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Allergies in infants
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 08.07.2025
The birth of a child is not only a joyful and long-awaited moment, but also new worries and concerns for parents. From the first days of life, a newborn is faced with a lot of negative factors, each of which can lead to the development of complex diseases. Allergies in infants are just the moment when you should pay special attention to the child's environment and the mother's behavior, first of all.
The birth of a baby with a pronounced predisposition to allergies is an indicator that there are hereditary factors, or there were serious violations in the mother's diet during pregnancy. The use of medicinal methods in the treatment of diseases during pregnancy can also provoke an allergic predisposition in the future baby.
Why are allergies dangerous in infants?
It is important to remember that the baby's undeveloped immunity is not able to independently resist aggressive allergenic factors, and you should not use traditional medicine to treat visible symptoms, even, for example, the manifestation of urticaria. Mothers, and especially grandmothers, like to use baths with decoctions of various herbs in order to rid the baby's skin of rashes, itching and irritation. Undoubtedly. In the old days, such decoctions could have a quick and high-quality healing effect. But with the advent of modern times, many external factors, such as ecology, poor-quality drinking water, products with a high content of chemicals, improper diet and widespread bad habits, have led to a strong weakening of our bodies. And what was previously considered useful, at present, can have a strong negative effect. Speaking about herbal decoctions, you need to remember that there is such a type of allergy as cross-allergy. Against the background of an existing food allergy, the addition of an allergy to grass will pass quite quickly. As a result, we get a combined allergen, the effect of which will be very difficult to eliminate.
A visit to a pediatrician and then an allergist will not take much time, but will provide an opportunity to determine the true cause of the negative symptoms. Allergies in infants can occur with frequent attacks of bronchospasms, so you should always have a phone number ready for an emergency call to a doctor, in case swelling of the larynx begins to develop, which can only be removed by a qualified medical specialist. Another danger that should not be forgotten when dealing with allergies is the development of anaphylactic shock.
How to determine if a baby has an allergy?
Allergies in infants do not always manifest themselves immediately after the allergen enters the body. Sometimes quite a long time passes and only then do the first signs begin to develop. There are a number of symptoms that can prompt an attentive and scrupulous mother to think that negative processes are beginning in the child's body.
- if the child's cheeks are constantly peeling and there is a small, barely visible rash on them;
- small reddish rash all over the body, with strong localization in the abdominal area;
- persistent diaper rash that does not improve;
- frequent regurgitation against the background of colic in the abdomen;
- persistent loose stools with little fecal matter and a predominance of water;
- constant sneezing and persistent cough;
- attacks of bronchospasm;
- the presence of edema, including in the nasopharynx, leading to attacks of suffocation.
This is far from a complete list of the main symptoms that allergies can give to infants. The main thing to remember is that if your baby has any health problems, you should immediately seek help from a pediatrician.
How are allergies treated in infants?
After all diagnostic measures have been carried out and the necessary allergy tests have been taken, the most important moment begins – treatment. The main treatment method used to eliminate allergies in infants is diet. If the baby is breastfed, the diet is selected for the mother, with the obligatory condition of keeping a food diary. The food diary records all the foods and liquids that make up the mother’s diet. All high-protein foods, red fruits and berries, citrus fruits and even whole cow’s milk should be excluded from consumption. An individual diet is selected for each specific case, depending on the complexity of the situation and the degree of allergy development. By further conducting a detailed analysis of the entries in the food diary, it is possible to find those types of foods that caused the allergic reaction. Such a method significantly facilitates diagnosis and shortens the time period for finding the main allergen.
With artificial feeding, allergies develop in response to the action of the protein contained in the milk formula. You will have to be patient and choose a more suitable mixture, and the mixture should be based on goat's milk, it is hypoallergenic, compared to cow's milk. As complementary food, it is advisable to use cereals based on buckwheat, corn and rice cereals, thereby eliminating the possibility of developing an allergy to gluten - it is contained in many cereals. The cereals listed above - buckwheat, corn and rice, in this regard, are completely safe.
It is necessary to ensure that the child does not pass it on. This is a very important point, as well as the fact that the intestines must be emptied constantly. Overeating and an overloaded intestine are two strong factors under the influence of which allergies in infants begin their rapid and active manifestation.
Of the medications, antihistamines can be prescribed in the form of ointments and syrups, in combination with sorbents, preparations based on bifidobacteria, to improve digestion and maintain intestinal microflora.
Timely seeking professional help, strict adherence to all medical recommendations, combined with patience, is the key to quickly achieving positive results that will relieve all symptoms of an allergic reaction and stop its further development. Allergies in infants tend to resolve on their own. The child simply outgrows the unfavorable period, after which the strengthened immune system is able to cope with any allergens on its own.