Allergy Suggestive Symptoms

Rash, sneezing, conjunctivitis, eczema. While some symptoms of allergies are easily identifiable, others are more difficult to grasp. Thus, some abdominal pain can possibly translate an allergic manifestation.

Nose

A constantly runny nose, a stuffy nose, sneezing in a salve, these are the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. It is always benign but it can disrupt daily life because it alters sleep, resulting in a risk of drowsiness and loss of attention during the day. Allergic rhinitis is usually seen after the age of five. It can be intermittent and is then often triggered by pollen from herbs, flowers or trees or evolve in a more persistent fashion. This is the case when allergens are constantly present in the environment: mites, molds or animal hair ... When it lasts, allergic rhinitis can be misleading and simulate a common cold. Allergic rhinitis is associated with conjunctivitis in 50 to 60% of cases and asthma in 20 to 30% of cases, and signs of respiratory discomfort must always be sought.

Stuffy

Oral allergy syndrome

Some people with allergies have a small swelling of the lips with pruritus. It can then be an oral syndrome related to a sensitization to profilin, a protein present in birch pollen but also in apples, pears ... The oral syndrome appears secondarily when allergic subjects have already been in contact with the birch pollen consume fruits. This syndrome is quite common, as 5 to 10% of the population is allergic to birch, but it is devoid of gravity.

Eyes

An allergic conjunctivitis may be a sign of respiratory allergy. She often accompanies a hay fever. The eyes are red, watery and sick people often feel a burning sensation or are bothered by the light. Both eyes are affected.

Allergies of the oral mucosa

Some people develop allergies to dental amalgam containing mercury or dental appliances with nickel wire. However, it is increasingly rare because the materials offered by dentists are less and less allergenic.

Vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux

These symptoms may be encountered in some infant food allergies. The most common of these are related to cow's milk protein, egg, fish, peanut.

Face

Quincke's edema is a particular form of urticaria associated with edema, which is usually located in the face. It occurs suddenly and extends from the skin to the subcutaneous tissues and mucous membranes. This disorder can be serious because the extension of edema to the larynx can block the passage of air and trigger anaphylactic shock with cardiac arrest. Quincke's edema is a medical emergency. It can be seen in case of wasp sting or hornet, drug allergy, peanut allergy ...

Throat 

Between 7 to 10% of children snore, a phenomenon favored by the existence of allergic rhinitis. According to a study by S.A. Mc Colley et al., 36% of snoring children experience respiratory allergy.

Ears

The majority of ear infections are of viral or bacterial origin. However, some of them also have an allergic component. It happens that allergic rhinitis causes an obstruction of the Eustachian tubes by releasing mediators of inflammation, which can promote the appearance of seromucous otitis. According to S.L Osur et al, half of the children suffering from hay fever would show signs of tubal obstruction during the pollen season.

Bronchi

Difficulty breathing

Asthma is most often allergic in nature and results from an abnormal narrowing of the bronchi under the action of inflammation. It typically manifests as difficulty exhaling as the air remains stuck inside the lungs.

Breathing whistles

In other subjects, respiratory allergy may result in wheezing because expiration is no longer normal. This is often the case in babies under one year old. However, not all wheezing is synonymous with allergy. In the small child, many of them are due to infectious causes, for example to bronchiolitis caused by respiratory syncytial virus.

Irritative cough

The hypersecretion of mucus can trigger in asthmatics a cough of irritation.
Belly

Skin

Red skin

Allergic urticaria appears fairly quickly after contact with a drug (penicillin, aspirin) or food (strawberries, crustaceans). The skin is covered with pink or pink plaques swollen, raised (papules) and the patient is very eager to scratch. The papules often disappear within an hour, but others may appear on the body. Urticaria is not serious, but it will be necessary to consult quickly if it appears on the face and especially around the mouth, because the allergic reaction can then extend to the throat and threaten the breathing (to see face and edema from Quincke).

Eczema of contact

Contact dermatitis usually affects adults and associates a rash of red patches, small pimples filled with fluid (vesicles), which determine a very strong pruritus and which appear on the skin two to three days after the contact with a substance allergenic. We can see contact eczema on the belly near jeans buttons containing nickel or at the earlobe in women with buckles. One in five women would still have nickel eczema in France and current legislation tends to restrict the use of this metal in jewelry, watch cases and trouser rivets. Some cashiers also develop an eczema with coins of 1 and 2 euros, which are very rich in nickel.

Dry skin

Dry, irritated, itchy skin with red patches and crusts is often a sign of atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis. Atopic eczema often appears when the first solid foods are introduced into the baby, and in 50 to 70% of infants developing this skin disease an allergy to cow's milk proteins. Eggs, wheat can also be involved. The cutaneous manifestations can appear 24 to 48 hours after the exposure with the allergen food. Atopic eczema is more likely to affect the face and flexion folds of the limbs. When scratching is important, the lesions may bleed. Atopic dermatitis usually disappears before age 3 and in 80% of cases before the first decade of life, but some children will remain allergic and develop asthma. This skin allergy can, when prolonged, determine psychological disorders in children and cause them to fall back on themselves.

Abdominal pain

Food allergies are common in young children, including allergy to cow's milk and are often a source of abdominal pain. Nevertheless, colitis is commonplace in infants and often has no allergic origin.

Diarrhea

Allergies to cereals, wheat and rice can cause diarrhea and break the weight curve. The possibility of an allergy to a food will be evoked if the diarrhea persists and a history of allergy exists in the family or if the child has, moreover, manifestations of cutaneous allergy.

Constipation

Chronic constipation may occur in children allergic to cow's milk, but this transit disorder is less common than diarrhea in food allergies.