Allergies are the leading cause of poor health in children. Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, is the most chronic childhood disease.

Hereditary factors play a big part in determining whether a child has allergies. If one parent has allergies the chance of a child developing them is 30-50 percent. When both parents have allergies the chances increase for the child to 60-80 percent.

Many families can trace a history of allergic disease back several generations. However, children, who have no known family history, can still develop allergies. The environmental factors are the prime suspects in these instances.

The single most common allergy among infants and children is to cow's milk protein. This normally occurs during the child's first year.

To develop an allergy, a child must first be exposed to a substance that may later be considered an allergen. The first allergens, other than foods, that may affect children are the indoor allergens such as pets, household dust mites, and molds.

Once a child gets older, exposure to outside allergens, like tree pollen, weeds, or grasses, increases their chance for seasonal allergies because they spend more time outdoors.

Physical Symptoms
Food allergies in infants can cause many problems which include crying, colic, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, eczema and cold-like respiratory congestion.

An allergic child usually has certain physical signs that indicate they may have allergies. One sign is a bluish-brownish discoloration around both eyes, which is referred to as allergic shiners. There may be puffiness beneath the eyes and the eyes themselves may appear irritated and red. The ears and cheeks may flush. The child may breathe out the mouth, rub the nose, sniffle, sneeze, and have congestion making it difficult to breathe.

A child with allergies may have recurrent sore throats, chronic nasal congestion, and chronic ear infections.

Because excess mucus secretion and swelling of nasal tissues usually occurs with allergies, breathing may be difficult for a child when lying down. This difficulty in breathing may cause the child to gasp for breath, or cough, which will awaken and disturb his sleep. This disturbed sleep can result in sleep apnea.

A child's ability to learn and play can be negatively impacted by allergies. If a child becomes drowsy, whether from lack of sleep or from medication, it becomes harder to pay attention, concentrate, or remember things. Because of the lack of concentration it becomes easier to become distracted.

Allergies have been known to be the underlying cause of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in many cases. Studies have shown children with severe allergies are more likely to be aggressive, depressed or irritable, than children with no allergies.

Dr. Doris Rapp, a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of environmentally related allergies, warns parents that their children may be allergic to plastic in toys. She said children can react to an odor within minutes of exposure. Some of the warning signs are reddening of cheeks, nose and ear lobes, rubbing of the eyes and pronounced wiggling of the legs.

http://allergies.about.com/cs/children/a/aa040599.htm

I first saw Dr. Doris Rapp on the old Phil Donahue show and immediately purchased her book. That was several years ago and a few years too late to help my baby girl with her allergies. In hindsight, the book was the answer to a lot of what we went through and a must read for parents of kids with allergies. Dr. Rapp has the advantage of training and working as a traditional medical doctor who kept seeing these kids who didn't "fit" the diagnostic criteria.

Thanks for the reminder, Andrew.

Allergies have been known to be the underlying cause of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in many cases.

http://allergies.about.com/cs/children/a/aa040599.htm
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Repeat after me;"allergies do not cause ADHD".
Who is the author of such a bogus statement? Not a Doctor, nor a scientist, but someone who has allergies herself.

Judy Tidwell is an economic service specialist at a state social services office in the Southeast United States.
Experience: Judy has struggled with a variety of allergies herself, as well as seen allergies affect other family members.
Education: Graduate of McNary High School, Salem, OR.

Furthermore, does she site any study to back up her claim? NO.


Here is Dr. Russell Barkley on the Subject.

"It should be evident from the research reviewed here that ADHD arises from multiple etiologies, neurological and genetic factors being substantial ones. Like Taylor (1999), I envision ADHD as having a heterogeneous etiology with various developmental pathways leading to this behavioral syndrome. These various etiologies and pathways, however, may give rise to the disorder through disturbances in a final common pathway in the nervous system. That pathway appears to be the integrity of the prefrontal cortical-striatal network. It now appears that hereditary factors play the largest role in the occurrence of ADHD symptoms in children. It may be that what is transmitted genetically is a tendency toward a smaller and less active prefrontal﷓striatal-cerebellar network. The condition can also be caused or exacerbated by pregnancy complications, exposure to toxins, or neurological disease. Social factors alone cannot be supported as causal of this disorder but such factors may exacerbate the condition, contribute to its persistence, and, more likely, contribute to the forms of comorbid disorders associated with ADHD. Cases of ADHD can also arise without a genetic predisposition to the disorder provided the child is exposed to significant disruption or neurological injury to this final common neurologic pathway, but this would seem to account for only a small minority of ADHD children. In general, then, research conducted since the last edition of this text has further strengthened the evidence for genetic and developmental neurological factors as likely causal of this disorder while greatly reducing the support for purely social or environmental factors as having a role. Even so, environmental factors involving family and social adversity may still serve as both exacerbating factors, determinants of comorbidity, and contributors to persistence of disorder over development".

http://www.continuingedcourses.net/active/courses/course003.php

I think exacerbation is the key here.

Sorry, Scuro, I didn't mean to suggest that this article was worthwhile as far as ADHD is concerned. And, unless she has changed her mind, Dr. Doris Rapp doesn't believe that allergies cause ADHD. Allergies cause their own behaviour issues and perhaps may be mistakenly diagnosed as other conditions.

Sorry, Scuro, I didn't mean to suggest that this article was worthwhile as far as ADHD is concerned. And, unless she has changed her mind, Dr. Doris Rapp doesn't believe that allergies cause ADHD. Allergies cause their own behaviour issues and perhaps may be mistakenly diagnosed as other conditions.

Nothing to be sorry about Imnapl and I agree fully with with what you say about allergies. It is Judy Tidwell's statement and also the title to the post, which I take issue with. "Allergies have been known to be the underlying cause of attention deficit disorder".

I've changed the title to "Allergies are the leading cause of poor health in children"

Now that I can agree with! My daughter developed a head to toe rash in less than twenty-four hours after birth. Little did I know what lay ahead.

I do not mean to sound like a fool but I have a question,food allergies can cause ADHD symptoms?Like what?Im really curious because my little girl was colic BAD as a baby and she was allergic to cows milk the first year so she was on special milk and she has the pinkish brownish circles under her eyes and she sniffles 24/7 and breaths out of her mouth.I am asking because im thinking maybe they ned to test her cause if she is having these symptoms from food allergies,i would hate for her to be on all these meds if it is allergies and we could just avoid these foods she is allergic too.
I hope I didnt lose any of u because i am very scattered today.;)