Allergens and allergies are as common as a blue sky. Anyone from babies to the elderly can suffer from them, and often they’re unpredictable. They occur from triggers in an environment or they can come from food, but nevertheless, they’re a nuisance at a minimum and deadly at most.
As a parent, it can be a tough time trying to help a child who deals with allergies. It’s hard for them to explain how it feels, where it may have come from, or explain to them what allergies are. The best you can do is educate yourself so you can take the proper steps to help them deal with this problem. Here is what every parent needs to know about allergies and allergy triggers with their children.
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What An Allergic Reaction Looks Like
When you think of an allergic reaction you probably picture the dramatic effect of swelling, lack of breath, red or itchy skin, and the use of an EpiPen. Those are definitely signs of a serious allergic reaction, but allergens can cause minor issues much more so than big events like that. Much more typical allergic reactions are sneezing, stuffy noses, and watery eyes. These are signs of a simple allergic reaction and usually aren’t serious, but definitely a major nuisance. Being able to detect both serious and minor reactions in your kid can save their life or help you relieve their discomfort.
Typical Allergy Triggers
There are plenty of things that can cause allergies, so it’s really hard to narrow them down but they occur in main categories: food, airborne, bites or stings, material substances, and medicines. Food and airborne triggers are incredibly common too, with dust or pollen being one that a vast majority of people struggle with in one way or another. Latex gloves and material can cause reactions, certain dyes in medicines, and bee or wasp stings may also be triggers that will cause a reaction in your child. They vary in intensity, but it’s good to know that there are a lot of triggers out there, even if some may not apply to your kid.
How to Prevent Allergy Triggers
Some allergens you can’t prevent. You can’t remove pet dander from the world, you can’t remove certain foods, and you can’t eliminate dust or pollen. You can do a good job of limiting it, however, and if you look at the filters for A/C or HVAC units at Filter Buy, you can see how simple things like dust can be controlled. Not purchasing foods with nut or dairy traces helps and there are more brands producing allergy-sensitive foods for people. Similarly, a hypoallergenic pet breed can help as well. There are no stopping allergens from existing, but you can prevent or limit exposure in small ways.
Necessary Steps in Treating an Allergic Reaction
For simple reactions like sneezing, stuffy nose, and watery or irritated eyes, drops and other allergy medication is common. You can buy plenty of OTC (over-the-counter) brands, or your family doctor may prescribe more powerful or specialized medication for your child depending on the reaction. If they deal with serious reactions to foods like nuts, then you will need to get your child an EpiPen. These are prescribed by your doctor and they will help you understand how it works and other questions you’ll have. Serious reactions will require you to call an ambulance as quickly as possible, as an EpiPen is only a way to slow the allergic reaction. Otherwise, medication will usually help them get over it.
How to Educate Yourself and Others on Allergies
It’s also a good idea to do more research on how allergens affect people differently. How they spread, how allergens cause reactions, and why, and help educate others. This is important for teaching other people to clean dust, dander, or pollen from their homes to keep people safer and teach people how to keep potentially dangerous allergens in food away from your child. It’s better safe than sorry to educate more people on the issues caused by allergies than it is to bite your tongue and have your child suffer as a consequence.
Allergens may be everywhere, but that doesn’t mean your child has to live isolated and in fear of a reaction. Whether it’s a minor bout of sneezing or a serious incident of swelling, there is a lot to know about what causes these reactions, and how to keep your kid safe. Use this information to understand allergy triggers and other useful knowledge on allergy awareness.