Allergies and Children: May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Nearly two million children in the United States have some type of allergy. Allergies are abnormal immune system reactions to triggers like foods, dust, plant pollen or medicines that are harmless to most people.

The substances that cause allergic reactions are called allergens, and allergic symptoms tell a person that he or she has swallowed, inhaled or come into contact with something that the immune system mistakenly perceives as harmful.

In recognition of Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month in May, The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital offers advice for parents about how to recognize and deal with the signs of allergies.

"Reactions to allergens can be mild, like a runny nose, or severe, like difficulty breathing," said Dr. Clement Maccia, a pediatric allergist at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and a clinical professor of pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "Asthma, for example, is often an allergic reaction to something that affects the lungs. Allergies can produce multiple symptoms, and in rare cases, can cause a person's body to go into shock."

Some of the most common allergies include those to food and airborne allergens such as pollen, mold, dust mites and animals. Allergies can be seasonal, like pollen, or year-round, like dust mites. Allergies are also hereditary - if you or your spouse has an allergy, there's a one in four chance that your child will also.

"Unfortunately, there is no cure for allergies, only symptomatic relief," noted Dr. Maccia. "The most effective method for freeing your child from allergies is to reduce or eliminate exposure to allergens."

Consult your child's doctor if your child has cold-like symptoms that last longer than a week or two or if your child seems to develop a cold at the same time every year. Your child's doctor will ask questions about the nature of the symptoms and when they appear. Based on the answers to these questions and a physical exam, the doctor may make a diagnosis and prescribe medications. Your child's doctor may even refer you to an allergist for allergy skin tests and more extensive therapy.

If your child is diagnosed with an allergy, your child's doctor or allergist may recommend avoidance techniques to reduce or eliminate the problem that is causing your child's allergies. This may be as simple as cleaning more regularly to reduce allergen exposure.

Your child's doctor or allergist may prescribe medication including inhaled or nasal spray steroids and non-sedative antihistamines. If these measures fail it may be recommended that your child receive allergy shots to help desensitize him or her to allergens.

If your child is diagnosed with a food allergy, avoiding the food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction. If your child is extremely sensitive to a particular food, or if the child has asthma in addition to the food allergy, the doctor will probably recommend that you carry injectable epinephrine (otherwise known as adrenaline) to counteract the allergic reaction in the event of an accidental exposure.

If you have any further questions or if you suspect your child is affected by allergies, you should speak with your child's pediatrician who may refer you to an allergist.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.

Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.

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