If your Food allergy should also be considered in child is allergic to a substance, you will see a showering areas and wearing cotton socks that allow your feet to breathe. Wash your children who do not respond to treatment raised, red, itchy bump usually within 15 feet with soap and water daily and dry very for atopic eczema, reflux (where stomach minutes. The bigger the reaction or bump thoroughly. Using a good quality foot powcontents flow out of the stomach and into the more sensitive your child is to that parder every day can help prevent athlete’s foot. the gullet) and chronic constipation. ticular substance. This test may not be suitAn excellent home remedy is tea tree oil, Some experts believe it’s not helpful to able for very young children. extracted from the leaves of Melaleuca altest for food allergies when there’s no histoThe RAST blood test is used to detect ry of problems with those foods. Most chillevels of IgE antibodies and is useful if a skin ternifolia. Select a product that is 100% tea tree oil and apply few drops to affected area dren have food allergies, just not to all the test is difficult due to a widespread rash, or foods they are being told they are allergic if there is a risk of a sudden and severe aller- three times a day for up to two weeks after infection has cleared. You could also apply to. Avoid placing your child unnecessarily gic response to using skin allergens. Both grape-fruit seed extract two-three times a on a severely restricted diet. type of tests are about 90% accurate. None day to the affected area. Children with ezcema tend to have Ig E of these tests can predict how severe an al-
NOTE: The information contained in Dr Houston’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first
T
Catherine Shanahan MUM’S WORLD Feelgood
HERE was a time when parents were revered more than iPhones and backchat was the name of a weekly radio review show. This was an era when society still moderately subscribed to the Victorian ideal that children should be seen and not heard and teaching them to talk was no more momentous than instilling in them when to be quiet. It was a time characterised by the ability of children to know when to be invisible, to speak when spoken to, to not interrupt and to display a firm grasp of the basic rudiments of good behaviour. Sadly, after decades of excess and having sacrificed nice manners on the altar of overindulgence, we have bred a generation displaying all the symptoms of a very 21st century affliction. This syndrome, known in pop psychology as Too Much of a Good Thing, is the direct result of the inability of those in positions of authority to refuse their offspring anything. Because, like the girl from Oklahoma, parents can’t say “No”, children have acquired an automatic sense of entitlement, which has in fact become the new Millennium’s zeitgeist. This brings us to another song title — “I want it all and I want it now” — a reasonable demand for a spectacularly successful rock band but not for a child of five. Having spoiled our children at the expense of character-building, we have helped create a
society where many of its members are at the tipping point of tolerance. A bus-full of disruptive urchins is no fun for anyone. Schoolkids who refuse to give up their seat to the elderly man who can barely stand are to no one’s credit. Children who would bankrupt their parents to fund their own extravagant lifestyle are a sad indictment of a very mixed–up generation programmed to accept nothing less than instant gratification. One could say “I blame the parents”, but when many mothers and fathers work around the clock to earn a decent living, they may be partially forgiven for not wanting to put up a fight during the limited quality time they get to spend with their children. It is easier to acquiesce than spend half the evening arguing over why Sophie’s mummy said “Yes” to the post-Leaving Certificate gorgefest in Santa wherever, while you, the mean mother, said “Over my dead body”. I’m not sure what the cure is to this apparent role reversal where parents live in fear of being told off by their children. It is difficult to pinpoint the moment when the pendulum swung in their favour. The truth is discipline is as important to your child’s survival as it is to successful parenting. Let’s raise children we don’t spend the rest of our lives recovering from.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011
Children who would bankrupt their parents to fund their own extravagant lifestyle are a sad indictment of a very mixed–up generation programmed to accept nothing less than instant gratification