Northern Ireland


SPRING 2015


Childhood Allergies by Anne Marie Scanlon Does your child have allergies or asthma? No? Keep reading. A


few months ago newspapers reported the case of a


four-year-old who suffered from anaphylactic shock on a flight when a passenger four rows away from her opened a packet of nuts. The little girl’s allergic reaction was so acute she had to be treated aboard the plane and admitted to hospital when the flight landed. (She completely recovered and was fine.) According to Allergy UK (the leading national charity supporting the estimated 21 million allergy sufferers in the UK), approximately half of all children in the UK today have some sort of allergic condition. The number of children with allergies seems to have risen dramatically in the past number of years. Nobody can say definitively why – some blame too much hygiene in infancy, which allegedly means children don’t get a chance to build up immunity. On the other hand, allergies are complex and often tricky to diagnose. In the past couple of decades medical science has advanced a great deal, so many conditions that were previously undiagnosed can now be spotted and treated. So what is an allergy? An allergy is when the body reacts to an allergen. Allergens can be food (peanuts, shellfish, eggs, dairy), pollen, mould, dust mites, animal dander, insect bites and certain stinging plants. Symptoms of


allergic reaction may include hives, itching, rash, swelling skin, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhoea, wheezing, congestion and breathing difficulties. In some cases, where the allergy is particularly severe, the allergen can cause anaphylaxis (anaphylactic shock) – a severe, possibly life- threatening condition that needs immediate treatment. Generally the most severe food reactions are caused by peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish and are largely life-long conditions. Wheat, eggs, soy and cow’s milk tend to be less difficult to manage and often children outgrow them. Food allergies can be extremely difficult for parents to manage when their children are school age. It is hard enough to keep the home allergen free (imagine having to read every label of every item you bring into your house) but it is next to impossible to police what other children bring in to school. While hay-fever (an allergy to pollen) and other similar allergies can be properly managed by parents, food allergies are a different matter. One of the biggest problems parents whose children have food allergies have is getting the cooperation of other parents. Some parents just don’t realise how serious a food allergy can be for a child. Deputy CEO of Allergy UK, Lindsey McManus gave


the following advice for parents of allergy-free kids. “We would advise you to find out


from your child’s school whether there are any pupils with food allergies and how you can help to support that child. You might be able to speak to the child’s parents at a parents evening and ask them for advice on how you and your child(ren) can help. One of the most important things that you can do as a parent is to make sure a child with food allergies is not left out, especially at events like birthday parties. Making a party safe for an allergic child may not be as difficult as you imagine. Just speak to the child’s parents who will be best placed to help you. Teach your child about their classmate’s allergies in a way that will help them understand. It’s amazing how understanding and supportive friends can be.” Like allergy-sufferers, the numbers of children being diagnosed with asthma, a chronic illness in which the airways become blocked and narrowed leading to a shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, has also risen in recent years. Asthma is a common childhood complaint but the UK has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma symptoms worldwide - over a million children, approximately 2 in every classroom. In younger children it is more prevalent in boys whilst


after puberty girls are more likely to be affected.


Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a link between food allergies and asthma (research is ongoing in this area). Certainly children who have allergies which affect their respiratory system (pollen, pets, mould etc.) have a higher incidence of asthma. Unfortunately some people have the mistaken belief that allergies cause asthma. They don’t. It is true that if your child has allergies (especially respiratory ones) then they are more likely to have asthma but the allergies are not the cause themselves. Children with allergies need to be careful as often the allergen can trigger the asthma. Asthma, like allergies, can be hard to diagnose in children but if your child exhibits any of the following symptoms then taking them to the GP is advisable – wheezing/whistling noise in the chest, shortness of breath, coughing especially at night or after exercise, tightness in the chest.


For many children the condition will disappear as they get older. The bad news is that asthma, like food allergies, can develop at any age so while your child may not have either condition now, they could in the future, and so could you!


Knowing what to look out


for and how to deal with it can make all the difference.


USEFUL WEBSITES | www.allergyuk.org | www.kidsallergies.co.uk | www.anaphylaxis.org.uk | www.nhs.uk | www.asthma.org 20


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