As a parent, the health of our child is our number one priority. Worried about a rash? Suspicious of that sniffy nose? Curious about that cough? Concerned your child has a food allergy? As mums, it’s natural to worry, especially if it seems like a problem is persistent, and it’s therefore worth going to see a professional who’ll be able to offer sound and often reassuring advice.

If you are a parent worried that your child might be allergic to something, then you are not alone. Dr. David Cremonesini is a Consultant Pediatrician at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital with a special interest in allergy and everyday sees parents who have been told their child has an allergy and a lot of the time, this isn’t the case. As our own trusted pediatrician, we highly recommend Dr. David, not only for his knowledge and wisdom, but also for his calm and friendly demeanor, guaranteed to ease even the most nervous of patients (or parents)! To dive a bit deeper into allergies, we’ve asked Dr. David to provide us with some useful tips and info based on your child’s symptoms.

1. Runny nose and itchy eyes

Parents are often told a runny nose is an allergy and then the doctor leaves you hanging! However, the vast majority of colds are due to viruses, especially during the winter time. Viral colds come and go so if in-between the child is well with no symptoms, this makes allergy unlikely. Allergy to something in the environment at home should cause persistent symptoms. A fever, thick nose secretions or absence of itch makes allergy unlikely but if you are in any doubt, doing an allergy test can help. Ruling out an allergy reassures the family (and the dog) and means you can stop some medicines, whilst confirming an allergy helps make things better as it can then be treated.

2. Stubborn cough

All children cough. Many cough a great deal and most coughs are caused by viruses. Typically, sudden onset with fever or runny nose is likely to be a virus and it can take up to 4 weeks before it passes. In early childhood, its normal for children to get 10-12 viruses in a year so if they are unlucky, a persistent cough for months might just be one virus after another. Typically, we see children get better for short periods in between coughs, and even if it is just a week or two, periods of being normal are reassuring.

Allergy cough will normally either be accompanied with an itchy nose and persist for long time, or be associated with wheezing or difficulty with breathing. Asthma is a possibility, but the cough must be associated with a breathing problem (often during exercise) and it is very rare to just be a cough. At the clinic, Dr. David often sees a “habit” cough, where a child is coughing all day, breathing normally but at night has no cough at all, whereas in asthma, a child would be coughing at night too.

3. Itchy dry skin or eczema

Eczema is a skin problem and many things aggravate the skin that parents cannot avoid. Sweat, viruses, clothing, chlorine and soaps all irritate the skin, but often parents worry about an allergy, especially related to food. It is possible food might be one trigger, but less likely in children older than two years. Dr. David’s main priority is treating the eczema properly, using moisturisers 3-4 times a day and steroid creams when the child is itchy and suffering. Steroids are safe and the best initial option to alleviate itching, which can make the skin bleed, thereby causing more damage. Allergy tests, especially those related to food, are rarely helpful in eczema cases and can lead to unnecessary food avoidance. So, it is important that if you are avoiding foods to bring them back in the diet when the eczema is better to challenge the skin and see what happens.

4. Food allergy

In order to diagnose a food allergy, it’s important that there is supporting evidence connected to consumption of a certain food – itchy rash, swelling, vomit and (rarely) breathing problems, that occur less than two hours after eating a certain food. If the same reaction happens every time the child eats the food, then Dr. David will do a skin prick or blood test to confirm the allergy. It’s so important that there is supportive reason to doing the test as many food panel tests lead to an over diagnosis of food allergies, which can lead to other problems.

Firstly, an over diagnosis can lead to a child avoiding foods, potentially unnecessarily, and this impacts on their growth and nutrition status. Furthermore, it impacts a parent’s mental health, worrying about possible reactions at school or in restaurant. Secondly, avoiding foods as a child when they are not allergic, over time, leads to increased risk of food allergy. Dr. David spends as much time un-diagnosing food allergies as he does diagnosing them and to reassure parents, he does food challenges in the clinic so both the child and parents can feel safe trying different foods.

5. Antibiotic allergy

Dr. David has seen many children with suspected allergy after getting a rash or other problems while taking oral antibiotics. However, studies tell us that over 90% of children (and adults) who believe they are allergic to antibiotics (commonly penicillin) are not. It’s important to rule this out and Dr. David can do this by doing a test first and then giving some antibiotics at the clinic. Avoiding antibiotics unnecessarily leads to problems in adulthood, when as an adult you get unwell and often a penicillin might be the best antibiotic to give, but doctors won’t do it, worried about allergy. It is therefore important to try and check when you are a child, and this can be done safely in the clinic with Dr. David.

Dr. David’s key advice is to be careful when making a diagnosisof an allergy. When in doubt, do the test, but make sure you’re doing the test based on genuine concerns and Dr. David can help with justifying these. At Mediclinic Parkview Hospital, Dr. David is offering free skin prick tests to identify food or airborne allergies, with only the consultation fee chargeable. By doing tests and discussing your child with him, you can get a clearer picture of what is going on and a more accurate way to treat your child and make them better. If you want to see how a skin prick test works, check out this video by Royal College of Pediatrics UK.

For more information or to book a consultation with Dr. David to discuss your child’s potential allergies, please call Mediclinic Parkview Hospital on 800 1999 or visit their website.

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