Round Table Discussion
LESS COMMONLY RECOGNIZED ALLERGIC CONDITIONS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN
Chairman Horesh: For many years the Academy round table discussions have been on the commonly known allergic conditions in infants and children such as asthma, hay fever and eczema. These allergic diseases have now become familiar and are easily recognized by all pediatricians. In this round table discussion we will present conditions less commonly recognized as having an allergic etiology. It is now generally known that any organ or group of organs may be involved in an allergic reaction. The symptoms will depend upon the tissues sensitized, the degree of sensitization and the nature and amount of the allergen present. Investigations during the past decade have revealed an allergic basis for various well known clinical entities for which no clearcut etiologic background had been found. Every pediatrician is plagued by a host of complaints from parents about conditions which are extremely common, yet he can find little or nothing concerning their cause. Such conditions as poor appetite, disturbed sleep, habit spasms, nervous disorders, irritability, headache, stomach ache, frequent colds, poor resistance to infections, diarrhea, constipation, skin rashes, bed wetting and behaviour problems are only a few of the many problems which face the pediatrician with a private practice. Occasionally an organic basis is found for the symptoms but much too frequently "nothing is found." Thus for many of these problems the pediatrician has had very little to offer other than the old familiar phrase "he will outgrow it." It is our purpose to alert the physician to the possibilities of allergic etiology and to demonstrate that much can be done for many of these childhood problems if the essential fundamentals of allergic knowledge are kept in mind.




