Jess and I were discussing the other day of why some babies get allergies, and some others don't. Is it genetics? Is it environment? We're not really sure. We're also not doctors so it is OK to not be sure : ) Some kids seem to be allergic to everything and some kids are allergic to nothing. Some allergies are for things that have to do with smelling ("achoo" is the biggest sign of an allergy to me) like flowers and pets, but some are for other things, like gress, bee stings and peanuts. And those last two are sometimes really serious from puffy faces to hospital visits.
What type of kid will Hugh be? Do our dog hair covered floors means he'll be more or less susceptible to dog allergies? Will we have to make sure his friends don't bring PB&J in their lunches because of the risk of peanut dust? Will we have to carry epipens and assume jamming a needle into his leg is a good thing?!! Hopefully it's just genetic because I'm not allergic to anything (that I know of yet) and Jess isn't allergic to much; just a little bit to cats and vanillia handcream. I told her a cat covered in vanillia handcream would really give her trouble!
[A few TV seasons ago Jess and I watched Beatuy and The Geek quite faithfully. A contestant on the show (one of the geeks) had to make up a comedy routine and I'll paraphrase it here since I couldn't stop thinking about it when we were talking about allergies.]
People are always allergic to small things, like dust or bugs. I'm sure it would be annoying to break out in hives because of something you can't even see. If we are going to be allergic to something, why couldn't it be for something that we really wanted to avoid. Like tigers and sharks. If I were alergic to tigers and broke out in hives, I'd know to watch out because a tiger was around. Or if I'm swimming and get a rash on my arm, I'd know a shark was out ot get me. "Uh oh, I'm breaking out in hives too! Must be a tiger shark." I hope Hugh isn't allergic to anything, but we'll have to see. It's not like an epipen would do much against a tiger shark, anyway.
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I'm not an expert per se, but I can help. There does seem to be some genetic component to allergies, but to be honest there is a genetic component to most chronic illness. As far as things you can do. There has been shown to be a correlation between breast feeding longer and less allergies as well as less incidence of atopy, which includes asthma and atopic dermatitis. I'll have to look this up to be more specific, but there is some indication that the age foods are introduced at plays some role in food allergies as well.
ReplyDeleteThats interesting. Something like the longer it takes for your first tooth to come through, the longer it takes for your first cavity to appear!!??
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