The doctor advised to check the allergic status before planning pregnancy.

A predisposition to allergies is formed long before a child first encounters an external allergen, and it all starts before he is born. Lyubov Stankevich, PhD, Director of Laboratory Medicine and Manufacturing at the LabQuest and Q Clinic medical companies, told Izvestia on May 9 why expectant parents need to find out their own allergic status before planning pregnancy.

According to her, if at least one of the parents suffers from allergies, the probability of its development in the child increases significantly. If both are allergic, the risk is even higher. But many future parents don't think about it.

"Sometimes even the person himself does not know that he has an allergy, especially if it is weak or completely hidden. In such cases, sensitization may already occur in the body: the immune system imperceptibly "remembers" the allergen and begins to form antibodies. The next time you encounter this substance, you may experience a severe reaction, up to and including anaphylaxis. And this can happen in both adults and children, even if they have never had any allergies before," she said.

The expert added that parents often believe that if there is no obvious reaction to the product, then there is no allergy. However, this is a misconception. For example, a child may eat a certain food without symptoms, and if consumed repeatedly, especially against the background of other factors, a severe reaction will develop. This is especially dangerous with foods that are not always eaten in their pure form, such as nuts, seafood, honey. They can enter the body as part of a sauce, dessert, or any industrial dish and cause an acute reaction. However, the only reliable way to determine the presence of sensitization is through laboratory tests.

"Modern tests, especially molecular ones, make it possible to identify not just sensitivity to the extract of a substance, but a reaction to specific molecules that cause allergies. This makes it possible to determine more precisely how high the risk of developing a severe reaction is and which products or substances pose a danger. For example, if you are allergic to birch pollen, you may experience a cross-reaction to apples, peaches, and cherries. Such things are impossible to predict without accurate diagnosis," explained Stankevich.

She stressed that molecular diagnostics is especially important in cases where allergies manifest themselves outside the box — in the form of a chronic runny nose, dry cough, or fatigue.

One of the most accurate methods is an allergy test using an allergy chip, which allows you to determine sensitivity to hundreds of allergens at the same time. This is important not only for a child who already has symptoms, but also for parents, even if they consider themselves "non-allergic," the specialist noted. The tendency to allergies can be hidden and inherited. If you identify this in advance, you can avoid serious consequences, including anaphylactic shock in a child upon first contact with an allergen.

"One cannot hope that eliminating a couple of products will solve the problem. Allergy is a complex immunological process that requires accurate diagnosis. It is not treated by observation or the "exclusion method." Without understanding which molecules trigger the reaction, no diet will be effective. Moreover, attempts to determine the cause on your own can only do harm. All this is lost time, incorrect treatment, chronic inflammation and slow development," concluded Stankevich.

Earlier, on May 6, Alexandra Gornak, an allergist and immunologist at the Sberbank Health medical company, said that pollen allergy can develop at any age. It most often occurs in childhood or adolescence, but it can occur for the first time in an adult. Among the reasons are a genetic predisposition, contact with new allergens, and changes in environmental conditions.