Allergies

How did you treat your toddlers’ allergies?

Our Mommy MD Guide’s reply: My kids had seasonal allergies. I addressed the problem by cleaning up the environment. I removed as many carpets as possible in our home and replaced them with washable floors. I removed as many fabric curtains as reasonable and replaced them with washable blinds. I covered the mattresses and pillowcases with allergy covers. I kept pets out of the bedrooms. (No exceptions!) I also kept the furnace filters clean.

Then we cleaned up our diet. I bought organic foods, avoided processed artificial foods, and tried to rotate foods. Back then not many people believed in a relationship between foods and allergies and asthma, but now it is proven. Allergies to fish, nuts, milk, pork, and other foods are well known.

In addition to cleaning our home environment and cleaning up our diet, I also would wash my child’s nose. I understood that allergy/asthma episodes always began with a snotty nose, so washing it made sense. Now we know that rinsing with the correct solution will remove 80 percent of the allergens!

Cleaning the environment and the diet and the nose help decrease the toxic load on the body.

—Hana R. Solomon, MD, a mom who raised four children, a grandmom of three, a board-certified pediatrician, the president of BeWell Health, LLC, and the author of Clearing The Air One Nose At A Time, Caring For Your Personal Filter, in Columbia, MO