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#21
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Solids, 2 Months and Eating Cereal?
Circe wrote:
exposure, but there's also a fair amount of theorizing that part of the reason allergies and asthma are on the rise is because we're *too* clean--children's immune systems don't get built properly in part because they're not exposed to potential allergens early and often enough to develop the "right" reaction to them. This is also one of the theories behind early exposure to peanuts. The child's immune system isn't busy fighting the "right" stuff so it turns to peanut proteins and attacks them. -- Brigitte aa #2145 http://ca.geocities.com/bironmonger/ Please excuse the quality. It is under construction and I am still learning. :-) "To repeat what others have said, requires education; to challenge it, requires brains." ~ Mary Pettibone Poole |
#22
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Solids, 2 Months and Eating Cereal?
DeliciousTruffles wibbled
Circe wrote: exposure, but there's also a fair amount of theorizing that part of the reason allergies and asthma are on the rise is because we're *too* clean--children's immune systems don't get built properly in part because they're not exposed to potential allergens early and often enough to develop the "right" reaction to them. This is also one of the theories behind early exposure to peanuts. The child's immune system isn't busy fighting the "right" stuff so it turns to peanut proteins and attacks them. So if a child has genetic factors but also is 'correctly' exposed to just the right amount of germs and dirt and so on, a peanut allergy could be avoided despite early exposure? Intriguing thought... I have occasional intense cravings for peanuts, but I'm holding off until T is weaned, and he won't get them before 3 because of allergies (anaphylactic and dermatitis-type), asthma, and eczema present in DH and me. I wonder how much letting him crawl around in the garden (which he is very keen on, particularly the putting- compost-in-his-mouth part) might offset a peanut butter sandwich for me? ;-) Nah, I won't chance it. But it's a tempting thought. g Jac |
#23
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Solids, 2 Months and Eating Cereal?
"Jacqui" wrote
So if a child has genetic factors but also is 'correctly' exposed to just the right amount of germs and dirt and so on, a peanut allergy could be avoided despite early exposure? Intriguing thought... snip Nah, I won't chance it. But it's a tempting thought. g Boy do I know the feeling! I have mad cravings for Crunchy Nut Cornflakes every now and then - doesn't help that they're DH's favourite cereal :-(. I even considered the fact that DD is verbally articulate enough to tell me if her mouth is sore when looking wistfully at the box in the supermarket last Saturday. But we have one food allergy already, I'm not risking any more despite the fact that DD is very nicely exposed to germs and dirt and stuff ;-). Jean |
#24
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Solids, 2 Months and Eating Cereal?
Jacqui wrote:
So if a child has genetic factors but also is 'correctly' exposed to just the right amount of germs and dirt and so on, a peanut allergy could be avoided despite early exposure? Intriguing thought... Yes, this is a possibility, but one we don't have enough information on to actually put it into practice. Best wishes, Ericka |
#25
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Solids, 2 Months and Eating Cereal?
Leslie wrote:
Barbara said: Well, first of all, just because your kids aren't showing any signs of atopy now doesn't mean you can be *sure* they won't develop atopy later. I am aware that people sometimes develop asthma later in life--my sister actually did as well. But even putting it off past childhood seems like a worthy reason for withholding early solids, etc. Oh, I'm not knocking delaying solids by *any* means. And I certainly think very early exposure falls into the category of a VeryBadIdea for a lot of reasons. It's just that I've So many babies/toddlers seem to be on breathing treatments these days. Both Julian and Vernon experienced some wheezing in infancy. I did start solids a bit too early with Julian (14 weeks), but Vernon didn't get any solids until about 5.5 months old and wasn't very enthusiastic about them until much later (closer to 10 months) and he still had wheezing as well as a case of hives we never figured out the reason for. So, what I'm saying is that all things being equal, delaying solids reduces the risks of developing atopy and is a GoodThing; it's just that all things are rarely equal. With my family's strong history of allergies and asthma, I'm thrilled to have one child with only minor allergies and rare wheezing episodes (#1), one with no apparent allergies at all (#2), and one whose few allergic reactions have been confined to his first year. Do I think exclusive breastfeeding and delaying solids contributed to that? Possibly. Maybe even probably. But it seems just as likely to me to be genetic luck of the draw--maybe their father's genetic anti-atopic tendencies were strong enough to overcome or at least tamp down on my atopic ones. Was it still a good idea to delay solids and exclusively breastfeed? I think so. It improved the odds, and I'm all about improving the odds. I just don't pat myself on the back to much and congratulate myself on the results, that's all! Beyond that, as far as I know, neither asthma or allergies are really "inherited"; both are basically atopic reactions and what you inherit is a tendency to develop atopic reactions rather than asthma or allergies per se. Even if *both* parents have asthma or allergies, the kids can still wind up *not* having them and it's also possible for parents who don't have any atopic problems of their own to have kids who do. Now, the *likelihood* of those atopic reactions does seem to increase based on early solids/dairy exposure, Well, exactly. That was what I was referring to in my answer to the OP, as to why it is a Bad Idea to start solids early. And I agree. In my original response, I said as much. I was just responding to the contention that your husband's asthma and allergies must have been caused by early solids. It's very possible and perhaps even the likeliest explanation, but you can't be sure. Plenty of parents who do everything "right" wind up with kids who have severe asthma and allergies and many who did everything wrong have children who never have any atopic issues at all; there just aren't any absolutes, only statistical probabilities. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take those statistical probabilities into account and try to implement the actions that produce the best outcomes on average, but subsequently beating your chest either because you did the right things and it didn't work or congratulating yourself because you did the right things and everything turned out well seems rather pointless to me because, in the end, you don't know how it would have been different if you had done things differently. but there's also a fair amount of theorizing that part of the reason allergies and asthma are on the rise is because we're *too* clean--children's immune systems don't get built properly in part because they're not exposed to potential allergens early and often enough to develop the "right" reaction to them. Which is no doubt another reason why my kids are not allergic to anything, dirty little monsters that they are. It's not "dirt" per se, though, more's the pity g. I think it's more that we have eliminated through our "cleanliness" so much of the bacteria and other pathogens that people are normally exposed to in childhood that we've caused our immune systems to go a bit whacko. I read that one of the reasons polio was such a problem in the 1950s was that polio had previously been a disease that most children contracted in their infancies, when they were still being breastfed and it was a relatively non-serious disease most of the time. Then, through better sanitation and hygiene, babies stopped being exposed to polio and, when older children contracted it, it was a much more serious, life-threatening illness. -- Be well, Barbara Mom to Sin (Vernon, 2), Misery (Aurora, 4), and the Rising Son (Julian, 6) Aurora (in the bathroom with her dad)--"It looks like an elephant, Daddy." Me (later)--"You should feel flattered." All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman |
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