If you think you have food allergies, you should see an allergist, a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating allergies. If you try to diagnose the problem yourself, you run the risk of removing too many foods from your diet and losing important nutrients. Before making a diagnosis, an allergist will take your medical […]
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Once an allergy is diagnosed, strict avoidance of the offending food (or foods) is the only proven method of managing the allergy. There is no medical cure for food allergy. However, within the next few years there will be safe and effective vaccines for food allergies. By strictly avoiding the food for one or two years, approximately
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Most people with food allergies will be put on an elimination diet (one from which foods suspected of causing an allergic reaction are removed). It may be difficult to stop eating some foods, such as those made with wheat or milk. Fortunately, there are many foods on the market that substitute for the more common allergy-provoking foods.
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A bad reaction to a food doesn’t necessarily mean you have a food allergy. For a true food allergy to be present, two things must be happen: The reaction must involve the immune system. Allergy tests determine if the immune system is involved. The reaction must create certain symptoms. Symptoms alone, however, do not prove
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The medication given to prevent and treat asthma is usually inhaled, because it gets directly to the lungs, where it is needed. Depending on the child’s age, there are several different devices through which the medicine can be inhaled: Through an inhaler. An inhaler is a device in which the medication is contained in a small
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For all asthma medications, it is very important to follow the doctor’s instructions. Here are some tips to make the most of the medication: Don’t stop the medication that is used to prevent attacks.Because the benefits of preventive medications are not immediate, parents sometimes stop giving the drug regularly or even discontinue it altogether. This
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Children will learn to recognize when an attack may be coming. Here are some of the most common signs: A change in breathing pattern A runny, stuffy nose A cough Feeling or looking tired An itchy, scratchy throat Headache Bad mood Difficulty sleeping Stomachache These are the signs of a more serious attack: The child
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You will have worked out a plan with your doctor and this plan should be followed: Remain calm and confident. Give the prescribed medication. Immediate relief usually occurs after taking bronchodilator medication. This can be repeated after five to ten minutes. Encourage the child to breathe slowly and deeply. Loosen any tight clothing. The child
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Here are some frequently asked questions related to asthma in children. Q: My child really wants a pet. He doesn’t seem allergic to pets, and skin tests show he’s not allergic to dogs or cats. How about it? A: In some cases, a dog or cat may seem to cause no asthma symptoms. But its presence
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Here is a summary of the important facts and information related to asthma in children. Here is what you can do to make your child’s asthma easier to manage: Keep lines of communication open between you and the doctor, you and the child, and the doctor and the child. Have a written plan that says
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Here are definitions of medical terms related to asthma in children. Allergen: A foreign substance that triggers an allergic response in a susceptible person. Allergens are usually common items encountered in everyday life such as substances from insects, animals or plants (such as pollen). Allergy: An unusual response to a small amount of a foreign substance that
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Here are some reliable sources that can provide more information on asthma in adults. Books American Lung Association: The Asthma Handbook. American Lung Association, New York, 1992. 24 pages. Bush RK and Georgitis JW. Handbook of Asthma and Rhinitis. Blackwell Science, Malden, MA, 1997. 270 pages. ISBN: 0-86542-433-0. Gershwin ME and Klingelhofer EL. Asthma: Stop
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