Answers to common questions are discussed here. If you have particular questions about your child's asthma, we will refer them to our medical consultants, Phillip E. Korenblat, MD and Gary Rachelefsky, MD. If you'd like to ask our medical experts a question, please use the box below.
My daughter has asthma and is also allergic to tree nuts. I have been told that because she has asthma we should be extra careful in preventing her from eating tree nuts. Of course we are always reading labels and protecting her from accidentally eating nuts but what does having asthma have to do with the food allergy?
The major concern is in patients who have poorly controlled asthma since a reaction to a food allergy could more easily lead to a severe asthma exacerbation along with any other allergic symptoms such as hives. Although controlled asthma in that circumstance could certainly be worsened, even become severe, it is a little less likely to reach the same level of concern.\u00a0 This is one among many reasons why parents of children with asthma need to seek to reach the best possible control of their children\u2019s asthma so they are less vulnerable to sudden episodes of worsening when exposed to asthma triggers, be it food, pollen, animal allergens or respiratory infections.<\/p>
During the holiday season tree nuts will be ever present, so here are some tips.<\/p>
- Do not allow anyone to give her cookies or other homemade sweets, unless you know for certain the ingredients and say it is ok for her to eat them.<\/li>
- It is often best to prepare cookies and cakes at home yourself or buy treats that you know to be safe and take those with her to parties or when she is eating away from home.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/li>
- Make sure she has with her two injections of epinephrine and that whoever is with her understands under what circumstances she would need to use the injection as well as how to use it.\u00a0 The second injection can be given if a reaction does not respond to the first injection (get proper instructions on when and how soon she can be given the second injection from your child\u2019s physician.)<\/li><\/ol>
2) My 6 year old son and my 8 year old daughter both had eczema at 18 months of age and their doctor warned me that this may be the beginning of an “allergic march”. She told me infants who have eczema at an early age very often develop asthma especially if the parents have allergies. My husband and I both have allergies but no asthma. Well she was half correct my son developed asthma but my daughter did not. Can you explain why one and not the other developed asthma?
We can not be sure why this happened but it is no surprise. We do know that generally boys are more likely to develop childhood asthma than girls. A group of Australian researchers preformed a clinical trial studying children of parents with allergic symptoms and out of 620 infants 403 developed eczema during the first 2 years of life. Forty seven developed eczema during the first 6 month of life and the remainder by age 2. The researchers then followed up with the children at ages 6 and 7. What they found was that eczema in the first 2 years of life was associated with an increase risk of childhood asthma only in boys and not girls.
- Make sure she has with her two injections of epinephrine and that whoever is with her understands under what circumstances she would need to use the injection as well as how to use it.\u00a0 The second injection can be given if a reaction does not respond to the first injection (get proper instructions on when and how soon she can be given the second injection from your child\u2019s physician.)<\/li><\/ol>
