At the present, almost 50% of children have been diagnosed with one or more allergic conditions. These typically take the form of allergic diseases such as atopic eczema, asthma, food allergies and hay fever. Many individuals know someone who suffers from an allergy and are already familiar with some of the common symptoms such as a runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, skin rashes, digestive issues and breathing problems.
On the other hand, there are many questions that individuals with allergies have regarding their conditions as they find ways to manage the symptoms. With the help of studies, new facts and theories as to why individuals suffer from allergy and the suitable course of action to manage these symptoms are available.
Childhood allergies
Due to a rapid increase in childhood allergies, many parents are starting to ask what can be done to prevent the allergy in the first place and how likely a child will develop allergies in the future.
The doctor could not predict with certainty which children will develop an allergy. Nevertheless, it has been noted that some families seem to have more allergies. It is important to note that children born into families with allergies have a higher risk of developing allergies. This increased propensity is due to the genetic link which is called as being an atopic individual.
Based on research, it is estimated that over half of children from atopic families will soon develop an allergic condition in which the incidence of allergy in children from families who do not have any allergies is low. The risk is also increased slightly among families where both parents have allergies. It simply means that both parents can pass on the potential to develop an allergy.
Allergies in children
It is vital to note that children do not always develop the same allergies as with other family members. Based on research, it revealed that the link in atopic families puts children at risk for developing a tendency to be allergic than developing a specific type of allergy. In this manner, even if the mother or father might be suffering from hay fever or pollen allergy, the child might develop other types of allergy such as asthma or atopic eczema.
How allergies develop in children
Among children, an allergy typically follows a particular pattern in which an allergic infant often continues to have allergies as a toddler and throughout their childhood, resulting to a lifelong condition. This condition is called as the “allergic march” in which a child suffers from a variety of allergic conditions where one recedes and another one starts to develop.
In such cases, it might often be the reason why a child with atopic eczema later on progresses into a certain form of allergic disease while developing another one. Nevertheless, each child is different and having one allergy does not necessarily mean that another allergy will follow.
Considerations to bear in mind
It is clear that genetics alone is not the sole cause of allergies and it is already widely accepted that the environment also plays a big role on the development of allergies. Due to this, some families have a greater predisposition to end up with allergies than others.