Peanuts can be classified as oleaginous fruits, being an allergen difficult to detect because it is used differently in many foods such as oil, butter, cream and additive. It is also found in candies,frozen or prepared foods.

Studies over the past 15 years have indicated that the prevalence of peanut allergy has nearly doubled, among young children,and estimates of this reaction, from American and the United Kingdom studies,indicate that this allergy affects more than 1% of children. Among the fatalities from food-induced anaphylaxis,reported in the United States, peanuts are responsible for most deaths.

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Asthma is an chronic inflammation of the airways where breathing and the flow of air into the lungs are reduced and blocked. The disease originates from a genetic inheritance, characterized by the presence of edema in the bronchial mucosa and also features the high production of mucus in the bronchi and contraction of the muscles of the lung with a decrease in its diameter.

The types of existing asthma classified by experts are intermittent asthma, mild persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent in which have specific characteristics that differentiate as:

Intermittent asthma – it’s the one that happens once a week or less during the day and night even in lower frequency, no more than once or twice per month. Individuals with intermittent asthma can carry out their activities normally.

Mild Persistent Asthma – presence of symptoms at least once per week, however, less than once a day; presence of night symptoms more than twice a month, however, less than once per week; pulmonary function tests are normal in the period between a crisis attack.

Moderate persistent asthma – the symptoms are daily. The patient wake up more than once a week,by the need to use the inhaler.The crises affect their quality of life,preventing him from doing a normal life.

Severe persistent asthma – the symptoms are permanent and the patient often wakes with the symptoms overnight and is daily activities are limited.

The recommended is to consult a doctor to evaluate the symptoms, therapy for asthma passes through the anti-allergic (eg vaccines) being necessary to determine the allergen or allergens which are responsible for the asthma. Besides the anti-allergic treatment inhalers may also be administered or pumps and pills or syrups. The sooner you are treated the better you will live, asthma has no cure, but can be mitigated.

Many mothers do not understand how a child may be allergic to milk. It is not allergy to breast milk, but the protein primarily found in cow’s milk. A baby allergic to cow’s milk protein that is in exclusive breastfeeding may have symptoms of allergy if the mother consumes cow’s milk and its derivatives.The  reason is simple: the allergenic protein passes into breast milk and reaches the baby causing allergy.

Many mothers also often confuse milk allergy with lactose intolerance. They are different things, although having some similar symptoms. Lactose is a sugar that exists, in a natural way, in milk and to be digested in the human organism,needs a particular enzyme, the lactase, usually present in the intestinal mucosa. Sometimes the body has little (or none) of this enzyme, resulting in lactose intolerance.

The protein allergy involves principles quite different from lactose intolerance. There is no lactose allergy, because being sugar, lactose has no allergenicity. Several proteins can cause allergies, including milk, egg, wheat and peanuts, among others. Meanwhile the proteins of milk and egg are the ones causing major problems for young children.

Allergy to cow’s milk is an allergic reaction to proteins found in cow’s milk or their derivatives. This is because when babies are born, is intestine is still immature and the intake of these proteins can initiate a process of inflammation in the digestive tract. The cow’s milk allergy affects about 5% of babies and children under 3 years, as adults rarely have the disease.

Symptoms can occur immediately after ingestion of cow’s milk (immediate symptoms), or may take seven to ten days to appear (later symptoms, which are more frequent). The immediate symptoms are vomiting, wheezing or hives. Anaphylactic shock is rare. The symptoms may be delayed abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, blood and mucus in the stools, colic, irritability or refuse to eat. This type of reaction is more difficult to diagnose, because it can also occur in situations other than cow’s milk allergy.

To make the diagnosis of the allergy cow’s milk protein, the story reported by the parents is crucial and directs the implementation of additional tests that help in diagnosis. Collecting the data you must have information about the list of suspect foods, route of exposure (oral, inhalation), interval between exposure and onset of symptoms, duration and specification of these symptoms, patient’s response to treatments and reproduction of the allergic whenever there is ingestion or inhalation of food.

The exercise induced asthma (EIA) is known as a transient airway obstruction caused shortly after vigorous exercise, being its main symptoms shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. May be evidenced by the fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and other spirometric parameters.The development mechanism of this obstruction is not yet defined; however, many studies were performed to elucidate about the mechanisms of action of the EIA.

A classic feature of the EIA, still not completely understood,is the refractory period to new stimuli, that occurs for a few hours after exercise. If an asthmatic develops EIA and spontaneously recover within one hour, a new exercise results in marked reduction of the EIA by about 50% of patients. The exercise-induced bronchoconstriction is caused, in part, by leukotriene d4 released in the airways. Studies suggest that LTD4 released in the airways of patients with asthma, as a result of the exercise, stimulates the slow release of bronchodilator prostaglandins, as PGE2 that relaxes the bronchial and vascular smooth muscle.

The diagnosis of exercise induced asthma remains a challenge to be overcome. This,from the point of view of clinical diagnosis, and research. Studies show that 64% of patients with established diagnosis of Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA) had no history suggestive of asthma, and more, had normal function at rest. About 20% of children who experience a  confirmed crisis do not complain about the symptoms.

A laboratory test is useful for evaluating the severity and treatment effects of the EIA, because standardized conditions for the exercise are used and may be reproduced. The duration of the exercise must be 6-8 minutes, achieving ventilation, at least 4 minutes, 40-60% of maximal voluntary ventilation. The diagnosis of EIA is confirmed by decreases in FEV1 or PEF 15% or more after 5-10 minutes of interruption of vigorous physical activity lasting 5-6 minutes, in which FC of 80-90% of the maximum is reached.

Symptoms triggered by exercise disappear spontaneously, after a variable period, usually one hour after its completion. However, a portion of them may manifest symptoms again, about four to ten hours after the initial trigger. This phenomenon is called the late phase of the EIA. This one, in turn, has characteristics similar to those of late phase reaction triggered by allergens.

To reduce the possibility of an attack, there are few tricks, as a good warming (which should be of low intensity at the beginning) and an adequate relaxation after exercise, adaptation of the duration and intensity of exercise on the severity of the particular case, the eviction of allergens and protection from the cold. You should always breathe through your nose, so that the air maintain a high moisture content before entering the airways. It also recommends avoiding exercise before the suspicion or diagnosis of a respiratory infection. Finally, some medications, when administered before exercise, can prevent a crisis, not considered “doping” since the situation is properly clarified.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, in susceptible individuals, causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, dyspnea (breathing difficulty), chest tightness and coughing, particularly at night or early in the morning. These symptoms are generally associated with an widespread obstruction, but variable, of the airway, which is reverse spontaneously or by treatment.

An asthma attack happens when substances such as dust, smoke, mold or dry or cold reach the lungs. Although sometimes there is no apparent cause, problems such as stress, hormonal changes or anger can also be the cause of this problem. The difficulty in breathing occurs when the bronchioles goes into spasm, causing coughing and chest tightness. These spasms cause histamine and other substances are released igniting and blocking main airways.

Asthma symptoms vary from mild to severe and may occur occasionally or daily. Asthma typically begins during childhood, but adults can also develop it. Exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke, at a young age increases the chances of developing asthma.

Symptoms can start with coughing or wheezing:

• When exercising
• As you inhale something that cause allergies such as dust,pollen, mold or animal hair
• As you inhale something that irritates the lungs,as cold air viruses,and tobacco smoke.When coughing and wheezing,an asthma attack occurrences that can last minutes or days and can be mild,moderate or severe,with the possibility to happen anywhere and anytime.Can be fatal,so the diagnosis and treatment of asthma should be early,leading to a healthy and active life.

There is no cure for asthma, but the disease can be controlled. Without treatment, attacks are more frequent and severe and can cause death. Among the treatments are bronchodilators which alleviate the symptoms of asthma, relaxing the muscles around the airways. Inhalers are the most effective way to carry medications into the lungs. Nebulizers are used to treat children and the elderly.

The episodes of respiratory difficulty are a very common situation in children. It is estimated that about half of the infants have at least one episode of respiratory difficulty, generally identified as “bronchiolitis“. A lower percentage refers several of these episodes, sometimes very serious, that recur throughout childhood. Between 3 and 5 years, approximately one quarter of children have at least one episode of breathlessness. Over 10% of school-age children have asthma. There are many cases and the cause of much suffering.

The occurrence of asthma seems to be determined by the interaction of genetic, immunological, environmental and chronic inflammation. Reversal of bronchial obstruction, either spontaneously or as a result of drugs, is a characteristic essential for diagnosis. Three recurrent episodes of wheezing,excluded other causes of respiratory (bronchial cyst, foreign body aspiration, tracheomalacia, viral pneumonia and other) can help diagnose the disease. A family history of asthma, recurrence of seizures, the history of hospitalization for the disease and the fact there is reversal of bronchial obstruction with the use of bronchodilators practically sealed the diagnosis. Anyway, it is very difficult to be able to say that a child is asthmatic before 2 years of life.

Asthma treatment is divided into following approaches: the first would be education and counseling of the patient and / or their caregivers about the disease; the second, orientation and importance of environmental hygiene; and the third would be the medication itself. Since asthma is an inflammatory disease, the drugs of choice are the anti-inflammatory, including corticosteroids (the most powerful and efficient) that depending on the severity of the case, can be administered in several doses, alone or with other medicines. The assessment should be made always by the physician. The preferred route for administration of corticosteroids is by inhalation and there is no minimum age.

Unfortunately asthma can not be cured, only controlled, so we must avoid anything that might make it appear, as dust, mold, pollen, plants or animals. A good alternative is to purchase an air purifier, and instead of sweeping the dust, use a towel to attract the electromagnetically. Following these tips you can prevent asthma, keeping safe your children’s health.

Parents and other health professionals should be educated to avoid asthma. They should also learn how to use inhalers, the uses of prescription drugs and the importance of regular monitoring. A child must have a plan for daily self-management, and an emergency plan. Plans should be developed with the child, parents and physician.

Acupuncture treatment offers excellent results to prevent and fight allergies, decreasing the intensity of the crises, spacing the occurrences and even ridding the patient of the problem definitively. “Acupuncture stimulates points that activate the body’s energy channels,helping to control functions,stimulating the production of natural analgesics and strengthening the immune system.”

The Chinese use acupuncture, introducing capillary needles at specific points of the body, for more than 2,500 years. But the West was slow to adopt the technique. Its popularization was slow and only recently acupuncture and acupuncture clinics entered in the Western health care. The World Health Organization list sinusitis and acute rhinitis as diseases that can be treated by acupuncture. This was based on clinical experience, not only in controlled studies. Western studies also recommend acupuncture, indicating that stimulates the release of endorphins, our body’s natural painkillers, that contribute to a sense of well-being.

According to the acupuncturist, the relief generally appears within 30 minutes after the beginning of the session. If the acupuncture goals don’t reach the expected result in 30 minutes, then conventional medicine should be used immediately. Although acupuncture is, in fact, better suited to deal with cases that are chronic rather than acute, it can be used alone or in conjunction with allopathic or homeopathic medication, which is a great adjunct to acupuncture therapy in cases of respiratory allergies, in both the acute and chronic cases.

Acupuncture stimulates the mechanisms of self-healing, enabling the body to process and filter allergens. In acupuncture, very fine needles are placed on the skin surface, at specific points along the body to promote dispersion and energy flow. After the insertion of the specific points for allergy, many patients feel immediate relief of allergy symptoms. The nasal pressure is reduced, the nasal passages are unlocked, the itchy eyes decreases and patients can breathe more easily through the nose. For the treatment of seasonal allergic, the best time to start the acupuncture treatment is one month earlier before the normal time of the allergic attacks.

Acupuncture is a very highly skilled natural treatment which requires needles to be placed in an exact area of the body and to be moved in a highly specific manner. Only experienced, trained acupuncturists who are certified to practice this treatment should treat your allergies with acupuncture. You should not in any circumstance trust an amateur to administer the treatment. To see the credentials that offer these treatments for your allergies is an very important way to protect your health.