By Chioma Obinna

Medical experts have advised individuals to apply caution while adopting skin products for themselves and their children.

The experts who spoke at the SYNLAB Nigeria webinar on managing allergy stated that recently various fragrances, cosmetics and organic creams have been found to contain substances that the immune systems detect and seek to neutralize, thereby causing allergic symptoms.

Speaking, a Consultant Dermatologist, Dr. Viola Ikebudu, advised individuals to be mindful of what they apply on their body, emphasising that as the largest organ of the body, anything that is applied on the skin has the tendency to get into other parts of the body.

On his part, Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Ayodele Renner, advised that parents ensure they purchase products containing mild or no fragrance, as this would be friendlier on the children’s skin than those

with strong fragrances.

He emphasised that fragrance is an important allergen, and therefore if it is possible, parents should go for fragrance free products bearing in mind that certain fragrances may contain substances that can predispose children to allergic symptoms. He said that instead of merely relying on other people’s recommendation in choosing skin products for their babies, parents should pay attention to the baby’s skin type and speak to a physician if they notice that the baby’s skin is beginning to be drier than usual.

The speakers listed loss of consciousness, swelling of lips and tongue, dizziness and fainting, redness, itching and hives, watery and red eyes, shortness of breath and wheezing, tummy pain, vomiting and diarrhea as symptoms of allergy.

They advised that anyone showing these symptoms should visit their physician and be sure that they are not allergic to one thing or the other. Sharing some statistics on the prevalence of allergy, Dr Renner noted that according to available reports approximately one in eight children have asthma globally, one in 13 children have eczema and one in eight children have allergic rhinitis.

Other interesting statistics shared at the event show that between 10-30 percent of the world are dealing with allergies. It was also learnt that female have higher chances of being allergic than men and allergies are more common in the urban areas than it is in rural areas.