Remember, if you are unsure about your diagnosis, or which treatment to use, consult a doctor or pharmacist for advice.
Advice and Treatment
Allergies on the increase
Nowadays, far too many children are having to battle with allergies as part of everyday life. Recent figures show that hay fever affects 38% of children and young adults in the UK, one of the highest rates in Europe1.
If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is. In fact, over the last 80 years, the numbers have shown a dramatic upward trend and many scientists now refer to it as an epidemic.
Genetics play a part in passing allergies on to younger generations. But children of parents who don't suffer from allergies or asthma themselves also develop allergies, which means it must be down to external factors too. To understand what could be behind the increase, it helps to look at the way our lifestyles have changed over the last few decades.
Hold the housework!
Today's obsession with cleanliness in homes, schools and public places means that children are living in a more hygienic environment. That sounds like a good thing on paper, but in reality it prevents them from building up natural resistance. When they do eventually come into contact with an allergen, their immune system is more likely to go into attack mode, releasing histamine, which triggers the symptoms.
Something in the air?
With more cars clogging up our towns and cities, it's easy to think that pollution could be partly to blame for the rise in asthma. Although traffic fumes can spark an attack, they don't actually cause the asthma in the first place. Research carried out in places such as rural New Zealand suggests that children are just as likely to develop asthma whether they live in the middle of a metropolis or the back of beyond.
Too civilised for our own good
International studies have found that children in richer countries including Britain are more likely to suffer from allergies than those in poorer societies. This could be because the richer we get, the better we insulate our homes, giving dust mites the perfect place to breed. Or because we can afford to fill our comfortable houses with gadgets and computer games, we spend more time indoors with the mites and the mould.
Will they ever out grow it?
For some children, their allergy becomes nothing but a fading memory. But for others, the symptoms can stay with them for life. Even if the symptoms disappear, they may develop a new allergy after a while as their immune system continues to change.
The answer?
Learn how to spot the symptoms and know which treatments work for your child so they can carry on being a kid!
1. Hayfever and Concentration in Children by Prof Jean Emberlin, Director, National Pollen and Aerobiology, Research Unit, Institute of Health, University of Worcester