That's Fit

A national survey revealed that allergies can affect kids in more ways that sneezing, runny noses, and itchy, watery eyes. The survey polled more than 1,000 families and found that kids who have allergies are more likely to be fatigued, irritable, and even "miserable." This bleeds into the children's activities including schoolwork and extracurricular activities.

If your child is one of the 40% of US kids who suffer from seasonal allergies, your first step is to see your doctor. Knowing what triggers your child's allergies is critical for helping them. But you can take some common measures that may minimize the effects. Wash your child's sheets and clothes frequently, keep your home well-vacuumed and as dust-free as possible, and purchase a HEPA air filter for your child's bedroom and for your living room.

I love the crisp air and golden leaves of fall, but every October I dread when my kids start hacking and end up on antibiotics and nebulizers. Sinus infections, allergy-like symptoms, occasional wheezing, nighttime coughing -- snotty tissues. We just had our first diagnosed sinus infection and a round of antibiotics. In frustration, I vowed to try something new. I stopped into the natural health food store last weekend and bought a probiotic for kids.

Probiotics are the 'friendly' bacteria in your gut, promoting good digestion, nutrient absorption and an immune system boost. They even prevent overgrowth of harmful organisms in the digestive tract, which is why you've probably heard you should eat yogurt with live active cultures when taking antibiotics. Medicinenet offers a lengthy article on probiotics.

Here's a comprehensive UK article answering many questions on probiotics for kids. There's also a bunch of research on probiotics for infants and children, check out the reference list on this published article. I purchased a bottle of flavored chewables and the kids are now begging for one each morning. I am hoping they'll cease coughing before the first frost. Anyone have any other proactive ideas?

I don't know how I got so blessed but my entire family all comes down with hay fever and pollen allergies every fall -- everybody except for me. But seeing people like my mom and sister suffer really brings home the fact that having allergies can present a real problem because often the medications that are supposed to help come with side-effects that are almost as bad as the allergies themselves. And although the drug companies are getting better and there are more options out there than ever before, what if you'd rather just do something natural?

Mother Earth Living has come up with this list of natural allergy fighters, including garlic & onions, honey, horseradish, vitamin C, and ginko biloba. You've probably already got several of these in your kitchen cabinet, so have you ever eaten them with allergies in mind?

Are global warming trends to blame for an increase in allergies among the world's population? How about the rise of asthma cases? It sounds pretty logical that the hotter the planet is, the more irritants can be found in the air we breathe, and hence we have more allergies and asthma cases.

The overall increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air promotes the rapid growth of the plants whose pollen triggers quite a bit of this allergy madness (myself included).

What to do? Wear a face mask outside at all times? That would be off and probably not comfortable, but as greenhouse gases become more prevalent, some of us may need them.

Spring is officially here, and the throes of season allergies are among us. A few weeks ago, I went through an awful bout of hay fever I think was linked to cedar in the air, as allergy counts were off the chart. Once a day of rain came, it all went away, though.

Although Spring is all about fresh flowers blooming and the nicer warmer weather, it's havoc for those with season allergies unless preventive maintenance is used to ward off those allergies as good as can be.

What can you do about allergens such as airborne pollens, ragweed and mold spores? In addition to watching your time outdoors (some use masks even), you may not think about the indoors as well. Your home and office isn't as clean as you think -- and keeping both sanitary and clean should be a focus, using items like HEPA air purifiers, clean bedsheets, static-capture dusting and vacuuming floors very regularly.

Here in the Midwest, the preponderance of pollen and other seasonal allergens in the air right now are making quite a few people I know miserable. Yes, the runup to Spring is causing quite a few mild and severe allergic reactions right now here where I choose to call home.

It's not a pleasant site to see kids suffer from seasonal allergies at all, so when I read this, it brought back memories from a few weeks ago from seeing some 10-year olds who knew more about how to treat their own allergies than some freshman physicians I've met recently.

If parents get involved with possible allergic conditions with their kids at an early age, does that mean a better quality of life for those kids throughout adulthood? Hard to say -- but I think I agree with the notion.