Dr Costa: Private Children's Allergy Clinic
  • Home
  • About
    • Memberships
  • Services
    • Types of Allergy
    • Fees
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Allergy Articles & Updates

Contact dermatitis

11/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Contact Dermatitis
Causes of Irritant Contact Dermatitis
Parents have asked me if a diagnosis of a food allergy can be made by placing the food on the skin.⁣

The answer is, not always.⁣
Why is that?⁣

Not all concentrations of the allergen can lead to a reaction.⁣
  • Some reactions might be due to a 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴.⁣

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬 happens when a substance gets in contact with the skin, causing a localised reaction.⁣

It can be either 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 (80% of reactions) or 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘤 (20% of reactions), leading to different reactions.⁣

It affects people that deal with the substances frequently, though it can happen to anyone.⁣
  • Most commonly, it affects people working in the 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 or 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺.
  • 𝘔𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴 and 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 can also be affected.⁣

Treatment starts with avoidance of contact with the substance causing the reaction.⁣
Following this, the creams used are very similar to the ones used in eczema.⁣
It is not frequent the need for oral or intravenous medication.⁣

How to make a diagnosis?⁣
  • It is fairly easy, as there is a good association between the contact and the onset of the reaction.⁣
  • In some cases, when there is a mix of chemicals, patch testing can be used (I will speak about this in another post).⁣

There is also a difference in signs.⁣
  • 𝐈𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭:⁣
  1. Blisters⁣
  2. Dry skin leads to cracking⁣
  3. Cracking leads to sores and crusts⁣ Swelling⁣
















  • 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐜:⁣
  1. Hives⁣
  2. Itching⁣
  3. Red skin⁣
  4. Dry and flaking skin⁣
  5. Swelling, especially if affecting mucosas⁣

Nickel can give irritant and allergic contact dermatitis.


www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=305625454898006&id=100063516604410

Causes of Allergic Contact Dermatitis
0 Comments

peanut allergy and household dust

3/23/2021

0 Comments

 
Peanut in house dust
Peanut protein allergens in household dust
Recent publication showed there are significant peanut proteins in household dust.

But what is the relevance of this study, and how does it apply to the development of allergies?
  • It is known that during thefirst year of life, exposure to allergens will lead to the development of either tolerance or allergy.
  • With the loss of the natural skin barrier, the presence of eczema increases the risk of developing sensitization to the allergen that gets in contact with the skin.

The best course of action to deal with eczema, and potentially prevent the development of allergies, should be:
  1. Apply moisturizers as often as you feel the skin is dry to touch.
  2. If that is not solving the problem, speak to your doctor as the child might need topical steroids as well.
  3. Consider the possibility of an allergy leading to eczema and consider an exclusion diet. That should be guided by a paediatric allergist and a paediatric allergy dietitian.

(In due course, I will publish more information regarding eczema and the best way to take care of it.)


















(Main article – “Mass spectrometry confirmation that clinically important peanut protein allergens are in household dust”; Helen A. Brough, Elizabeth Naomi Clare Mills, Kerry Richards, Gideon Lack, Philip E. Johnson; 04 October 2019)

www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=131470248980195&id=100063516604410


0 Comments

FPIES and FPIP

2/20/2021

1 Comment

 
FPIES of FPIP
Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES)
Simple Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒) or Food Protein Induced Proctocolitis (𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐏) is often mistaken for a viral infection causing vomiting and diarrhoea, with occasional blood in stool.⁣

Often, and not wrongly, it may be diagnosed as a 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘐𝘨𝘌 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺, with the most common being CMPA.
  • This is because it normally tends to have mild symptoms.⁣

Important to note that severe 𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒 is relatively rare and less common than Anaphylaxis!⁣
















𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒 most common triggers:⁣
  1. Milk⁣
  2. Soy⁣
  3. Rice⁣
  4. But can be associated with a long list of food proteins⁣

Most children will be able to tolerate the food causing the reaction by the age of 2 or 3 years old.⁣ In some cases, it may persist throughout life.⁣

Children with recurrent episodes may suffer from poor growth and weight loss - failure to thrive.⁣

Usually children will recover very fast from an episode of 𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒, as long as appropriate diagnosis and treatment is made.⁣

For severe cases, the best treatment is fluid resuscitation.⁣
  • What does not work to treat them:⁣
  1. Adrenaline auto-injector⁣
  2. Antihistamines⁣
  3. Steroids⁣
  4. Antibiotics⁣

Though you will often see all of them being used due to the worry it is either Anaphylaxis or Sepsis.⁣

In the case of 𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐏, most symptoms tend to resolve by 6 months of age (50%) or 9 months of age (95%).⁣

The advice is to reintroduce the causing food into the mother's diet after an exclusion period of 6 months or give it to the child when reaching 12 months of age.⁣

For both cases, if the child is formula fed be aware that:⁣
  1. Medical and dietetic advice needs to be sought before a restriction diet is done⁣
  2. It might take 2 weeks for improvement to be seen⁣
  3. The child will need and Extensively Hydrolysed Formula (EHF - first choice) or eventually an Amino Acid Formula (AAF - second choice)⁣

In the case of a breastfeeding mother, a restriction diet needs to be guided by a dietitian.⁣
  • This is to be sure appropriate nutrition (focusing on protein and calcium) is achieved.⁣

For 𝐅𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒, there seems to be a 30% chance of people involved to develop either 𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴 (eczema), 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘢 or 𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘧𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (allergic rhinitis).

www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=247380117092229&id=109164090913833

Symptoms of FPIES and FPIP
1 Comment

    Author

    Dr Costa is a Consultant Paediatrician and fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

    Archives

    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020

    Categories

    All
    Airborne Allergies
    Allergens
    Allergic Reaction
    Allergic Rhinitis
    Allergies
    Allergy
    Allergy To Pets
    Anaphylaxis
    Antihistamines
    Asthma
    Breast Milk
    Chicken
    Chicken Allergy
    Coeliac Disease
    Contact Dermatitis
    COVID19 Vaccine
    Cow's Milk Protein Allergy
    Dinosaur
    Eczema
    Egg
    Egg Allergy
    Egg Ladder
    Fish Allergy
    Flu Vaccine
    Food Allergy
    Food Allergy Labelling
    Food Industry
    Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome
    Food Protein Induced Proctocolitis
    FPIES
    FPIP
    Gastroesophageal Reflux
    Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
    GER
    GERD
    Guest Blog
    Gut Health
    Hayfever
    Histamine
    Histamine Intolerance
    Household Dust
    Immunotherapy
    Lactose Intolerance
    Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
    Mental Health
    Microbiome
    Middle East
    MMR Vaccine
    Neuritin
    Non Allergic Rhinitis
    Oral Allergy Syndrome
    Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine
    Peanut Allergy
    Pfizer Vaccine
    Pollen Food Syndrome
    Probiotics
    Psychiatric Conditions
    Rabies Vaccine
    Shellfish Allergy
    Summer Camp
    United Arab Emirates
    Vaccination
    Vitamin A
    Vitamins
    Weaning
    Weaning With Reflux
    Wheat Allergy
    Yellow Fever Vaccine

    RSS Feed

Clinic Address: The Chase, Old Milverton Ln, Leamington Spa CV32 6RW
Email address: officedrcosta@gmail.com
​Contact number: 07949990798


Website design & content by LIT Communication: www.litcommunication.com
Picture
  • Home
  • About
    • Memberships
  • Services
    • Types of Allergy
    • Fees
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact