Many parents face diathesis in an infant. And in order to be able to help the baby cope with this uncomfortable condition, one should understand why diathesis appears, how to treat it and whether it can be prevented.
What is it?
Diathesis is called such individual characteristics of the baby, because of which the child becomes more predisposed to a number of diseases. The most common tendency of babies to allergic reactions, however, there are other types of diathesis.
The first manifestations of diathesis begin at the age of two months to two years. In such a condition, a wave-like course is noted - exacerbations periodically appear, which are replaced by remissions.
What does it look like?
In an infant, diathesis is manifested by rashes, which, as a rule, are very itchy and cause discomfort to the baby. A diathetic rash can be wet (it is represented by bubbles with liquid, weeping areas of the skin), dry (the skin is heavily flaky) or combination.
On the face, cheeks
Rashes on the face can be represented by a pinpoint rash, as well as areas of redness with peeling. Usually the child's cheeks turn red in limited areas, and the blush often has clear boundaries. At the same time, the epidermis in the reddened areas is thickened, the top of the skin is covered with small scales and rough to the touch. Some babies develop crusts or blisters on their cheeks.
On the pope
The baby's buttocks can be covered with both red spots and a small nodular rash, which is very itchy. If a child scratches the affected area, it will lead to eczema.
Symptoms
In addition to different types of rashes, diathesis can manifest itself:
- Diaper rash;
- Fatty scales on the scalp;
- Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract - decreased appetite, frequent regurgitation, nausea, unstable stool, pain in the abdomen;
- Irritation and inflammation of the lining of the nose, throat, eyes, or bladder;
- Poor sleep of the child and restless behavior of the crumbs.
Kinds
Among all types of diathesis that occur in infants, the most common are:
- Exudative-catarrhal. It is the most common type of diathesis, which is manifested by skin lesions. Its development is associated with the impact on the infant's body of different types of allergens.
- Neuro-arthritic. Its main cause is heredity. The baby has an increased risk of obesity, joint inflammation, nervous system excitability, and diabetes mellitus.
- Lymphatic-hypoplastic. A frequent factor in its appearance is an infection transferred by a future mother and taking a large number of medications. The manifestations of such a diathesis in babies will be allergies and frequent infectious diseases. At the same time, the baby has problems with the lymph nodes and the thymus gland.
Causes
The emergence of diathesis is due to:
- The genetic tendency of the child. The kid inherits it from his parents.
- The impact on the crumbs of environmental factors. Here, the influence on the baby during pregnancy, as well as the living conditions of the baby after childbirth, is distinguished.
Risk factors
The likelihood of developing diathesis in an infant increases if:
- His parents had manifestations of diathesis in childhood.
- The expectant mother consumed large quantities of allergenic foods during the gestation period.
- The expectant mother has chronic pathologies or she suffered from any infection during pregnancy.
- The pregnant woman was prescribed serious medications.
- Pregnancy proceeded with severe toxicosis.
- The baby was not breastfed much.
- Parents actively use household chemicals or, on the contrary, rarely clean the room.
- They bought new furniture for the apartment or just made repairs.
- Animals live in the house.
- Relatives of the baby too often use air fresheners, perfumes and deodorants.
- They buy low-quality toys for the child.
- The child is constantly overfed.
- Mom gives the baby a lot of drugs.
- The child spends little time in the fresh air.
- The baby was offered complementary foods too early.
How to treat?
The features of the treatment of manifestations of diathesis are influenced by the degree of their severity, and many other nuances, therefore it is important that the therapy is prescribed by a specialist. It can include both medications and folk recipes, as well as adjusting the diet and conditions of the baby's stay.
About what diathesis is, why this word is used only in our country and how to treat allergic diathesis, see the program of Dr. Komarovsky.
Medicines
Children with diathesis can be assigned:
- Sorbents. Such drugs safely accelerate the elimination of allergens from the baby's body. Enterosgel is very popular among effective sorbents.
- Antihistamines. The baby is prescribed Zirtek, Suprastin, Claritin, Tavegil and other drugs of this group. Some of them have a sedative effect.
- Immunomodulatory medicines. Such medications affect the immune system of the crumbs and have their own contraindications, so they should only be prescribed by a doctor.
- Probiotics. They are indicated if manifestations of dysbiosis are noted in a child simultaneously with a rash on the skin.
Are ointments effective?
Your doctor will recommend using creams or ointments to help moisturize dry areas of your baby's skin and heal faster. The most commonly used are bepanten, elidel, desitin, fenistil gel, la-kri. The baby's skin is lubricated several times a day until the rash disappears. As for hormonal ointments, only a doctor should prescribe them.
Also for local treatment you can use:
- Lotions with furacillin. Dissolve 1 / 4-1 / 2 tablets in a glass of water, hold the lotions until the rash fades.
- Lubrication with neutral oil or cream from the series of children's cosmetics.
- Lotions with soda. Pour a teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of cool boiled water. Do not rub the baby's skin, but just apply the lotion to the areas of inflammation.
Folk remedies
The following recipes are popular among the people against the manifestations of diathesis:
- Lubricate the rash with a paste, which includes fatty sour cream, zinc ointment, egg white and medical tar taken in the same amount. It is recommended to treat the skin of the baby with such a remedy twice to three times a day. It is better to cook a new pasta every day - from fresh ingredients.
- Give the baby a decoction made from bay leaves (10 leaves per liter of water) and rose hips (chop a teaspoon of the fruit). After boiling bay leaves in water for three minutes, add rose hips, turn off and leave to infuse overnight. Give the strained broth a tablespoon to the baby three times daily for several months.
- Make lotions on the areas of rashes and peeling, using black tea for them.
Baths
Bathing in water, to which medicinal herbs have been added, accelerates the healing of skin manifestations of diathesis. The duration of water procedures should be 10 minutes.
Bathing a child is most often advised with the addition of a decoction of a series. Pour three tablespoons of dry herb into 500 ml of boiling water, and after 30 minutes strain and pour into the baby's bath. In the same way, you can make baths with sage, chamomile flowers, valerian root, nettle leaves, as well as a mixture of these plants.
If the rash is weeping, a decoction of oak bark is added to the baby's bath. With diaper rash, a starch bath also helps, for which they take cold water (50 ml) and starch (two tablespoons), stir well and pour boiling water (two glasses). The kissel, which has turned out, is poured into a bath.
Food
A diet with the exclusion of allergenic products is prescribed for both a nursing mother and a baby who is already familiar with complementary foods. Sweets, honey, caviar, chocolate, eggs, seafood and other foods that can become an allergen should be removed from the diet.
All products are baked, boiled or steamed. Before cooking, vegetables and cereals are soaked in cool water for 10 hours. Boil the meat for 20 minutes, then drain the water and continue cooking. When buying products, you should carefully study their composition and avoid harmful substances.
How many days does it take?
How quickly the child's condition improves depends on various factors, for example, on the duration of exposure to the allergen on the baby, the severity of the manifestations of diathesis, the characteristics of the treatment prescribed for the baby. For some, the rash goes away in a few days, and for some babies, skin cleansing is observed at least two weeks later.
In cases where a pet is an allergen, the exclusion of the child's contact with this animal should be for a period longer than a month. These allergens persist in the home for a long time.
Baby care
If the baby has a diathesis, it is recommended:
- Change baby's underwear and bedding frequently.
- Dress the little one in clothes made from natural fabrics with a minimum of dyes.
- Use neutral detergents to wash all baby clothes.
- Iron the washed baby clothes from all sides.
- After each bowel movement and each urination, cleanse the skin of the crumbs.
- Take a bath daily. In this case, the mother should not take a bath with the little one.
- To care for baby's skin, purchase cosmetics designed for children with sensitive skin.
- Cut your baby's nails regularly.
- Try to minimize allergens such as dust, animal hair, aerosols.
Can I be vaccinated with diathesis?
The child can be vaccinated during the period of remission. After the previous exacerbation of allergic manifestations, at least a month should pass. Antihistamines should be given to the baby three days before vaccination and within seven days after vaccination.
Prevention
It is possible to prevent the appearance of diathesis with the help of preventive measures, which should be applied from the beginning of pregnancy and during the first year of the baby's life:
- While waiting for the baby, the expectant mother is not recommended to abuse allergenic foods, for example, eggs, nuts, fish, citrus fruits, berries, milk, chocolate and others. The same restrictions are appropriate for a nursing mother.
- Support breastfeeding. Make breast milk the only food for an infant until 6 months of age. If you have to transfer the baby to a mixture, you should carefully choose food that will not be allergic.
- Watch out for household factors that can cause allergies - synthetic clothes, household chemicals, low-quality toys, frequent self-medication, excess dust, communication of crumbs with a pet.
- It is also important to stick to your diet without overfeeding your baby. The introduction of complementary foods must be organized correctly, starting to give hypoallergenic products. It is important not to rush and not to give the baby several new dishes at once, but to carefully monitor all the reactions of the crumbs to the novelty on the menu.
For more information on diathesis, see the program of Dr. Komarovsky.
