Welcome to Kids' Corner!

Whole Family Allergy wants to be sure you - the kids - have the information you need to keep you at your healthiest. 

Here are some commonly asked questions that we would like to share with all kids to help everyone understand what allergies are, why you and your family might be affected and how to make you feel better. 

Some people are just born with allergies to things like food. It runs in families like if mom or dad are allergic to cats, then sometimes their babies can even have a food allergy! It's in our DNA (information in our bodies that is passed down from our parents and their parents). Sometimes allergies happen when you're older after you have been around the Earth many times, sometimes your body starts to think that things like pollen are the enemy and it attacks it by making you sneeze and cough. 

When your body is allergic to something your immune system tries to defend the body by getting an army of special white blood cells to attack it. When it is doing that, sometimes the eyes, nose, skin, belly get in the way and make you feel bad. Like you might get bumps on your skin called hives that get really itchy or you might sneeze and sneeze and sneeze as your body is trying to rid of the allergens.

Everyone can have different kinds of allergic reactions and it can affect one part of your body or a bunch at the same time. We can talk about how to make these reactions better when I see you in the office.

Eyes - can get watery, itchy and red

Nose- itchy, runny and sneezy

Lips/Tongue - itchy, a little or really puffy

Throat - tightness, trouble swallowing or speaking

Lungs - maybe harder to breathe, coughing, wheezing

Stomach - belly ache, nausea or even throwing up, sometimes loose stools

Skin - small or big bumps that are called hives, eczema can get more red and itchy

Dizziness, fainting

Sometimes allergies can make you feel a little bad, but sometimes, for some people, they can make you pretty sick and need a lot of help.

Sure! The thing is...anyone could possibly be allergic to almost anything that is small enough. That can be a food, pollen, animal fur/dander, dust mites, bee stings, medicines, metals, and even things that we put on the outside of our bodies like shampoos, soaps, creams, make up and more. It doesn't mean everyone will be allergic to everything so you don't need to worry about that.   

There are some medicines that we can take that will help us to feel better. Some of them we can drink like antihistamines, some we can breathe in and some can be given with a tiny needle. We'll talk about if you need any of these and make you feel good about having a tool in your toolbox to treat allergies.

No allergies can't spread to others. But sometimes the stuff that happens to your body from allergies can look the same as a virus! Sneezing, runny nose, cough. Allergies don't cause a fever though. If you have a fever, you could be contagious with a virus so cover your cough and wash your hands!