Oh no! Not another Halloween warning to dampen our spirits. Every year, we parents are faced with the choice of locking our kids in (thus protecting them from harm) or letting them out and enjoy childhood for a little bit longer. Mrs H’s Halloween Safety Tips just about said it all.

Now, there’s nothing like face paint to make Halloween or any kiddie party for that matter, fun and festive. From the shimmering to the neon, to the glowing-in-the dark colors, most parents have used face paints on their little ones.

Beware of Halloween Face Paint

Then comes this warning from no less than the US FDA itself. Was it only yesterday that we were advised to use face paints instead of masks? Masks can obscure child’s vision and can present choking or asphyxiation hazards. Now, we have to take care which face paints to use.

Why To Be Cautious When Using Face Paint

Face paints may contain toxic or irritating substances that can trigger allergic reactions. Some have been reported to contain lead and mercury. Reported adverse effects of the paints on the skin areas it was applied to are:

• Rashes

• Itchiness

• Burning Sensation

• Swelling

So which will it be, mask or face paint?

Well, luckily the US FDA gives some recommendations regarding the safe use of face paints. So before you do a Spiderman or princess masterpiece on your child’s face, please read the following:

• Use only paint or make up that is intended for the skin.

• Check for allergies before extensive use by doing a patch test before the big day.

• Avoid applying paint around and close to the eyes, especially fluorescent (neon) and luminescent (glow in the dark) colors. The fluorescent colors (D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11; D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28; and D&C Yellow No. 7) should especially be avoided near the eyes.

• Follow application instructions carefully.

• Read the labels and check the ingredients. Watch out for colors not approved by the US FDA. Colors approved for cosmetic use are listed on the FDA site.

• Use newly purchased products. Paints already opened and previously used may be contaminated.

• Watch out for recalled products. In May of this year, the FDA advised consumers of several types of children’s face paint recalled by Fun Express. Check out the list of products here and here.

• Remove the paint thoroughly after all the fun is over. Don’t sleep with paint or make up on. Follow removal instructions on the product labels.

Halloween is a fun holiday! With a little caution and awareness from parents, it can stay that way.

This week, the New York Times says that dirt and worms are actually good for your baby.

Babies love putting horrible stuff in their mouths. Rediscovered ancient cheerios dropped weeks ago, fluff from under the bed, and grot they find in the grass at the park. I know a couple of babies who love to eat sand, and the contents of the dog’s bowl is irresistible to just about every crawler.

Scientists and moms alike have wondered why on earth babies do this. It’s hazardous, for one – small objects can choke a baby. And things from the ground are covered in germs and dirt and dog drool and other unpleasant substances that make babies sick.

Or do they?

Being worried about small objects choking a baby is a very real and valid concern, us moms have to always be vigilant about what baby is putting in her mouth.

But dirt, dogfood and Jurassic crackers? That could be a different story. A growing number of doctors are advocating letting your child play in the dirt, and taste it too.

A newborn baby’s immune system mostly doesn’t know how to deal with germs in the real world. It has to learn what to do with bacteria and viruses that the baby may encounter. When a baby sucks something she finds on the floor, she’s ingesting a small amount of bacteria and viruses and her infant immune system gets to practice responding to the bacteria or virus. It’s critical that this happens, so when baby is exposed to a large amount of that bacteria/virus, her immune system knows what to do and she won’t get sick, or won’t get as sick.

Some scientists theorize that today’s clean environment is responsible for kids with perma-stuffy noses, allergies and eczema, and serious immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, which are all on the rise. Babies just aren’t exposed to as many germs as they need to train their immune systems.

It’s well known that children who live on farms and are exposed to all kinds of germs get sick less often than children who live in nice clean houses in the suburbs. And I’m sure you know a parent who has a spic-and-span home but a baby who is always missing playdates because he is sick.

You probably have heard that theory already, and maybe you quoted it to yourself when you decided to watch Gossip Girl instead of wash the kitchen floor. And you probably did the right thing.

And now scientists from the University of Iowa have upped the ick factor. Not only do they encourage babies tasting muck from the sandbox, they theorize that intestinal worms are responsible for training infant immune systems. It’s becoming much less common for someone to have worms in America these days, and the researchers lament the demise of the worms. Apparently, worms play a very important role in learning immune response, and the scientists have successfully treated and improved symptoms of patients with the immune disease multiple sclerosis by infecting them with intestinal worms.

When you say “worms”, most people think of tape worms, the kind that give you an itchy bum. And while some types of worms cause serious complications, there are also many other species of worms that live in human gastrointestinal tracts, such as the whipworm used in the MS study, which don’t cause symptoms in low numbers, and are basically harmless in healthy well-nourished people.

It ties in with the theory about the kids raised on farms who don’t get sick so much. They are much more likely to have contracted worms from the farm animals.

I can’t get my head around letting my kid get worms. I love that someone has thought up this theory and it’s even more wild that it seems to improve patients with MS and Crohn’s disease. But I still don’t think I could willfully expose my son to worms. I think I’ll wait for more evidence.

But dirt? I am in agreement that a little dirt isn’t bad for you. In my house everyone washes their hands before meals, before and after preparing food, and after diaper changes, but otherwise my household is generally clean but in no way sterile. So when I see my son picking between his toes then eating the gerber puffs that have been under the couch for a month, I don’t care.

Health conditions can range from the simply annoying to the potentially fatal. But it seems there are upsides to certain conditions that give us some food for thought. As in the case of allergies and gestational hypertension.

Allergies

This study by Cornell University researchers suggests that our annoying allergies, previously thought to be due to a malfunctioning immune system, are actually defense mechanisms that can protect us from certain types of cancer. Yes, the big C. Especially cancers involving organs exposed to the environment (e.g. skin, lungs, throat, uterus, cervix, and gastrointestinal tract). It seems that allergic reactions are a way in which our body tries to get rid of invading substances from the environment – including toxins and carcinogens. So next time you feel the hay fever coming, think twice before you start moaning.

Pre-eclampsia

Now, nobody would wish to have this pregnancy complication, considering the risks involved. Sometimes called gestational hypertention, pre-eclampsia can present risks to both mother and fetus in the form of miscarriage, pre-term delivery, and fetal problems. But would you believe it that mommies who had pre-eclampsia have baby boys with lower risks for testicular cancer? This is according to a study by Swedish researchers. This doesn’t mean that normal pregnancies translate into increased risks for this cancer for the babies. Let’s just say, it’s just a little bit of silver lining to the very dark cloud of pre-eclampsia. This upside notwithstanding, pre-eclampsia is still something best avoided.

Once, the American Academy of Pediatricians recommended that parents of children at higher risk of eczema and allergies held off feeding their babies certain foods until age 3. The thinking was that if parents avoided foods that cause a large percentage of all food allergies, like fish, until the child was older, then their immune system would be better able to cope with a possible allergic reaction.

In 2008 the AAP reversed their recommendation, saying there was no convincing evidence that eating fish early did increase the likelihood of allergies. And a study from Sweden now suggests that babies who start to eat fish between 6 and 9 months may actually have a lower risk of developing eczema.

The type of fish eaten didn’t seem to make any difference. Researchers had thought that the affect might have been due to omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish, but now they believe that’s not the cause.

White fish is the least “fishy” tasting and can be pureed for younger babies, and of course fish sticks are always popular with older babies and toddlers.

Allergies in children are on the rise. And the most difficult cases are allergies to common food ingredients like nuts, milk, and – eggs.

Allergy to eggs is not just about not eating eggs for breakfast. Eggs can be found in many things we eat, from bread, cake and pastries to the cookies and noodles our little ones like so much. We may not see the eggs but the allergens, the proteins that cause the allergic reaction are still there. This is a real pain to mommies with egg-allergic children because they have to check the ingredients of each and every food item they buy. And what about the logistical nightmare of birthday parties, school trips, and camps?

German researchers have recently demonstrated a technique that reduces allergens in chicken eggs and can make them 100 times less allergenic than untreated eggs. Uncooked eggs are subjected to a process similar to pasteurization of milk. The nine-step process combines enzymatic breakdown and heat-treatment that can break down the allergenic proteins in the eggs.

The process would be especially useful in reducing allergens in chicken eggs used as ingredients in manufacturing foodstuffs mentioned above without significantly affecting the taste and flavour of the finished product.

If the technique is proven to be economically and technically feasible in large scale, we might soon have noodles and cookies that are hypoallergenic concerning eggs. That would certainly make life easier for kids and mommies alike.

To help kids understand the technique better, the American Chemical Society issued a news release about the research that is specifically targeting the young audience. Check out Science for Kids: An egg-straordinary discovery to help kids with egg allergy.

Having medicine prescribed for your baby can be a sticky situation. You want your baby to receive treatment for whatever the ailment is, but on the other hand you don’t want to expose your baby to any medications he may not need. Believe me, I know how it feels. Both of my children have been on allergy medicine (Zyrtec for one, D-Allergy for the other) since they were itty bitty babies.

I don’t like giving them medication unless they absolutely need it. I guess I’m always afraid that they’re injesting something they don’t even need, and all it takes is one story in a magazine about a baby dying from an accidental medicine overdose to really freak me out.

My son was on Prilosec for about a year. He first was prescribed this medicine when he was having issues with crispy-sounding breathing because the doctor decided my son had acid reflux. This medicine was a big pain. It had to be kept cold, the pharmacy needed plenty of advanced notice before we needed refills, and my son absolutely hated the taste. Half the time he didn’t even take the full dose because he spit most of it out.

I kept asking the doctor if we could try to lay off the Prilosec to see if he had maybe outgrown the ailment on his own, but she was apprehensive about it. At one point she even suggested that I should increase his dosage.

The funny thing was that my instincts were saying that he really didn’t need this medicine. Something inside me said that he was getting a medication that wasn’t doing a thing for him.

One day I made up my mind: I would wean him off the medication and watch him carefully. I did it with the reluctant blessing of my son’s doctor, but guess what? He did just fine without the medication. He didn’t need it after all. Of course, this doesn’t mean that he didn’t need it at some point, and maybe it was a good thing when he was younger, but I was very happy when we were able to say goodbye to that vile stuff forever.

Stay tuned as my doctor and I try to see if we can get the kids off allergy medicine too!

And before you scream at me, I think that’s a scummy title for a news report too.

ABC News reports that Harvard doctors seem to have found an increased risk of allergies and asthma in babies born to moms who were stressed during their pregnancies, and the effect was exacerbated by having dust mites in the mother’s houses. So, says ABC News to moms – listen up. De-stress, pronto, and clean up your filthy, bug ridden house.

Or perhaps, news reporter who wrote the title to that story, please consider other information about this study. Only 315 women – a very small amount for a scientific study – were involved in the research. The doctors noted a small (about 12%) increased risk of having a blood marker which might predict future asthma and allergies only in moms who were very stressed.

The claim that “stress causes asthma, allergies” is actually more accurately put as “some very stressed moms have babies with a blood marker which may (or may not) be an indicator of allergies and asthma in the future”.

And, the doctors who performed the preliminary study aren’t wiping their hands, satisfied they’ve placed the blame squarely on mom for baby’s ills. They plan to follow the babies born in the study for five years to see if they actually do go on to develop asthma or allergies.

I’m not advocating living in filth or becoming a stress ball while pregnant, and of course it’s generally a good idea for pregnant women, and non-pregnant women, to minimize their stress levels.

But that’s not always possible. Pregnancy is a stressful time for many – unplanned pregnancies, health worries, financial worries, insurance worries, work worries, partner worries, first time mother worries, second-third-fourth… time mother worries…. it doesn’t need to be compounded by totally unnecessary stress from stupid news reports hysterically rushing to condemn mom for her unborn babies’ potential health problems.

(Aside: my mom is the most houseproud, chilled out person I know. My younger sister is allergic to life, the universe and everything else. And asthmatic too.)

German researchers claim that having a dog in your home during your child?s infancy, reduces your child?s risk of developing allergies. Their findings were based upon a 6 year study of 9,000 children and were published in the European Respiratory Journal recently. The findings show that having a dog in the home is associated with a significantly lower level of sensitization to pollens and inhaled allergens.

Scientists admit that they aren?t totally sure how the presence of a dog would reduce the risk of allergies, but theorize that perhaps the results give credence to a theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever. Scientist believe that perhaps youngsters may get beneficial early exposure from the germs carried into the house on the animal?s fur, which helps their immune system develop.

When I came across this study recently, my husband and I joked that our dog isn?t quite up to snuff as our son has developed both allergies and asthma. Then again, we?re in the middle of home renovations which our doctor pointed out can stir up dust and mold which could cause the allergies and asthma.

So, do the negative effects of home renovation outweigh the positive effects of having a dog? Sounds like someone should research that!

Call me thoughtless. Call me a terrible wife and mother’I don’t mind. I have two cats which I won’t part with, despite the fact that my husband is allergic to them. We always thought our kids were at least slightly allergic. My husband’s allergist told him that since he’s allergic to cats, it’s highly likely that his children are. We just accepted it-our kids are sometimes a little snifflly, especially during peak allergy season (spring), as are many people.

When our younger son spent the night at his cousin’s, at about age 4, he came home with a very stuffed-up nose and hives on his torso. We did attribute this to my sister’s small home which contains, in our opinion, too many pets without many (or any) rules regarding them. I love my sister to death (and hope she never reads this) but it always disturbs me to walk into her kitchen and see a cat standing on the countertop, eating leftovers out of a pot on the stove. I do not judge people by the cleanliness of their homes, although I try to keep mine looking fairly decent and particularly clean if we’re expecting visitors. But there are tufts of fur everywhere in my sister’s house. I don’t care if you’ve got pet allergies or not-this is not healthy for anyone.

Since my son has never broken out in hives at our house, or anyplace else, I always figured if he has any pet allergies at all, they must be mild and he simply reacted to the extreme conditions in my sister’s house.

Then, finally, about a year ago, we had him tested for allergies. His blood work turned up negative- for everything. I was right in my instinct to not get rid of our kitty-cats! I wasn’t a neglectful parent, after all. (A neglectful wife, maybe, but not parent).

Some studies have shown that raising kids with pets builds up their immunity to them and prevents allergies from getting the best of them later in life.

I like to focus on this and all of the other benefits of raising children with pets:

1. Having a pet teaches them responsibility. When kids are old enough, they can let the dog or cat out, take the dog out in the yard on his leash (assuming this is safe/they can control the dog), and feed/help care for their pet.
2. Having a pet teaches a child about unconditional love; a dog or even a cat can be a child’s best friend for many years and provide him with comfort. Time spent with a dog, cat or other pet can be time away from a child’s everyday stresses such as peer pressure, changes such as moving or family problems, and (God forbid) bullying.
3. Having animals in the house teaches kids to respect other creatures, an important lesson in life about nature, diversity and the environment outside their manmade homes and other things.
4. Having a pet does eventually end in loss, but this can be an important lesson for children about learning to deal with death, as this difficult part of the life cycle is something they will have to deal with again, at least at some point in their lives.
5. Playing with a pet-a dog, in particular-encourages activity and exercise, which, as we all know, are important aspects to leading a healthy life. With childhood obesity ever on the rise, some kids can truly benefit from such activity.

Sure, if we lived without pets, there would be no scratches on the side of our sofa and no fur to wipe off of our clothes. But I feel that there is much more to life than the presentation of one’s home. A house is meant to be lived in and kids can learn to take care of their property as well as to love and respect a pet as an important member of the family. To many families, including ours, this is a very valuable lesson for children to learn.

We had two cats when my first baby was born. One of the cats predated my relationship with my husband, and the other cat was one that traveled with us from overseas. My husband and I were very attached to these cats until our first baby was born, and it became very clear that the cats weren’t going to deal well with the new addition. They kept trying to jump into the crib, which made me incredibly nervous, and they started relieving themselves all over the house. It wasn’t pretty.

We tried to work through it all, but we wound up giving the cats away. It essentially boiled down to keeping them or keeping the baby, and the answer to that was obvious. It was horrible giving the cats away, and we vowed to never have pets again because the whole process was so painful. We didn’t want to go through all that ever again.

Fast forward to today. I found myself at the Humane Society with my husband and kids. We said we were just going to look around, and the next thing I know we’re in a visiting room with a very charming cat named Salem. The cat snuggled up to my husband, then started playing with the kids. My son shrieked with delight. My fate was sealed.

So we’re going to give the whole pet thing another try. I’m nervous about how it’s all going to work…whether the kids will be gentle enough with the cat and whether we’ll suddenly realize that one of the kids is allergic to cats, or something like that. On the other hand, I am really excited to see how having a pet is going to help my kids learn about the joy of having an animal in the family.

I think we’re in for quite an adventure.

More confusing research results.

Parents, especially Moms, must be so wary of “expert advice” by now. I know I am. What with all the conflicting advice I get, I may as well hole up in a cave, raise my daughter the way I want and say phooey! to any expert advice.

New research published in the the journal Pediatrics, shows the results of research conducted by German scientists. The research followed 2073 children with a 6 year follow-up and found no appreciably great difference in childhood allergies among those fed solids before 4 months. This seems to be contrary to advice by The World Health Organization (WHO), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) who recommend exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months to prevent allergies later in life like asthma, and food allergies.

This affects me greatly because I am beginning to feed my 4.5 month-old baby solids. I happen to personally know a mom who started feeding her child solids at age 3 months and I remember the disapproval I felt when I learned this. Her tactic was not what was recommended by “experts”. However, I followed her bits of wisdom when she said that she’s not one who just says whatever experts say to do; that she evaluates her child herself and makes decision based on her own experience and intuition. I could tell my baby was very interested in eating from the spoon, she seemed constantly hungry, and she had good head control already. So I ignored the advice of waiting until 6 months to introduce solids, BUT with a guilty feeling in the back of my mind remembering all the warnings of my child developing allergy.

The article does say that those babies who weren’t introduced to solids before 4 months did have less occurrence of eczema. However, the article does not conclude that delaying solids prevented eczema.

The article also does not go as far as saying to ignore the recommendations of WHO and AAP.

In my opinion, experts aren’t always experts; let your child be your guide.

Having suffered from allergic rhinitis most of my life and having required emergency care several times for allergic reactions to pain relievers and, of all things, pancakes, my husband and I have talked about what my allergies could mean for a pregnancy.

Fortunately, I was one of those whose allergies got better while I was pregnant. Pregnancy Weekly estimates that about a third of pregnant women suffer worse allergies during their pregnancies. Another third observes some, or a lot, of improvement while another third do not notice any change in frequency or severity at all.

However, I was not exempted from suffering from non-allergic rhinitis, which most pregnant women experience around the first trimester, when pregnancy hormones are at its peak. At least, it was only mild nasal congestion and not the runny nose, watery eyes and migraine headache type of rhinitis that usually besets me. Imagine having to deal with that while also dealing with all the other pregnancy symptoms!

But what does one really have to keep in mind about allergies during a pregnancy?

Regardless of whether one’s allergies have improved or not, authorities would always advise that you inform your doctor/midwife of your allergy history. Managing allergies during pregnancy is more than possible, it is also very doable. One may not possibly avoid all the triggers but keeping your surroundings clean, from your home to your office desk, is a good start. Use of hand held vacuums will not be backbreaking for the infanticipating mother but will also usually take care of dust and dander.

Minimizing intake of foods that commonly cause allergies, like dairy products and seafood, may also be beneficial provided that a pregnant mother still gets all her caloric requirements and finds other sources for calcium, protein and other minerals. Highly allergic mothers, however, should probably consider avoiding these foods altogether during the pregnancy but should only do so with the supervision of their OB especially since they may require supplements.

Minimizing stress through better time management, task delegation, adoption of calming hobbies, yoga and regular exercise, if allowed by the doctor, will also boost the immune system. Carrying allergy cards, or allergy translation cards when travelling, may also come in handy in case of emergencies where the mother cannot provide an allergy history or other pertinent information.

Although pregnant women are discouraged from taking drugs unless absolutely necessary and without the okay of their doctor, it is also imperative that allergy sufferers do not unnecessarily compromise their bodies, and therefore, their babies. Compromise happens when the allergy gets so bad that one cannot eat or sleep or function properly anymore. Untreated asthma may also result in high blood pressure, toxemia or premature delivery. Given that pregnancy hormones may aggravate allergic reactions, one should also be on the lookout for possible anaphylaxis.

Treatments for rhinitis like nasal saline, antihistamines and decongestants can go a long way in providing relief for the pregnant mom. Asthma medications’ risks to the fetus are also lower compared to the risks of an uncontrolled asthma.

Pregnant women and their partners, should know the fastest way to the hospital in case of an allergy emergency. Lastly, pregnant highly-allergic women should also follow my doctor’s advice and have a slip ready bearing “strong history of allergy” upon admission for the delivery to forewarn the medical staff.

Managing allergies requires a lot of caution and managing allergies while pregnant will require a more constant kind of vigilance. But again, managing allergies during pregnancy is possible and very doable.

Some more proof that passive smoking is not good for your kids!

In a study conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, over 4000 children were studied, followed-up and checked for allergic symptoms starting at age 2 months, then at age 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years old.

The results?

Children exposed to cigarette smoke early in life are more likely to develop allergies to food and airborne particles such as animal hair (cat & horse) and molds. However, no relationship to seasonal outdoor allergens such as pollens was found.

In addition, age at exposure and who`s smoking in the family seem to make a difference. The earlier the child is exposed, the higher is the risk that he/she develops allergies. Two smoking parents in the family produce the highest risk, followed by a smoking mother only, and then a smoking father only.

The study was started in 1998 and funded by the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Stockholm County Council, the Gillbergska Foundation and the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Health Care Sciences and Allergy Research, and the Swedish Research Council.

Sources:

Lanner? E, Wickerman M, van Hage M, et al. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and sensitisation in children. Thorax. Published Online First: 18 December 2007. doi:10.1136/thx.2007.079053

The previous belief that children usually outgrow dairy allergies by the age of three has been disproved by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Apparently only 19% of children outgrew this allergy by the age of 4 and 21% (over one fifth) of children still had not outgrown it by the age of 16. Those children who suffered from allergic rhinitis and / or asthma were less likely to outgrow their allergy.

Also research at the the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology in Belgium is using the natural bacteria, lactococcus lactis, to try to treat dairy allergies and intolerance.

Dairy allergies and intolerances are steadily increasing and can produce a range of symptoms including digestive problems, respiratory problems, skin problems and behavioural problems. Some people find that they have problems with cow?s milk products but are OK with other milks such as goat, sheep and buffalo.

Many Kids May Not Outgrow Cow’s Milk Allergy

Dairy Allergies (Milk Allergies)

Lactose Intolerance and Dairy Allergy

Dairy Bug Used In Allergy Research

Dairy Free from Cradle to Grave