Looking forward to the stars and the moon, many families with babies are finally looking forward to the May Day holiday, and parents have also arranged family gatherings and travel plans early, and are in full swing with their children to eat, drink and play one after another.
The children had a lot of fun and ate a lot of fun, and while their parents were chatting at the party and had no time to supervise, they began to secretly inhale the snacks that were "not allowed to eat" on weekdays, such as spicy bars, ice cream, fried chicken, and ...... At the same time, I amused cats and dogs, and wandered in the nature of birds and flowers. As everyone knows, it is in this presumptuous "eating and drinking, playing and funny" that danger will quietly come!
No, just after the May Day holiday, the flow of people in the consultation room of Director Liu Hong of the Department of Pediatrics of Strawberry Hospital has not stopped. Those children who are waiting for the clinic are either allergic rhinitis or food allergies.
Every spring is the season of high incidence of allergic symptoms, snort, daily peeling, redness in the corners of the eyes every day like the heroine of Qiong Yao, these unstoppable physiological reactions can only be regarded as a manifestation of mild symptoms, if the symptoms are more serious, laryngeal edema, anaphylactic shock and even life-threatening, allergies This little devil has a hundred ways to kill you.
[In the face of children's allergies, parents should know these! 】
- What are allergies?
Allergies are actually the body's overreaction to the outside world. In simple terms, allergies are when the body's immune system is too active in its daily defense work. In addition to normal invaders such as viruses and bacteria, some otherwise harmless foreign objects are also regarded by the body as enemies, sounding the alarm of the immune response. It can be seen that allergies are not a decrease in immunity, but an overreaction of the body.
- What are the manifestations of allergies?
Because "lethal weapons" (histamine) generally begin to destroy the skin→ digestive tract, → respiratory tract in the human body, the manifestations of allergies will also be revealed in this order.
- The skin is characterized by urticaria or eczema;
- The digestive tract is mainly vomiting, diarrhea, blood in the stool, etc.;
- The main manifestations of the respiratory tract are sneezing, runny nose, coughing, wheezing, rhinitis, etc.
Therefore, some people may have such a misunderstanding: the symptoms of suspected allergies that were found at the beginning have disappeared, and they think that they are not allergies. Not really! For example, the child first has eczema, and the eczema seems to be better after two days, but it is possible that there will be diarrhea and other digestive symptoms later, in fact, whether it is eczema or diarrhea, it may be a series of manifestations of allergies, but it is not manifested at the same time.
Clinical findings, especially in very small infants, allergies to the skin and digestive tract are the main manifestations; Babies over 1 year old may be more dominated by respiratory tract manifestations: the lower respiratory tract is mainly 1~3 years old, and the upper respiratory tract is mainly after the age of 3!
- Don't ignore food allergies in children
In 2022, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC Weekly) released a series of research papers on food allergies in Chinese people, and one meta-analysis found that the prevalence of food allergies in mainland China was 8% from 2009 to 2018, up from 5% in 1999 to 2008, indicating that the prevalence of food allergies in mainland China is rising.
Food allergies still occur mainly in children, especially infants and young children. This is mainly because childhood is the time when you start trying to establish a reaction with food, like to try all kinds of novelty, foods that you haven't eaten before, and are more likely to be exposed to allergens; In addition, children's physical development and gastrointestinal "defense system" are not yet perfect, and allergens in food are more likely to enter deeper body activities, leading to allergic reactions. According to the latest statistics, food allergies affect more than 10% of the world's population, especially infants and preschool children aged 0~4 years old!
- What are the common food allergens in mainland China?
Eggs, milk
Fish, shrimp, crab and other seafood
Soybeans, peanuts, sesame and other oil crops
Nuts such as cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, etc
Fruits such as peaches, lychees, mangoes, pineapples, etc
Vegetables such as lentils, celery, etc
Wheat, buckwheat and other grains
Food additives such as tartrazine, sulfites, etc
…………
- What are the symptoms of a food allergy?
Immediate allergic symptoms: generally occur within a few minutes to 2 hours after eating allergic food, characterized by eating a small dose of allergic food that is induced, the allergic reaction is manifested as oral allergic syndrome in mild cases, and angioneurotic edema of the throat occurs in severe cases, and even life-threatening.
Respiratory allergy symptoms: often accompanied by skin symptoms, rarely occur alone, can be manifested as erythema around the eyes, itchy eyes, tears, nasal congestion, nasal itching, sneezing, runny nose, severe chest tightness, coughing, wheezing, dyspnea. Respiratory tract involvement manifests as Heine's syndrome (hemosiderosis in the lungs) with cough, iron deficiency anemia, and growth retardation.
Gastrointestinal symptoms: including acute gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and in severe cases, lethargy, pallor and other manifestations of cardiogenic shock).
Skin symptoms: allergic contact dermatitis is the main manifestation.
Late-onset allergy symptoms: appear 2 hours to 72 hours after eating, the specific pathogenesis is not clear, and can affect the skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and other organs.
[Don't delay if your child has these symptoms!] Hurry to the hospital]
Allergies can sometimes be "latent and lurking", and in addition to symptoms such as rashes and sneezing, some easily overlooked manifestations are also reminding you that allergies are coming.
- Itchy nose and eyes
If you often feel that your nose is often itchy and runny when you go in and out of an air-conditioned room or when the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, and sometimes you sneeze more than a dozen times in a row, you should be careful that it is allergies. The main symptom is itchy eyes (the urge to rub the eyes), accompanied by hyperemia, edema or eyelid edema, tearing, watery discharge, etc., which are all manifestations of allergic conjunctivitis.
- Fatigue easily, often sleepy
If you are sleepy during the day, you should be alert to whether it is caused by allergies. If the environment is closed for a long time, the air circulation is poor, and allergens such as dust mites and mold can easily accumulate. In addition, dust, tobacco, and co-workers' perfume can become allergens, which can make allergy sufferers feel more and more tired.
- After eating fruits and vegetables, my mouth is numb and itchy
People who are allergic to fruits and vegetables generally have symptoms such as lip edema, rash, peeling, itchy skin, numbness of the mouth and tongue, or itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose and other rhinitis-like manifestations. For mild symptoms, it disappears within an hour or two, but some people are so severe that they can be life-threatening.
- Your child's appetite deteriorates
Symptoms such as "anorexia, irritability, fatigue, recurrent vomiting, and prolonged diarrhea" in your child may be a food allergy. After eating allergenic food, children will also experience symptoms such as flushing and macules around the mouth.
Since the cause of food allergies has not been identified, parents often continue to let their children eat allergenic foods, which will aggravate allergic reactions and make anorexia worse, and it is recommended to go to the hospital for food allergen testing as soon as possible.
[A screening to find out the crux of the problem and help children get rid of health problems]
From Director Liu Hong of the Department of Pediatrics, I learned that sometimes the deviation between the patient's perception and the objective situation is very large! For example, some people think that they are allergic to cold air, and they will have nasal congestion and itchy nose when they come into contact with cold air, but cold air is not an allergen in conventional cognition, and the allergies may be caused by dust mites, mold, and pollen; Some people say they are allergic to green onions, ginger and garlic, but after testing, they found that the allergens were actually eggs, wheat or milk. For allergy patients, targeted prevention and treatment measures can only be taken if the allergen is detected.
But finding allergens is not an easy task! To find the real "culprit", the first step for the doctor is to start with the patient's living environment and living habits: where he lives, what plants are around, what he eats and uses every day...... In addition to these, an allergen test is also done. Commonly used allergen testing methods include skin prick test, intradermal test, peripheral blood specific lgE test, etc. What these methods have in common is that they are tested for possible allergens to see if the patient's skin or blood has a positive reaction.
The Department of Pediatrics of Strawberry Hospital has launched a series of "Allergen Testing Packages" to help children find the root cause of allergies and solve allergies from multiple perspectives!
(Click on the image below to jump to the product link immediately!) ）
Correspondent Cao Han