Although diathesis in infants is not a disease, but still it is heard by all young mothers who have encountered this feature. In fact, in any dictionary or directory of childhood diseases, diathesis will not occur as a disease. It is not such as such. Then it is logical to assume that it does not need to be treated at all, and it is best to simply ignore it. However, not everything is so simple: if diathesis is not a disease and with it do not lie in hospital treatment in hospitals, this does not mean at all that complications after this condition are not terrible for the baby. Consider what is dangerous diathesis, what types are, and how to get rid of it.
The term "diathesis"
It is interesting that the very concept of diathesis of an infant during feeding or later does not exist in special terminology, as a pathology caused by bacterial flora, simple viruses or parasites. Although such cases are known. When, due to the ingress of pathogenic bacteria, a certain tendency to diseases develops and then affects the physique of the baby. Rather, it is an endogenous pathology, where the body of the child and his mother plays a decisive role. It is important how the pregnancy progressed, whether there were complications, how difficult the birth was, and in what environment the baby developed. The definition of diathesis may sound something like this:
"Diathesis - the tendency of the body to certain diseases, depending on the constitution of the child's body and care for it." It seems to be quite complicated, but let's take it in order. Due to the influence of certain conditions during pregnancy and after childbirth, a predisposition of the immune response to a simple stimulus arises. This is akin to an allergy, but just allergic reactions can be caused by one of the types of diathesis. Even the weakest virus, immune cells will attack especially brutally, causing persistent bronchitis and tonsillitis.
Feature or disease?
Answering the question asked above, we can say that diathesis in infants can be called a feature of the body to a greater extent. Since there are no people absolutely corresponding to certain types of constitution, it is clear that deviations from the set norms go somewhere. This forms the individual appearance of each person.
That is, every person has such anomalies in the constitution, and if the child belongs to the asthenic type (thin tall people), then it is not necessary to have an elongated or long skull. The same thing with other body types. A girl may be tall and prone to obesity or small and thin, although this is not spelled out in the dogma.
The root cause of maternal anxiety
Before you figure out how to get rid of diathesis in a baby and symptoms, you need to understand how you can avoid its appearance, and therefore, know the causes of its occurrence. Problems can be divided into two huge groups:
- Genetic base.
- Environment.
The first can include everything that the baby got from his father or mother. This includes toxicosis during pregnancy, abuse of allergen products during breastfeeding, and even improper nutrition of the mother or newborn in the first weeks of life. On the part of the father - genetic diseases in the family, transmitted from parents to children (predisposition to diabetes).
The environment can have a strong influence, namely: dust, gas contamination, taking medication or pet hair cause an excessive immune response. Before birth, an endogenous diathesis factor in infants can be maternal diseases, her stresses, experiences. Often, lactose intolerance in a child develops due to excessive consumption of animal milk by the mother during the last trimester of the disease.
Variety of species
Due to the fact that even foreign doctors - countries of Europe or the East - do not recognize diathesis in infants as some kind of pathology, the classification of species is typical only for countries of the former Soviet Union. And, despite the fact that there are dozens of varieties of diathesis in infants, one can still distinguish the three most common with more pronounced symptoms:
- Exudative-catarrhal. Such an anomaly suggests that the baby is allergic to even foods that are not considered allergens. This type is also characterized by the frequency of inflammatory diseases - when a child has any virus that causes fever and cough, and each wound rots, leaving scars. It is also called atopic or allergic diathesis.
- Lymphatic-hypoplastic. The tendency to impaired functions of the lymph nodes and the endocrine system is characteristic of this variety in all its glory: enlargement, poor functioning of not only the lymph nodes, but the glands leads to certain constitutional features, as well as the frequency of diseases associated with the above organs.
- Arthritic Nerve. In the future, such children may suffer from atherosclerosis, various joint inflammations, such as rheumatoid arthritis or polyarthritis. Diabetes is also common and, although not necessary, can predispose to obesity.
A photo of diathesis of an infant shows exactly how this reaction of the body looks, since it is rather difficult to explain in words.
Exudative-catarrhal diathesis
This is a feature of the constitution, where the main symptom is allergy. Moreover, if in other species this is visible by the general condition of the child, here the diathesis in the infant on the face is visible. Redness of the cheeks is often found when drinking milk, touching a certain tissue or other factor - there may be thousands of them. A more specific reaction occurs - gneiss, strofulus or peeling of the skin at the border of the scalp and face. If you ignore such signs, then eczema of the skin, neurodermatitis, and not just urticaria, can develop.
Bronchial asthma can often develop due to exudative-catarrhal diathesis in an infant. The photo (although mothers quickly recognize this pathology) depicts a pale child who cannot exhale. This is a rather terrible complication, because you need to quickly figure out what kind of help the child needs to be provided. Since he cannot say where and what hurts him, his mother can determine shortness of breath by sound, and by the color of his skin understand that an attack has begun. In the future, each respiratory disease will be complicated by dyspnea attacks, which result in the release of transparent vitreous sputum.
Treatment involves contacting an allergist, pediatrician, pulmonologist, as well as the introduction of complementary foods a little later than the appointed time. It is worth introducing vegetable porridge, not milk or fruit.
Lymphatic-hypoplastic diathesis
Similarly, this species has characteristic features. Often children are apathetic, prefer quiet games to active, and when they learn to walk, they do it later than their peers. Lymphatic-hypoplastic diathesis in infants has common causes, and is not as rare as in children in the early 2000s. If the mother during the last trimester of pregnancy even had mild forms of respiratory diseases, there is a great danger that this form of diathesis will be in the child.
Such babies are shown treatment or removal of the tonsils, as well as observation due to frequent tonsillitis and hypertrophy. The recurrence of angina, especially caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcus, can lead to pyelonephritis, rheumatism and the occurrence of heart defects. In addition to the latter, congenital heart defects, aorta can occur; less commonly, hernias.
For the purpose of treatment, vitamin therapy is often prescribed with special attention to group C, E and B. Stimulants of biological origin - apilac, eleutherococcus, lemongrass - can beneficially affect organs that "sluggishly" work. Doctors prescribe glucocorticoids to stop hormone deficiency in small doses and only in special cases, such as infections or surgery.
Neuro-arthritic diathesis
Neuro-arthritic diathesis in infants has causes similar to the previous types of constitutional abnormalities, but manifests itself in several syndromes:
- Neurasthenic. It is observed in the majority and begins from an early age: fearfulness, nightmares, inexplicable panic and sleep disturbances. But against the background of everything else, the central nervous system is developing rapidly, and the child learns to speak, read, count and reflect better than his peers. “Bonus” is an excellent memory, both visual and auditory, and besides this - curiosity that helps to learn.
- Metabolic. It occurs by two years of life and is manifested by impaired urination at night and pain in small joints. An interesting feature is acetonemic cider: continuous vomiting, accompanied by convulsions. It arises against the background of strong experiences bordering on stress.
- Spastic. It is expressed by the appearance of spasms of the bronchi, blood vessels and intestines. After such cramps, severe headaches and intestinal dysfunctions (constipation, flatulence, colic) occur.
- Dermatic Syndrome. It is accompanied by a rash of the type of urticaria, which is very itchy. An allergic manifestation will be asthmatic breathing, coughing, compulsive sneezing.
Extraordinary treatment
When all the methods have been tested by the parents, the question already becomes how to anoint the diathesis in the infant - if only it would disappear. A sufficient number of drugs, but not always they give the expected effect. How then to get rid of diathesis in infants? treatment with folk remedies has been practiced for a long time, and this method is really repeatedly tested by time.
A strange but simple recipe is used by many mothers. They give the baby’s egg flour on the tip of the spoon, which he then drinks with dill water. After a month of such treatment, it must be replaced by lubricating the affected areas with tar with interior fat. This will soften and moisturize the skin and provide faster healing. For older children, diet therapy can be prescribed: delicious rice and buckwheat cereal will make up for the missing elements in the body of a girl or boy. Olive oil as a seasoning will be appropriate, because butter is heavier and not all types of diathesis suggest its use. But dishes do not need to be salted: salt will be deposited, and this will negatively affect the urinary system. Drink half an hour after eating.
Diathesis in an infant. Photo and treatment
The most important component of treatment is the establishment of a balanced diet. Diathesis in infants can be treated not through medications, but through normalization of nutrition. Breast milk has all the trace elements necessary for the baby to develop correctly. In this case, if the mother herself follows a diet, then breast milk will not contain allergens. The trend of recent years is the feeding of the child "according to need" - when he asks.
If the area gets wet, it would be logical to use baths with a decoction of oak bark, which will drain the damaged skin. Do not neglect creams that contain zinc. Such an ointment is Desitin. Antihistamines help suppress active immune agents by eliminating allergies. Sorbents can be prescribed to help them. They absorb unnecessary substances in the body and remove them.
How to protect the baby?
Summing up, we can say that although diathesis in infants is not a disease, it can still have very serious complications that can be avoided. Actually, diathesis itself may also not be known if prophylaxis is correct. Among the most effective methods are:
- If a food allergy occurs, find out what exactly caused it, and then avoid using it as a child. In addition, no matter how beautiful the bright red apples may seem, they absorb pesticides more than ugly fruits. This can further irritate the immune system.
- To introduce complementary foods to the child not at 6 months, as required by the calendar, but at 7 or 8. The child’s body develops very quickly, and these two months of rest can be a real salvation for him, look for something new from him.
- Contact dermatitis minimizes attention to powders. If they are based on biosystems, then the tissue after them becomes stiff, and the microelements themselves act very roughly on the skin of the baby.
- After buying a new thing, you must wash it. It’s worth buying not synthetic products, but natural fabrics, to which there will be less allergy. But here again it is worth looking at the reaction of the skin of the child.
- Often hypeallergenic paint on clothes or toys is destroyed by heat treatment. Therefore, boiling can be a real salvation.
Thus, diathesis is not a reason for panic, but a completely ordinary reaction of the child's body, which can be very easily avoided.