Prevention of Atopic Disease in Babies

In order to prevent atopic disease in high risk babies and children there are many things that you should be avoided. In this particular posting, I want to share with you about things that you should avoid to prevent atopic disease. It begins from before your baby’s birth, when birthing process and in infancy. Besides, you have to notice in many things, such as to the environment around your baby. Here are the things should be avoided:

Before birth

1. Stop maternal smoking during pregnancy.


2. Free diet for pregnant women (from the allergological point of view) .


3. Remove pets and have the house thoroughly cleaned.


4. Prefer to live on a high storey (if feasible) .


5. If feasible adopt an under floor heating.


6. Ensure adequate ventilation and humidity.

Perinatally

1. Non-traumatic delivery.


2. No hidden cow’s milk (CM) formula at the maternity ward.

In infancy

1. Stop maternal smoking during breast-feeding.


2. Encourage exclusive breast-feeding, prolonged if possible up to the 6th month of life.


3. Consider an elimination diet of nursing mothers (CM, egg) .


4. Clearly explain to parents, especially to grandparents, caregivers and baby-sitters the significance of such avoidance measures.


5. Recommend a soy protein formula (SPF) or homemade meat-based formula (HMMBF), as breast milk back-up or replacement up to the 6th month of life (two pediatric guidelines prefer to avoid SPFs and suggest extensively HFs [5, 198]).You can also use soy + pork collagen formulas.


6. Consider supplemental calcium during restrictive diets.


7. No solid food for the first 6 months; at that age vegetable broth with fresh lamb meat, rice flour, olive oil, and pear may be initiated.


8. Delayed introduction of dairy products until 1 year of life, starting with parmesan at gradually increasing doses.


9. CM- and egg-free pasta and cookies, and bread at 8 months (if the child is not allergic to cereals).


10. Delayed introduction of eggs up to 2 years, and fish, peanuts and nuts up to 3 years of age.


11. Introduce new foods one at a time.


12. Postpone feeding beef and antibiotics.


13. Postpone foods potentially cross-reacting with pollens.


14. Do not cook apples, spinach, citrus fruit in stainless steel pots, both new and used, or pressure cookers.


15. Pediatrician or allergist suggestions or skin prick test results shall specify which potentially sensitizing foods could be introduced next.

Environmental allergen avoidance

1. Wash baby with Marseille soap.


2. Use underwear exclusively of white cotton to be washed in a washing machine with Marseille soap at a Temperature more than 60⁰C, wash blankets every 15 days.


3. Absolute ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) cessation at home or in daycare center.


4. Do not allow furred pets in the home.


5. Reduce the early exposure to major allergens especially in the baby’s bedroom, and limit any potentially sensitizing factor such as house dust, wool, molds, animal danders, cockroaches, etc.


6. Remove upholstered furniture and stuffed toys and replace with leather, plastic, vinyl, or wooden furniture and toys, removing plush toys, carpets, wall-to-wall carpeting, bedside rugs, wool and/or feather mattress and pillow.


7. Encase in allergen-impermeable cover but water permeable fabric, both mattress and pillow in the child’s bedroom.


8. Air the child’s bedroom daily and vacuum it using a vacuum cleaner with an HEPA filter weekly, scrub bedsprings outside the room.


9. Maintain at home a temperature of about 20⁰C and reduce indoor humidity up to less than 50%.


10. Consult pediatrician or allergist about any uncertainty and/or before taking any initiative.

Hopefully those things above could help you in preventing atopic disease in your baby.

Regards and always stay healthy.

If you enjoyed the articles, you can sign up for our daily email newsletter.