Allergies, what works and what is useless to prevent them

From vitamins to the pool to avoid, from reducing weight before pregnancy to reducing antibiotics in the first year of life, the recommendations for the prevention of allergies are many; some have a scientific foundation, for others there is no definite evidence. Clarity is necessary, so for example recently Alessandro Fiocchihead of the Allergology Unit of the Bambino Ges Pediatric Hospital in Rome, has published a review of studies on the use of prebiotics and probiotics for the prevention of allergiesone of the strategies often recommended to pregnant and breastfeeding women to reduce the baby’s allergic risks.

Food supplements and foods

The intestinal flora, the so-called microbiota, has an important role in the development of allergies and for this reason the idea of ​​modulating it through probiotics and/or prebiotics has been the subject of various studies; however, the review of research shows that the strategy may have a protective effect only against
Atopic dermatitis
but not for other types of allergic manifestations. The use of supplements or anti-allergic foods has often been proposed for preventive purposes but as Fiocchi specifies: There are few effective approaches. The integration of vitamins such as D, A, C or folic acid for example does not seem to be useful, nor is there unanimous agreement on the addition of polyunsaturated fatty acids. As for the modifications of the diet during pregnancy, it has been observed that they do not have substantial effects on the risk of allergies in the unborn child; ascertained, however, that better do not give formula milk to infants waiting for the mother’s milk to froth why this increases the likelihood of allergies. Breastfeeding is also ideal, but if breast milk is not good to use a partially hydrolysed formula product; products derived from other animals, soy or cereals should be avoided. About the weaningthe early introduction of some allergenic foods is protective only in special cases: giving peanuts early to children with eczema or allergy tocooked egg for example, it decreases the risk of peanut allergy, but this has not been demonstrated in other conditions.

The weight of the environment

Regardless of the diet of the pregnant woman and the child, there is instead the certainty that if the mother is not overweight before and during pregnancy, the risk of asthma in the child is reduced; equally solid data on the effect of pets on the probability of allergies, which indicate the opportunity to adopt a small dog when you want to expand the family: Having a dog as a pet in the first year of life reduces the risk of allergies, explains Fiocchi. On the contrary, the cat increases the probability, because it has more “aggressive” allergens and thus an early exposure increases the risk of becoming sensitized. As for mattress covers and anti-allergenic pillow covers for newborns, unfortunately if there is a predisposition to develop
dust mite allergy
they don’t help much. The environment counts a lot in the risk of allergies and the advice of experts in this regard could be summed up with “let’s get our hands dirty”: it is established that living on a farm halves the risk of allergies and something similar can be achieved by trying to spend time in nature, coming into contact with animals and bacteria found in the soil. This biodiversity of germs is beneficial because it “trains” the immune system and does not derail it towards allergies; in this sense, as Fiocchi specifies: Reducing the use of antibiotics to a minimum during pregnancy and in the first twelve months of life also decreases the likelihood of asthma, because it maintains a rich intestinal flora. It is equally important to avoid having recourse to a cesarean section as far as possible, because contact with the microorganisms of the vaginal canal during natural childbirth is protective against asthma and allergies. Then there are three certain rules to protect children: do not expose them to tobacco smoke and moulds, reduce as much as possible contact with indoor pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, or outdoors, such as the smog of busy streets. Instead, two widespread but false beliefs need to be dispelled: swimming pool chlorine does not increase the risk of allergies, on which not even the emollient creams or oils that many mothers use on newborns have any effect. They are useful if the skin is dry, but they do not seem to influence the likelihood of subsequent allergies, concludes Fiocchi.