May 2007
You are currently browsing the articles from Allergy News written in the month of May 2007.
Many parents find the risk of infant food allergies one of the most worrying aspects of introducing new foods to their baby. But there are simple steps you can take to minimise potential problems and make your child’s introduction to solid food a safe and happy one.
Allergic reactions take place when your baby’s immune system mistakenly treats a harmless substance as a harmful one. Infant food allergy symptoms include diarrhea, eczema, nausea, constipation and watery or red eyes. Very rarely, a serious reaction known as allergic shock can occur. This can cause the throat and tongue to swell dangerously, which could lead to choking. In this situation, professional medical help must be sought immediately.
Infant food allergies should not be confused with food intolerance. A baby with food intolerance would have difficulty in digesting a particular type of food, which can be caused by many other things besides an allergen. In either case, diagnosis should be made by a medical professional.
In order to prevent infant food allergies such as these, or to identify foods to which your baby reacts, it is important to follow these simple guidelines –
1. Try to delay feeding your baby solid food until he is at least 6 months of age. His immune system will be better developed by this stage.
2. Only introduce one new food at a time and wait for a few days to see if a reaction occurs. It will then be easy to spot the “problem” food and eliminate it from your baby’s diet.
3. Avoid foods that are known to be more likely to cause allergic reactions. Examples of such foods include eggs (particularly the whites), shellfish, gluten and citrus fruits.
4. Decide whether or not your baby is at a particularly high risk of developing allergies — for example, do you suffer from an allergy yourself? This can often lead to an increased risk of allergies for your baby, although not necessarily to the same allergen (i.e. the substance responsible for the reaction).
5. Discuss any concerns with a medical professional.
Whilst it is sensible to be cautious, it is still important to remember that infant food allergies only affect around 8% of children. So try to keep things in perspective, introduce new foods individually and stay alert for possible reactions — these measures will give you the confidence to safely introduce the delights of solid food to your little one.
By: Christine Albury
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Christine Albury is the author of www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com, helping you become head chef for a very special little customer. For more baby food allergy information, visit www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/babyfoodallergies.html
Written by dpi on May 29th, 2007 with no comments.
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The deteriorating quality of indoor air is now a matter of growing health concern. Pollutant levels are 2 to 5 times higher inside the home than out, according to the EPA. Apart from gases and chemicals, these pollutants include airborne particles and particulate matter, which can be allergens causing different types of allergies. An allergy relief air purifier can improve indoor air quality, thereby reducing the chances of people having allergies. Apart from controlling the source and improving ventilation, an allergy relief air purifier is the best way to tackle this problem.
A good allergy relief air purifier is capable of greatly improving the quality of indoor air. But you must carefully choose from the numerous types and brands of purifiers that are now available in the market. It is because some of the air purifiers can cause some of the very problems they are meant to get rid of.
An allergy relief air purifier may be of various types. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) Purifier is one of them. These air purifiers filter a minimum of 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns and larger, which include allergens and contaminants like dust mites, dust mite feces, mold spores, pollen and animal dander. They offer cleaner air to help you breathe better. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends HEPA air purifiers, and it’s the highest current standard in air filtration. When you purchase a HEPA purifier, you should take into account the size and quality of the filter medium.
Activated carbon filter is another type of purifier that helps removal of gases, odors and toxins. In such purifiers, chemicals, gases, and odors stick to the carbon and are “adsorbed” onto its huge surface area, bonding to the surface through chemical attraction.
An electrostatic precipitator can also be called an allergy relief air purifier which ionizes particles as they are passed over an electronic cell, after which they are attracted and trapped by oppositely charged collector plates. Although you don’t need to replace filters with this product, you have to wash the collector plate regularly to keep the purifier effective. Many ionization air cleaners generate ozone, which is a documented health hazard and lung irritant. The EPA has strongly discouraged the use of ozone generators as air purifiers.
As different homes have different air contaminant sources to deal with, including both airborne particulates and allergens, and household chemicals and odors, it is always better to find an air purifier which combines a HEPA filter with some amount of carbon. This combination, apart from acting as an allergy relief air purifier, will remove the widest variety of indoor pollutants.
By: mrizalm
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Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on allergy relief, allergy relief air purifier and allergy relief product.
Written by dpi on May 23rd, 2007 with no comments.
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30% to 35% of all North Americans have allergy asthma. These numbers have increased significantly in the past 20 years. As a result both the sufferer and the sufferers’ family have seen a reduction in both quality of life and productivity. The impact can be devastating and even life threatening.
The allergy asthma population is on the rise yet research is on the decline. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you suffer from allergy asthma depending on the level of severity you can try to make improvements on your own or you may have to seek medical assistance.
There are several natural medicines that have shown excellent results for allergy asthma that is considered mild to moderate. Anyone dealing with severe problems needs to consult their doctor. Sometimes changes in lifestyle such as what you are exposing yourself to can help. Other times boosting the immune system or reprogramming it will make all the difference in the world.
Allergy asthma is one of the fastest growing allergies and asthma is becoming the fastest growing hospital admission in children and it is killing hundreds every year.
Allergies in general are growing with 2-5% of children and 10% of adults developing food allergies with many able to resolve themselves with dietary changes and often the use of herbal supplements. A small percentage will be dealing with more life threatening factors that must be addressed immediately. And many dealing with allergy asthma will need to work with their doctors.
Hay fever now affects about 25% of the population and it often leads to sinusitis and although it is often trivialized it is like allergy asthma seriously impairing a person’s ability to function.
Many of you might not realize the eczema can be a result of an allergy. In fact 10% of all eczema is allergy related and like allergy asthma you may need the help of your doctor to find the best approach to reducing it. There are many excellent herbal and natural products that can work well to eliminate eczema and reduce symptoms.
Anaphylaxis is the most serious allergy asthma – this is a reaction that can kill so suddenly those surrounding don’t realize what is occurring until it is too late. Anaphylaxis affects around 2% of the population and what happens is when the allergy strike the air ways are restricted and the person cannot breath thus suffocating.
Thankfully we are becoming much better at recognizing allergies in both children and adults. That means those suffering from allergies, and allergy asthma are getting better diagnosis and thus better treatment. In some cases with a little bit of diligence you can do a lot to help yourself using natural and herbal products. In more severe cases you will have to work with your doctor for the best outcome.
If you believe you have allergy asthma it is important to diagnose and find out exactly what is going on treating it before it gets more serious or even life threatening. There are some excellent asthma medications on the market that help you breathe and they have very few side effects.
So don’t delay if you think you have allergy asthma. You want to deal with it before it affects your quality of life.
By: Ramone Stevenson -
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Get all the latest information about Allergies from the only true source at www.1allergyinformation.com Be sure to check out our Allergy Asthma pages.
Written by dpi on May 22nd, 2007 with no comments.
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