The allergies

Between greenhouse gas emissions that promote the growth of trees known to be the most allergenic, global warming that stimulates the growth of molds, and pollution that makes allergens even more aggressive, experts estimate that 33 million French people will be allergic. in 2020, i.e. nearly one in two French people!

There is not one but many allergies

To be allergic is to have an immune system that is a little too “sensitive” and which confuses normally harmless substances (allergens) with microbes, to the point of triggering a real “war” against these allergens.
The most common allergens are present in the air we breathe (mites, pollen, mold, animal hair) or in the foods we eat (egg protein, milk, fish, mustard, peanut, etc.). The manifestations of allergy are multiple ( eczema, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, edema, etc.) and may vary over time. Thus, your child may have eczema when he eats eggs at 8 years old, hay fever at 15 years old, and can no longer stand kiwis at 30!

The allergological assessment

If you or your spouse are allergic if there is a history in the family and if your child presents suggestive and persistent symptoms, you can consult an allergist. (Children are not subject to the Social Security care pathway, so it is not mandatory to see the attending physician first.)
After careful information gathering, skin tests, respiratory function tests (and at need additional blood tests ), you should be set.
An untreated allergy usually tends to get worse. It can affect school learning by generating fatigue(sometimes significant), or even hearing discomfort due to the presence of inflammatory fluid behind the eardrum.
For more information, you can contact the Asthma and Allergies Association at 0800 19 20 21 (toll-free).

Reconcile with your cat!

When you discover an allergy in a child, you still often hear that you have to part with your cat. Yet the “trauma” of the separation will not help the child. Before making such a decision, you can start by having your animal sterilized (because after castration a cat produces fewer allergens!) Then, you can pass a wet towel over its coat several times a day. Finally, forbid the cat to enter the room of the allergic child and clean it three times a week! These somewhat restrictive measures often prove to be effective.