Food allergies and atopic diseases are on the rise worldwide. There have been several published practice guidelines on the primary prevention of these diseases. One aspect of these guidelines is the recommendations on infant nutrition, as food allergen exposure and other nutritional factors may influence allergen sensitization. This article aims to review the current international recommendations on infant diet and weaning practices in the primary allergy prevention of infants. The conclusions drawn are as follows: (1) Breastfeeding is considered the gold standard for infant nutrition, especially since exclusive breastfeeding confers some protection against the development of allergic diseases. However, large cohort studies have not been carried out in Asian populations. (2) Maternal avoidance of allergenic food substances during pregnancy and lactation has not been proven to reduce the risk of allergies and is not recommended as a primary prevention strategy. (3) Hydrolyzed formulas have not been shown to have an advantage over breastfeeding, although they have some protective value against atopic eczema in at risk infants when compared to regular cows milk based infant formula. (4) Soy formula is also not recommended for prevention of atopic diseases. (5) Weaning to semisolids should be undertaken between the ages of 4 to 6 months as weaning before the age of 4 months is associated with increased of allergy symptoms. (6) The age for introduction of certain highly allergenic foods have been arrived at empirically and included in some guidelines. These comprise the initiation of dairy products at 12 months, eggs at 24 months, and peanuts, nuts and fish at 36 months.
Arachis ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Breast Feeding ; Cohort Studies ; Dairy Products ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Diet ; Eggs ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Imidazoles ; Infant ; Infant Formula ; Lactation ; Milk ; Nitro Compounds ; Nuts ; Ovum ; Pregnancy ; Primary Prevention ; Weaning

Rhinitis is a disease of the upper airway characterized by runny and/or blocked nose and/or sneezing. Though not viewed as a life threatening condition, it is also recognized to impose significant burden to the quality of life of sufferers and their caretakers and imposes an economic cost to society. Through a PubMed online search of the literature from 2006 to September 2011, this paper aims to review the published literature on rhinitis in young children below the age of 6 years. It is apparent from epidemiology studies that rhinitis in this age group is a relatively common problem. The condition has a heterogenous etiology with classification into allergic and non-allergic rhinitis. Respiratory viral infections may play a role in the pathogenesis of long standing rhinitis, but definitive studies are still lacking. Treatment guidelines for management are lacking for this age group, and is a significant unmet need. Although the consensus is that co-morbidities including otitis media with effusion, adenoidal hypertrophy and asthma, are important considerations of management of these children. Pharmacotherapy is limited for young children especially for those below the age of 2 years. This review underscores the lack of understanding of rhinitis in early childhood and therefore the need for further research in this area.
Adenoids ; Asthma ; Child ; Classification ; Consensus ; Drug Therapy ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Nose ; Otitis Media with Effusion ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Rhinitis ; Risk Factors ; Sneezing

In the original publication, we created a mistake in typing the name. Thus it was spelled as Antony Hadjojo when submitted to the publisher. We request for a correction of the author name into Antony Hardjojo.
Child ; Humans ; Publications ; Rhinitis