Healthy Tips For Better Live

Rhinitis during pregnancy can be due to allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, or non-allergic rhinitis. If the woman has had allergic rhinitis prior to pregnancy, this could worsen, stay the same, or even improve. This change in symptoms may be dependent upon many factors, including the presence of seasonal allergens and increase in pregnancy hormones.

Non-allergic rhinitis in pregnancy may also be due to an increase in pregnancy hormones, leading to nasal congestion, runny nose and post nasal drip. This is called “rhinitis of pregnancy”. The symptoms may mimic allergies, but since they are non-allergic in nature, do not respond to anti-histamines.

The pregnant woman with rhinitis may be concerned about the safety of medications during pregnancy, and therefore avoid taking medications.

If avoidance of allergic triggers is not possible or successful, medications may be needed to control symptoms.

Diagnosis of Allergic Rhinitis During Pregnancy

Allergy testing includes skin testing or blood tests, called a RAST. In general, allergy skin testing is not done during pregnancy, given the small chance of anaphylaxis which may occur. Anaphylaxis during pregnancy, if severe, could result in a decrease in blood and oxygen to the uterus, possibly harming the fetus. Therefore, allergy testing is usually deferred during pregnancy, although a RAST would be a safe alternative if the results are needed during pregnancy.

Safety of Allergy Medications During Pregnancy

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), no drugs are considered completely safe in pregnancy. This is because no pregnant woman would want to sign up for a medication safety study while she is pregnant. Therefore, the FDA has assigned risk categories to medications based on use in pregnancy.

Pregnancy category “A” medications are medications in which there are good studies in pregnant women showing the safety of the medication to the baby in the first trimester. There are very few medications in this category, and no asthma medications.

Category “B” medications show good safety studies in pregnant animals but there are no human studies available.

Pregnancy category “C” medications may result in adverse effects on the fetus when studied in pregnant animals, but the benefits of these drugs may out weight the potential risks in humans.

Category “D” medications show clear risk to the fetus, but there may be instances in which the benefits outweigh the risks in humans. And finally, category “X” medications show clear evidence of birth defects in animals and/or human studies and should not be used in pregnancy.

Before any medication is taken during pregnancy, the doctor and patient must have a risk/benefit discussion. This means that the benefits of the medication should be weighed against the risks – and the medication should only be taken if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Treatment of Rhinitis During Pregnancy

Nasal saline. Rhinitis of pregnancy tends not to respond to anti-histamines or nasal sprays. This condition seems to respond temporarily to nasal saline (salt water), which is safe to use during pregnancy (it is not actually a drug). Nasal saline is available over the counter, is inexpensive, and can be used as often as needed. Generally 3 to 6 sprays are placed in each nostril, leaving the saline in the nose for up to 30 seconds, and then blowing the nose.

Anti-histamines. Older anti-histamines, such as chlorpheniramine and tripelennamine, are the preferred agents to treat allergic rhinitis during pregnancy, and are both category B medications. Newer anti-histamines such as over-the-counter loratadine (Claritin/Alavert and generic forms) and prescription cetirizine (Zyrtec) are also pregnancy category B medications.

Decongestants. Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, many generic forms) is the preferred oral decongestant to treat allergic and non-allergic rhinitis during pregnancy, although should be avoided during the entire first trimester, as it has been associated with infant gastroschisis. This medication is pregnancy category C.

Medicated nasal sprays. Cromolyn nasal spray (NasalCrom, generics) is helpful in treating allergic rhinitis if it is used before exposure to an allergen and prior to the onset of symptoms. This medication is pregnancy category B and is available over the counter. If this medication is not helpful, one nasal steroid, budesonide (Rhinocort Aqua), recently received a pregnancy category B rating (all others are category C), and therefore would be the nasal steroid of choice during pregnancy.

Immunotherapy. Allergy shots can be continued during pregnancy, but it is not recommended to start this treatment while pregnant. Typically the dose of the allergy shots is not increased, and many allergists will cut the dose of the allergy shot by 50 percent during pregnancy. Some allergists feel that allergy shots should be stopped during pregnancy, given the risk of anaphylaxis and possible danger to the fetus as a result. Other than anaphylaxis, there is no data showing that the allergy shots themselves are actually harmful to the fetus.

Signs and symptoms

 

For some people an allergic reaction to a particular food can be uncomfortable, but not serious. For other people, a food-allergic reaction can be frightening and even life-threatening. Signs and symptoms of a food allergy usually develop within a few minutes to an hour after eating the offending food.

 

The most common signs and symptoms of a true food allergy are: *

 

Tintelingen in the mouth

* Galbulten, itching or eczema

* Swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat, or other parts of the body

* A wheezing, nasal congestion or difficulty in breathing

* Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting

* Dizziness, light or fainting

 

symptoms depends on what type of food allergy you have.

 

In a severe allergic reaction to food, called anaphylaxis, You can have more extreme symptoms including this life-threatening signs and symptoms:

 

* Design of the airways, such as a swollen throat or a lump in the throat, which makes it difficult to breathe

* Shock With a sharp drop in blood pressure

* Fast heartbeat

* Dizziness, light or loss of consciousness

 

Emergency treatment is of crucial importance in the treatment of anaphylaxis. Food anaphylaxis is responsible for thousands of emergency room visits and as many as 200 deaths in the United States each year.

 

Exercise-induced food allergy

Some people have an allergic reaction to a food which is caused by exercise. If the body is stimulated by exercise, a person with an exercise-induced food allergy May feel itchy and lightheaded. In severe cases it can lead to reactions such as hives or anaphylaxis. Not eating for a few hours before the exercise of this problem can be avoided.

 

Oral allergy syndrome

Some fresh vegetables and fruits can lead to a mild allergic reaction that causes the foot to Tingle or itching. This is an example of cross-reactivity, proteins in vegetables and fruits because they cause the reaction ‘re similar to those allergy causing proteins found in certain pollens. For example, if you ‘re allergic to ragweed, you may also react to melons, if you ‘ re allergic to birch pollen, you may also react to apples. Most cooked vegetables and fruits generally do not lead to cross-reactive oral allergy symptoms.





By Rishabh Sood

 

Many people do not think that young children can have allergies as doctors at one time believed since the nasal cavities are not completely developed then allergy problems should not exist.

Today, we now know allergic rhinitis is one of the most chronic childhood diseases. The main reason some children have allergies and some do not, comes down to heredity. If only one parent has allergies their children have a 30% to 50% percent chance of developing allergies and if cases where both parents have allergies the percentage goes up to 60% to 80%.

The most common allergy seen in both infants and children is an allergy to cows milk protein. This usually happens during the first year. Before a child can develop an allergy, he or she must first be exposed to a substance that may later be considered an allergen.

Besides food, some allergies that children may have include indoor allergens such as molds, household dust mites, and pets, outdoor allergens include weeds, tree pollen, and grasses.

If you think that your child may have allergies, then there are some physical symptoms that might help you make an educated decision prior to visiting your doctor.

Symptoms of food allergies in infants can cause your little one to be colicky, vomit, have diarrhea, rashes, eczema, cry more than they should, and have cold like respiratory congestion.

Physical symptoms that may show that your child has an allergy include bluish/brownish discoloration around both eyes, puffiness under the eyes and the eyes may look red and irritated, and the ears and cheeks may appear flushed. Your little one may not be able to explain to you how they feel but you may notice them breathing through their mouth, rubbing their noise, sniffling, sneezing, and have congestion that may make it hard for them to breath.

If you notice that your child is always complaining of a sore throat, has nasal congestion quite a bit and has had to be treated for chronic ear infections you may want to ask your doctor is your little one could be suffering from allergies since these also accompany allergies.

Remember, allergies can cause excess mucus secretions, this causes swelling of the nasal cavity and breathing can be difficult when your child lies down. It can be so bad that he or she may gasp for breath, cough or awaken in the middle of the night unable to breathe properly. If disturbed sleep does occur from allergies, it can result in sleep apnea.