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Fifty-five million Americans are affected by allergies. They range from hay fever from grasses to food allergies to reactions to pollens. Common symptoms of an allergy are repeated sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes.
Food allergies are not uncommon for infants to have. It is hard to tell if the child is suffering from an allergic reaction to food or if there is a problem with the intestinal tract, since a baby's intestinal tract is not fully grown until one year old. There are some tell-tell signs to work with, however. Colic in babies older than three months may indicated a food allergy. Food allergies cause ear, eye and nose symptoms, hives, digestive problems, asthma, eczema, and in some cases, irritated bottom and rashes around the mouth. If the symptoms are severe enough, a child may go into shock. Skin tests are not reliable in testing for food allergies. Babies haven't developed the IgE antibody, an antibody associated with allergies, and the tests usually come back negative.
Allergy sufferers may experience hay fever, allergy rhinitis. Hay fever is often mistaken for a cold or flu. Judy Lee Bachman, Ph.D., says that "colds start with a sore throat and lasts about 10 days. Allergies start with a stuffy nose and lasts about a day or two." In children who aren't able to talk, the length of time the symptoms last are important in determining whether or not your child is experiencing an allergic reaction or a cold. Children with allergies push up their noses with their hands to relieve the itch. "Pushing the nose up temporarily opens the airway and allows the child to breathe," says Bachman.
Allergy season is no easier for asthmatics. About 10 percent of children in the United States are affected by asthma, a combination of airway obstruction, inflammation, and responsiveness to air pollutants and allergies. Asthma is often mistaken for bronchitis or pneumonia. Allergens, viruses, and exercise can cause asthma.
Symptoms start after two years of age, usually; but small babies have also been diagnosed with the problem. In asthmatics, the nose isn't affected by the allergens, the lungs are.
Children may not recognized when their breathing have become restricted. When wheezing sounds can be picked up without a stethoscope, "the airway is 50 percent or more constricted," Bachman says. Attacks usually begin with a cough or felling of tightness in the chest.
