Children’s Allergies: From Fear-filled to Healthy Immunity

Whether it is seasonal allergy and/or food allergy, these forms of hyper-sensitivities indicate an imbalance within your child’s body. Common allergic reactions include hay fever, hives, eczema, aversion to food, asthma attacks and to a growing number of medications, as antibiotics, penicillin, and aspirin.

On a physical level, an allergy is considered a disorder of the immune system and can be digestive and respiratory related. Your child experiences a hyper reaction to a foreign substance that is otherwise considered safe.

Allergies can be potentially dangerous, especially in children. It then becomes vital to address immediately with a safe and gentle protocol. Most allergies begin in-utero, so moms it is important to examine your own diet, emotional health and response to stress, especially if you are breastfeeding, as these potential factors may have contributed to your child's allergies.

Key areas to explore when implementing preventive measures and addressing your child’s allergy symptoms include:
Refrain from introducing too much food too soon to your child. His or her body needs time to develop a relationship with each food; too much may be too taxing on the body.

Proper mastication of food – teach your child to chew food, until it is soft and mushy. This prevents her stomach from attempting to break down big pieces of food, which may lead to indigestion.

Choose organic produce that is free of pesticides. Prolonged exposure to pesticides can cause a build up of toxins in the body, which in turn slows down the body’s ability to naturally process environmental and food elements.

Choose conscious eating – decrease and/or eliminate microwave, prepackaged, and high sugar food from your child’s diet as they too can increase toxic load within the body. The body innately gravitates to fresh foods, any preparation outside of that requires your child’s body to work extra hard to process. The food that is unprocessed or undigested stays in your child’s body as waste. Read labels/ask for ingredients when purchasing store bought food as most contains sugar, dairy, and nuts, which children tend to be sensitive to.

Teach your child to respond with a peaceful and a calm attitude when facing his life experiences and to openly and appropriately express his emotions. On an emotional level, an allergy may indicate fearful thoughts your child is holding onto about life and the world and he overreacts or becomes hypersensitive when he perceives an attack, hence the definition of an allergy.

Most, if not all conventional medicine products for allergies come with a list of potential adverse effects that are counterproductive to addressing the issue long-term and often creating new health challenges. Consider natural and alternative wellness options to strengthen your child’s immune and digestive system. The stomach rules every aspect of health and approximately 60% of the immune system is located within the stomach/gut. Incorporate the right digestive enzymes into your child’s conscious eating lifestyle, along with immune-boosting essential oils, and the appropriate amount of distilled water everyday. If your child weighs 50 pounds, 25 ounces of water everyday is the best fit for his body.

As soon as you notice a food or environmental intolerance in your child, respond right away. Your early response is the key to preventing the onset of life-altering allergies.

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How to Test for Lactose Intolerance in Babies

Lactose intolerance in babies can be painful. It is the body’s inability to properly process or metabolize lactose due to a lack of enzymes in the digestive system. Lactose is a type of sugar found in mammalian milk. In utero, babies can develop lactose intolerance if the mother consumes a nutritionally imbalanced diet, which affects healthy production of enzymes, consequently affecting the development of the baby’s digestive system. There are easy and non-invasive ways to test for lactose intolerance in babies.
Check the stool for blood and mucus. Blood may appear light pink or deep red in color. Using gloves, separate the stool to check for mucus.

Get a stool acidity test, which measures the amount of acid in the stool. Undigested lactose in the colon creates lactic acid.

Check for rashes on the face, the front and back of the neck, the stomach and abdomen, toes and all over. Rashes may appear dry, wet, raised, irritated and itchy. Check for a breakout of bumps on the body.

Gently apply 1/2 tsp. of milk on the abdominal area and note any breakouts within four to six hours.

Crying may indicate pain in the digestive system. Be conscious of crying immediately or two to three hours after milk feeding. Listen for gas sounds in the stomach and intestines.

Self-test by feeding your baby 1 oz. of milk on an empty stomach, noting any digestive upsets that occur within two to four hours. Repeat two more times in a 24-hour period, if necessary.

Enzyme Therapy is a muscle palpation technique administered on the body and feet to test the enzyme status throughout the body. The right enzymes can be placed back into the body with the aid of this process. Recommended for mom and baby, Enzyme Therapy helps to repair the digestive system and process a limited or full dose of lactose. Cow, goat, and bottled milk may still pose a challenge to digest.

Continued breastfeeding is encouraged; however, you may need to decrease or eliminate dairy, sugar and fats from your diet and include the appropriate enzymes, as your baby is directly affected by what you eat.

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to promote a healthy body and emotions. This method helps to soothe the digestive system. Add three drops of sweet orange essential oil to one teaspoon of canola oil and apply it in a clockwise motion on your baby’s digestive system. Rub the oil in the palms of of your hands; start applying it under baby’s left breast, moving down the left side of the body, across the abdomen, including the belly button, up the right side of the body, under the right breast and then to the left breast.

As a physical upset can be directly connected to an emotional upset, lactose intolerance may also indicate a challenge with processing change and sadness.

Click here to learn more about Aromatherapy and Enzyme Therapy. To schedule a private session in either modality to address lactose intolerance, email Nicole at NicoleATucker@aol.com.