Baby Allergies and When You Should Consult Your Doctor Immediately

Baby Allergies and When You Should Consult Your Doctor Immediately

by Margaret Gaia

Believe it or not but strange words like peanuts, dust, cats and cockroaches have one thing in common. They are common allergies of children, starting from infants to children in school. Then, some of these allergies are still carried by children until they grow older and become adults.

What is an allergy? You should know that it is an overreaction of the immune system to an allergen or a substance that reacts inappropriately to you while it does not to other people.

Baby allergies are common to babies who develop them when their immune system is weak to combat the invading allergens.

Common Allergies
Most allergies are airborne and your baby acquires an allergy without you or your baby knowing about it.

Dust mites are microscopic insects that you cannot see and they feed on dead skin cells that fall off the body every day. Fabric fibres, bacteria, and some animal allergens get tied up together and these dust mites feed on them, too. This are what you call house dust. Your baby who crawls on the carpeted floor or inside his playpen can catch these dust mites. Unless you do good housekeeping and put extra special care of the beddings and carpets in your house, your baby will not be safe from baby allergies.

Pollen is allergens when inhaled and they are unavoidable if your baby is exposed outdoors during those times that the pollen count is extremely high. Pollen count is usually high during dry and breezy mornings and pollen comes in seasons. You have to be careful not to bring out your baby outdoors when pollen allergens are floating in the air.

Molds are fungi that thrive both indoors and outdoors in dark, warm and moist environments. You can find them outdoors like in poor drainage areas, piles of rotting leaves or compost piles. Indoors you will find mold growth under the kitchen sink, damp basement, bathroom, or in clothes hamper. You should clean up these places from getting dirty, moist, and attractive to fungi.

Pet allergens are from house pets. A cat is the pet with highest pet allergen. Warm-blooded animals like cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits, and birds lick themselves with their saliva that produces protein particles that become allergens when the saliva dries up. Cats lick so often as part of their grooming. Pet’s hair, urine, and dander can be source of pet allergens as well. Do not allow your baby to be near pets or better still do not keep pets when you have a baby in the house.

Cockroaches can be a source of allergen that your baby can catch asthma. This is common in urban areas where there are many cockroaches. Keep your home clean and rid it of these roaches.

Food Allergens
Baby allergies can be traced also to food allergens. There are a lot of foods that you should be able to trace as risky for your baby to catch baby allergies in food.

You should remember that if your baby is allergic to cow’s milk because of the protein content, he will also be allergic to eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, seafood and shellfish, soya beans, and wheat, especially the Celiac disease or allergy to gluten.

Other Allergens
Baby allergies can also originate from insect stings, chemicals, and medicines like antibiotics. Once you detect an allergy on your baby, consult a doctor immediately.