My five-month-old son has developed eczema recently. I have a four-year-old who had eczema as a baby and then developed asthma at the age of two years. I also have asthma. I am intending to breastfeed for as long as possible and am very careful with his diet. Is there any way that I can prevent him becoming a severe asthmatic?

Answer

You seem to be doing all the right things by continuing to breastfeed and giving him the diet you have described to me. As far as I am aware there is no way to stop the irritability of the airways which leads to asthma in very allergic children.

However, you can try and minimise the effects by making sure that he always sleeps on the correct type of bedding and that his room is not full of fluffy toys and books which collect dust. It is probably also not advisable to have pets, although I grew up with cats and dogs and am an asthmatic (very well controlled)!

If you or any member of the family smoke, then you should never smoke in the house as this definitely contributes to the severity of asthma.

Asthma is a very treatable condition, even in infants. Even if he does develop asthma it should be possible for him to be completely free of symptoms with the correct treatment. Make sure that you have a GP or paediatrician who is experienced in the treatment of asthma and allergies, since these problems are not always dealt with as well as they should be.