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Allergies Lurking in Your Baby's Environment |
 Becoming a parent is a huge learning experience. A big part of that learning seems to be that parents of infants often become virtual experts in how to monitor and manage the health of their children. Yes, we have pediatricians who we turn to when the baby is so sick that there is nothing we can do. But babies face a huge variety of potential illnesses every day that parents must learn to cope with at home. One of those health problems that will sometimes mean a change to the lifestyle of the family is when you begin to recognize that your infant is experiencing an allergic reaction to something in her environment.
The difficulty with diagnosing what kind of allergy problem your baby might have is that the cuase of the allergy is probably something that by itself is not dangerous. The causes of an allergy is called the "allergen" and very often an allergen that might be making your baby sick could be something in the baby's environment or diet that you would never suspect of being dangerous to your child.
Experts in the field of infant allergies call these allergens "environmental allergies" for good reason. When the allergen could be in the air, something in the carpets or what the baby wears, that puts the entire home environment under scrutiny to find out what is causing your baby to suffer and get it out of her life.
The good news is that the majority of allergens come from common environmental sources. So when you suspect your home environment as a source of the allergy problem your baby is having, there are some "prime suspects" to look at first. Since a high percentage of infant allergies come from these prime suspects, you may be able to quickly find out what is causing those allergy symptoms you are witnessing in your little one and change the environment to put a stop to the allergies once and for all.
An obvious prime suspect for certain kinds of allergy symptoms is pollen or other allergens that come from nature. When you see your baby exhibit symptoms of hey fever including sniffling, sneezing, headaches, swelling and allergy rashes, it is natural to wonder if the same allergic problems mom and dad have to ragweed, pollen or other airborne outdoor allergens are affecting your child.
Medical experts tell us that allergies to pollen, ragweed and other outdoor allergens generally do not begin to surface in infants. Many doctors will not even perform a pinprick test on a child younger than six years old. That is something to keep in mind when trying to diagnose an infant allergy. It is still a good idea to seal the home up and do all you can to purify the air because there are other allergens like dust and dust mites that may be causing the problem.
Another prime suspect for infant allergies is mold. If you have an older home or there are areas of your home that could be breeding grounds for mold, you may be justified in looking for the symptoms of mold allergies in your child. The solution, of course, it so make your home as mold free as possible. Having the ductwork cleared so the mold is not likely to be blown into the air is an excellent first step. Also, inspect areas like basements, attics and other areas of the home where mold could get a foothold and take action to make those areas less hospital to this potential allergen for your little one.
Dust mites are a very common form of allergens that make their homes with most of us in the carpets, the vents and even the pillows and mattresses of our homes. Dust mites are hard to track down because they are microscopic and they spread easily. When starting a major cleaning effort to eliminate dust mites from your child's environment, don’t overlook old toys like teddy bears, pillows and the furniture. Each of these areas could be home to colonies of dust mites that have to go if your baby's allergy symptoms are to be resolved the way you want.
It is important to remember that the way most people deal with allergies is through avoidance. That means that when you do pinpoint the allergen in your home environment that is causing your baby to have allergy problems, the plan of attack is to get that allergen away from your baby and keep it that way.
But the allergy itself will not go away simply because you remove the allergen from the home. So always be mindful that your baby has an allergic problem with that allergen so when your infant goes to a new environment, you can make sure she will not encounter that allergy causes and experience those illness like symptoms all over again.
One last important thing to remember is also a cause for hope. Many infant allergies go away within the first few years of the child's life. So it pays to have your baby tested every year or so to see if the allergic reaction you saw in infancy may be clearing up as your baby becomes a toddler and then an infant.
It also pays to work in partnership with your child's pediatrician who can help guide you as you manage your child's allergies. If you do all you can to protect your child form her allergy symptoms, you can still enjoy a happy and peaceful time of raising your baby without the problems of seeing her suffer with allergy problems.
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