What about breastfeeding???? This journal is usually good about recognizing
breastfeeding as an advantage to prevention.
We should just medicate infants instead!

Ellen


Allergy & Clinical Immunology International - Journal of the World Allergy
Organization

September 2004 , Vol 16 , No. 5
Clinical Trends
Can We Prevent Allergies and Asthma?
J.O. Warner

Child Health, Division of Infection, Inflammation & Repair, University of
Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, UK

 (188 KB)

Abstract

Background: Pharmacotherapy is highly effective in controlling symptoms and
improving the quality of life of allergy sufferers. However, such treatment
does not modify the natural course of allergic diseases and no cure has
been identified. Thus attention should focus on prevention, which will need
to be introduced in early life, as allergic sensitization can even occur in
utero. Methods/Data base: A review of the literature. Results/Conclusion:
The answer to the question “Can we prevent allergies and asthma?” is that
it is possible to transiently reduce the prevalence of allergy to foods and
atopic eczema dermatitis syndrome (AEDS) by dietary manipulation in the
newborn. However, there is relatively little evidence that this has any
long-term impact on asthma. Aeroallergen avoidance ante- and postnatally
has hitherto only been shown to reduce severe wheezing up to 1 year of age,
but not yet asthma. Im-munotherapy may delay or prevent the development of
new allergies and may have some effect on the allergic march.
Antihistamines, and particularly cetirizine, have been shown to have a
significant impact on the allergic march in reducing the development of
asthma amongst infants with AEDS who have evidence of either high total
immunoglobulin E (IgE) or sensitization to house dust mite and grass
pollen. As cetirizine has proved to be a very safe medication when
administered to infants, it can be viewed as the first practical secondary
preventive therapy for asthma.

Key words: sensitization during pregnancy - antenatal prophy-laxis -
infants - ceterizine

Allergy Clin Immunol Int: J World Allergy Org, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 186-191
© 2004 by Hogrefe & Huber Publishers


Copyright 2003, 2004 by Hogrefe & Huber Publishers

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