Do food, smells, and the wrong clothes trigger asthma?
How can we protect children from seasonal allergies?
Pediatrics and allergist Prof. Dr. Ahmet Akçay answers all your questions about allergies.
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Ece Erken: Welcome, sir.
Ahmet Akcay: Welcome, sir
Ece Erken: How are you?
Ahmet Akcay: Thank you sir, how are you?
Ece Erken: Thank you. I mean, my cough is gone, sir, you came, why did you come late?
Ahmet Akçay: I came because you are coughing, but it’s over.
Ece Erken: Sir, I went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me this too.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes.
Ece Erken: In fact, what we used to do first, this is normally for asthmatics.
Ahmet Akçay: For asthmatics.
Ece Erken: Yes. It is used in asthmatics, but now they give it in cough, sir?
Ahmet Akçay: We do not give them every cough. If we suspect asthma, then we have to give it. For this, an asthma diagnosis must be made.
Ece Erken: But they gave me this.
Ahmet Akçay: Yes, let’s evaluate it.
Ece Erken: Teacher, now they told me to use this, I’m going to ask if it’s true. We certainly have viewers who use it. First I exhale, then while I’m whistling like this…
Ahmet Akçay: We hold our breath for ten seconds. Where did we go wrong here? We have an error here.
Ece Erken: What did I do?
Ahmet Akçay: Look, when we use this spray, we shake it first.
Ece Erken: Yes. Look what a good example I am as a wrong example
Ahmet Akçay: Secondly, there are people who use it without removing the cover. We take off the cover. Then we hold it in such a way that the six are on top of each other. We keep it this way, not this way. After that, we exhale as much as we can. Then, as we breathe in, we squeeze it together with the inhalation, and we inhale it strongly and deeply. Then we hold it for ten seconds, then we give it through our nose and after we do it, an important point is we rinse our mouth with water, why?
Ece Erken: Why?
Ahmet Akçay: If we do not rinse the mouth with water, it will cause aphthae, fungus, hoarseness. We cannot do Ece Erkenlik here.
Ece Erken: That’s right. Let me drink a glass of water for a minute, it means we will use it like this.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. We will squeeze it from the top and, as I said, we will breathe deeply and forcefully.
Ece Erken: Then we will drink water.
Ahmet Akçay: We will either drink water, rinse our mouths with water or brush our teeth, this is important.
Ece Erken: God forbid, let me drink right away, you scared me.
Ahmet Akçay: In other words, it can cause hoarseness, cough and aphthae in our mouth. That’s why it’s important to take these precautions.
Ece Erken: Sir, is cough a symptom of allergy?
Ahmet Akcay: Which cough is a symptom of allergy? If the cough wakes you up at night, if you have a cough when you get up in the morning, if you cough frequently, if your cough increases after running, after climbing stairs, after exercising, if you have a cough after every flu infection and lasts longer than two weeks, and if each flu is severe, then we will suspect asthma and will be examined. .
Ece Erken: Examine me, sir. Because I have all the symptoms.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. It is also inconvenient to use these drugs just because he is coughing without asthma. Because then you are taking drugs for nothing, these drugs are not such simple drugs. It needs to be used for a long time. Its effect starts to show itself in two weeks, so after two months, full clear symptoms appear. Therefore, since it must be used for a long time, it is better to make a definitive diagnosis first and then give these treatments.
Ece Erken: Then I’ll tie it up so I can continue with the circus, sir. What are the symptoms of asthma? In the meantime, shall we go to our table? There are a lot of materials out there, what causes allergies, and we have a lot to talk about. Let’s start with the symptoms of asthma, sir, but don’t let our bear shut you up.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. If the most important symptoms of asthma are frequent coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing in the lungs, coughing after exercise, and shortness of breath, then it is necessary to suspect asthma and to diagnose asthma as a result of examination and evaluations.
Ece Erken: Sir, what is the cough in asthma? Is it dry or phlegmatic?
Ahmet Akçay: It is generally dry, an allergic cough is dry, but if an infection is added to it, it becomes phlegmatic.
Ece Erken: Well, for example, I really wanted to have an allergy test done, so that we can do it while talking to you before the program. From what age can we have the allergy test done?
Ahmet Akçay: Allergy test can be done at any age. In general, everyone says it can’t be done before the age of five, it can’t be done before this age, it can be done at any age.
Ece Erken: For example, can we have our one-year-old child do it?
Ahmet Akçay: Now the distinction is this; if we suspect a food allergy, that is, in a child
If there is eczema, if there is itching, if there is a suspicion of a food allergy, it can be done from the age of one or two months because these food allergy diseases are diseases of the young age. After the age of three, food allergies are not seen very often, then there is no point in testing, but for asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms, we generally prefer to do it after the age of two or three, if the symptoms are too much after the age of two, if the symptoms are not too much, after the age of three. we are doing.
Ece Erken: What exactly is an allergy test, sir? What are you doing, are you drawing blood, what are you looking at?
Ahmet Akçay: Now we do the allergy test from the skin and it gives the most accurate results from the skin.
It can also be made from blood, but the one made from the skin gives more accurate results because the machine works and changes according to the quality of the machine. It is not a question of whether that person works or not, it gives more accurate results than the skin, and what we do is drip allergens, first we drip house dust mites.
Ece Erken: Ay teacher, I wish you had brought them, we would do all of them now.
Ahmet Akçay: I mean, of course I could. We drip the cat and the dog, we drip every allergen.
Ece Erken: Sir, there are people who are allergic even to the dust in the house.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. In cities near the sea in Istanbul, the most common cause of allergies is mites in house dust.
Ece Erken: Well, how can we protect ourselves and our children from asthma?
Ahmet Akçay: How do we protect it now? Of course, the most important thing to protect is genetics. We cannot change our parents. That’s why we need to protect environmental causes. We need to reduce textile products as much as possible in the room where the child is staying. We will not keep carpets and rugs in the child’s room as much as possible, especially if there is an allergic condition in the family or in the mother or father, since the child has a high tendency to have allergies as well.
Ece Erken: There will be no carpets or rugs.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. Other than that, it can be a game mat
Ece Erken: I also use the game mat a lot.
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. Apart from this, if we have detected the child’s allergy against house dust and mites, we will cover the bed, pillow and quilt with an anti-allergic cover in the child’s room once. Why? Because there are five to ten million mites in the bed where the child sleeps, especially in the bed where the children living in cities living by the sea sleep. How do we fix while sleeping with mites? How can we get better?
Ece Erken: For example, how many myths are there in this, sir?
Ahmet Akçay: There are one or two million mites in this
Ece Erken: There are one or two million myths in this right now
Ahmet Akçay: What should we do if we are allergic to house dust and mite while sleeping with these mites? What should we do with them now? We wash and iron this normal linen at 60 degrees once a week, after using it with an anti-allergic cover and then using it with a normal linen and wearing it with a normal linen.
Ece Erken: I guess I have allergies. I was about to sneeze.
Ahmet Akçay: Look, you’re close right away.
Ece Erken: By God, you say that there are a million mites, these mites definitely do something.
Ahmet Akçay: Of course, there are sprays that kill these mites. By spraying them, we can kill the mites and lose their allergic feature.
Ece Erken: Well, is there a vaccine, sir, is there an allergy vaccine?
Ahmet Akcay: There is an allergy vaccine. It is applied after the age of five. Who do we apply the allergy vaccine to? If there is an allergic asthma, if there are two allergic rhinitis, if there is an eye allergy, we can apply it. We also apply it to those who have a serious allergy to bees. Because sometimes bees can kill.
Ece Erken: Pollen?
Ahmet Akçay: There is an allergy vaccine against pollen, which is one of the causes of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Allergy vaccine, too, new vaccines are coming out with new developments day by day. There are now tablet vaccines against pollen applied under the tongue.
Ece Erken: What a beautiful moon.
Ahmet Akçay: You put it under the tongue, it melts in two minutes, it is applied every morning and it helps a lot with this allergic cold.
Ece Erken: From what age?
Ahmet Akçay: It is applied from the age of five.
Ece Erken: Sir, plush toys?
Ahmet Akçay: The source of the myths in these. What should be done with these? In general, if the child has an allergy, we don’t have anything like taking it, taking it, putting it away, if there is an allergy tendency.
Ece Erken: Many of our doctors do not really recommend these plush toys. They say the microbe accumulates too much. For example, even to clean it, Erkan Şamcı comes to us, an ecological life expert says wrap it up, put it in the freezer, he says, open it and give it to the child the next day.
Ahmet Akcay: What should we do? The best thing is that those who live in cities by the sea do not generally prefer plush toys, but it is not possible for house dust to live in Konya or Mardin, because there is no humidity. Because these mites like humid environments, they like environments where room temperature increases. That’s why it usually gets too much during the winter months. Istanbul by the sea
Today, let’s not prefer plush toys. What should we do if the child cannot give up? Either let’s keep it in deep freeze one day, then let’s rinse it out because we killed it, after killing those mites here are still there, we need to clean those mites with water or let’s wash them once a week at 60 degrees to get rid of the mites.
Ece Erken: Well, sir, now I’m putting our box full of mite here. Let’s move on now, sir, for example, is there anyone allergic to strawberries, sir?
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. There are people who are allergic to strawberries. Now, allergy to this kiwi is one of the most common diseases. We especially consumed kiwi or melon, watermelon, and we saw that there are rashes around the mouth, this person may also have pollen allergy.
Ece Erken: Where are the rashes?
Ahmet Akçay: There may be redness around the lips and swelling in the mouth after eating. If we ate kiwi, ate an apple, ate melon, watermelon or orange, and every time there is redness and swelling around the mouth, then pollen allergy should come to our mind again. Why? Because in those with pollen allergy, we call it a syndrome because of these cross-reactions, we call it mouth allergy syndrome, there is a condition called mouth pollen syndrome. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate it in terms of pollen allergy. We need to question whether they have sneezing, itching in the nose, and colds during the pollen season.
Ece Erken: Well, sir, we have never had it treated, we have allergies, for example, we have asthma, we have never had it treated, what is the result?
Ahmet Akçay: Then we do not have the right to say why our children are failing in their classes.
Ece Erken: So it affects that much?
Ahmet Akcay: Why? Because his nose is stuffy and he has a cold after that, do we have the right to say why did you get weak, then he couldn’t sleep at night, woke up sluggish, went to school and slept, couldn’t listen to the lessons? Because it also affects school success. How can children solve lessons and tests when their nose is stuffy? The child is taking the exam, his nose is stuffy and running, he has not slept at night anyway..
Ece Erken: That’s right, right, teacher
Ahmet Akcay: So. What’s happening? Apart from this, pneumonia often occurs in the lungs, infection occurs and permanent damage to the lungs occurs. This time, let’s stop coughing for life.
Ece Erken: She has been coughing all her life.
Ahmet Akçay: So after that, sputum on one side, cough on the other.
Ece Erken: God bless the moon. Anyone who lives can know that my cough has not gone for a month and a half. Sir, what have we passed now, milk and dairy products. We have chicken, we have meat here, there are canned foods, what can you tell us about them?
Ahmet Akçay: Now, the most common food allergy is milk allergy. What do those with milk allergies usually do? They go, they say I have a milk allergy, it is called cow’s milk allergy, it is not called milk allergy, it is called cow’s milk allergy, they go and the family buys goat’s milk.
Ece Erken: But they call goat milk the closest to breast milk. They say she’s not allergic to it, but it does.
Ahmet Akçay: But it is wrong. Because 80% of a child who is allergic to cow’s milk is also allergic to 90% goat’s milk. Now and then, we sometimes get such allergies to cow’s milk that serious allergic reactions that can endanger the child’s life and lead to death within five to ten minutes after six. In other words, it can cause an allergy condition called allergic shock. In that case, even if you go and touch the goat’s milk with your tongue instead of milk, you may endanger the life of the child.
Ece Erken: You are giving very important information, sir. Now how do we know that he is allergic to milk? What is the first symptom?
Ahmet Akçay: Now, milk allergy usually manifests itself as eczema on the face in small babies. Generally, there are rashes on the face, rashes in the joints, rashes on the body, and they usually say that the child is related to kissing because this is the first face rash. You kissed a lot, you kissed, they look when they say you kissed, he starts not to kiss, but he continues. He sees that then it goes to his arms and it’s in his knuckles. Eczema is one of the important symptoms of these food allergies. Apart from this, a situation called redness around the lips, rash on the body and hives may occur after milk intake. After milk intake, snot in the stool, blood in the stool, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation are the symptoms of allergy.
Ece Erken: Well, sir, he needs to take milk, he needs to get it from food, can’t we give him cheese?
Ahmet Akçay: Now we ban everything that is dairy products. Now, look here, if a mother with milk allergy only takes breast milk, the mother also needs to diet. The child takes only breast milk for the first six months, so the mother has to diet. What should not be consumed by those with milk allergy? Drink milk such as cheese, ayran, kefir once.
We ban all products that expire. Butter and margarine are prohibited, we also ban veal. Because there is a cross-reaction in them. In other words, 10% of people who are allergic to milk can also be allergic to beef. That’s why we usually recommend lamb. If he is not allergic to eggs, he can consume chicken meat. But in people with egg allergy, one out of twenty people can also be allergic to chicken, so we do not give chicken to those with egg allergy.
Ece Erken: What are we going to eat, teacher?
Ahmet Akçay: Because what do we do with these foods, we recommend a diet from dairy-free foods to the mother so that we do not consume foods containing milk. Let’s not consume butter or margarine. Let’s not consume tarhana soup because it is very useful because it contains yogurt.
Ece Erken: Yeah. Sir, we have a phone, let’s get it right away. Here you go sir, welcome to Good Idea
Phone call: Hello. Good afternoon.
Ece Erken: Good afternoon. Here you go. I don’t need to repeat our guest. But let me say it again. Our dear doctor Ahmet Akçay is with us. We can take your question.
Telephone conversation: I was going to ask my teacher something. I am five months pregnant with my third baby. I have allergic asthma. It happens to my babies when they are born too. Can I do something about it now while pregnant.
Ahmet Akçay: I wish we had the opportunity to have something like that. In other words, we know ourselves when we are pregnant and we also know that our child has a 30% to 50% chance of having allergic asthma or another allergic disease. If you have a partner, this goes up to 80%. Of course, I wish we could ensure that our child does not have allergies with such a precaution. There is no such sure solution, but what can we do? After the birth of the child, let’s moisturize the skin of the child once after the birth regularly. Because the skin barrier is very important. If you live in a city by the sea, if you live in a humid city, make sure to wash the sheets on the bed at least 60 degrees once a week. Let’s not have carpets, rugs in the child’s room, and let’s not prefer plush toys. In general, let’s prefer odorless products so that the child is not disturbed by the smell. Because they increase the tendency to allergies. If a child living in Istanbul has allergies and asthma, it can be mostly due to mites, that is, to house dust. For this reason, it is necessary to take precautions against them and children should not gain too much weight. Because being overweight causes asthma and allergic diseases. You should not use unnecessary antibiotics, because antibiotics that are used unnecessarily also cause allergic diseases, and if possible, choose a normal delivery, try not to choose a cesarean section. Because cesarean delivery can increase allergies.
Ece Erken: Well, don’t be angry with our doctors, but my teacher, I have normal birth all the time, but there is always something wrong with normal birth. It’s called a big head. So, our doctors are pushing us towards cesarean section.
Ahmet Akçay: Ten years ago, 97% of births were normal. Yes unfortunately.
Ece Erken: Of course, I’m not saying everyone should call out from here so that they don’t get angry, of course, but I mean, we can have a normal birth, God created us like this, so we can have a normal birth. Thank you for your support.
Ahmet Akçay: What do you mean, sir?
Ece Erken: We continue now. Sir, we are allergic to eggs, now we are allergic to milk, we cannot consume them. Egg?
Ahmet Akçay: Here’s our food allergies, believe me, one of the biggest problems in first-year-old babies is milk allergy, and egg allergy usually occurs next to it. Because there are eight of the most important foods that cause the most common food allergies in babies in children.
Ece Erken: Which is the first?
Ahmet Akçay: The most important thing is milk.
Ece Erken: Then comes the eggs?
Ahmet Akcay: Then comes the eggs.
Ece Erken: Honey?
Ahmet Akcay: Honey does not come. But we do not give honey before the age of one.
Ece Erken: Yes. Is anyone allergic to honey?
Ahmet Akçay: Those who are allergic to honey react to pollen and those who are allergic to honey. If we are allergic to pollen, then if honey is harmful to us, we should not consume it. But egg allergy is important because those with egg allergy should not consume certain foods.
Ece Erken: For example?
Ahmet Akçay: Mayonnaise cannot be consumed, mother. Apart from this, they cannot consume biscuits, pasta, and desserts. Because they always contain egg-containing ingredients, we cannot consume them for that reason. In order to satisfy our sweet needs, our preference is usually pumpkin dessert, quince dessert or compote, but unfortunately we cannot consume other sweets. We have a milk allergy and we cannot consume milk desserts. We are allergic to eggs, we cannot consume other sweets. Sometimes mothers say, what happens if I consume this much? I ate hungrily. No, it’s like fasting.
Ece Erken: Even so far, my teacher is a small
Even the part has a problem.
Ahmet Akçay: I mean, sometimes families say, I say why did you eat, they say I ate it. But what’s going on? Then his trouble is the problem. Because even if you eat a piece, its effect sometimes lasts for a week. That’s why we pay attention to diet and we generally do not consume canned foods, which are in boxes and packages, we give importance to them.
Ece Erken: We continue after a short break. Sir, we have a break, then we are here again.
Ece Erken: Sir, we have come to the end of our program slowly, we say goodbye after the break, but I have one last question, Prof. Dr. To Ahmet Akçay, our pediatric allergy specialist. Now, of course, we will see a lot of pollen changes in the seasons. What should we do to avoid pollen allergy, sir?
Ahmet Akcay: Yes. It is beneficial for those with pollen allergies to wear sunglasses, especially when children go out, and a pair of sunglasses that the child likes, because we can prevent pollen from sticking to the eyes. Apart from this, when the weather is very hot, especially in April and May, it is beneficial for children with pollen allergy not to stay outside when the weather is hot as much as possible, or to change their clothes and take a shower when they enter the house, even if they stay hot. Because pollen sticks to clothes and let’s make it a habit to take shoes out of the house.
Ece Erken: Thank you very much, teacher.
Ahmet Akcay: We thank you
Ece Erken: We are waiting for you again in the coming days, please, let’s not prolong the break that much.
Ece Erken: Of course, of course, sir
Ahmet Akçay: Sir, our teacher has given us very good information with his smiling face, we thank him as the Iyi Fikir family, please be on the screen again at 09:30 tomorrow, we will be waiting for you here. Goodbye, stay with love..
