I always thought Gesundheit meant “Bless You”, but apparently it means “Good Health”. Learn something new everyday, which isn’t hard for me! (Kaitlin’s first grade homework has my wheels spinning some nights.) Isn’t it funny how tradition happens? Back in the day, when someone sneezed you said “Bless You” to protect their soul from flying out of their body. Superstition. What’s powerful is how it’s stuck! It’s near impossible to stop yourself from saying it – try it sometime. Not saying “Bless You” or “Gesundheit” after someone sneezes, feels like you left the person hangin’!  Half-done.

That’s how I feel we treat a lot of children with allergies – half-way, half-done. We treat their symptoms with anti-histamines and steroids to control their malfunctioning immune systems, but leave them hangin’!

To obtain REAL health, you have to not only address a child’s symptoms, but also address a child’s system imbalances. The two most common system imbalances I see in children with allergies, asthma and eczema are digestive and immune.

I addressed how to see if your child’s digestive system is imbalanced in Aaachooo! a couple weeks back.  So be sure to check off that box as done!
 

Next up, is checking for food allergies and/or sensitivities. Sensitive foods cause the immune system to raise the level of a specific antibody called IgG.  The symptoms from a sensitive food is often delayed up to 72 hours later, making it exceedingly difficult to figure out which food (if any) is worsening your child’s e.g. eczema. Allergic foods cause the immune system to raise the level of a specific antibody called IgE.  The symptoms from an allergic food is immediate and can be life threatening.
 

So it’s important to also check your allergic child for any food allergies or sensitivities. I prefer to do both true food allergy (IgE-mediated) and food sensitivity (IgG-mediated) testing. Be sure to use a lab that tests for all four subclasses of IgG such as Alletess Medical Laboratory. You can contact this lab to find a practitioner in your area to order food allergy and sensitivity testing for your child.
 

Be sure your child is thoroughly tested for issues with dairy and gluten with blood testing.
 

Dairy:  Helpful tests include IgE for cow’s milk, and testing for the sub-fractions of milk with IgG and IgA testing.  Sub-fractions of milk include: casein and whey.  Children who test positive to casein should not eat cheese, and children who test positive to any of the 4 proteins of whey, should eliminate whey protein from their diet as well.
 

Gluten: Helpful tests include IgG to gluten, IgG and IgA anti-gliadin antibodies, IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase, anti-endomysial IgA, total IgA, and HLA typing for celiac disease (a genetic mutation test).  Some of these tests can be run through standard labs, while others are run through specialty labs such as Alletess Medical Laboratory.
 

The beauty of these tests, is that they allow a peek into a child’s body to see how much, if any, inflammation is occurring from foods. This is key since inflammation is at the root of most chronic disease, and must be reduced and eliminated to experience REAL health.

 

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Susan McCreadie, MD is a Holistic Pediatrician and co-founder of nourishMD. She shows parents how to find REAL health for their child, so they can stop treating their child's symptoms and instead find solutions that help their child heal from the inside out.