Inheriting environmental allergies

[Kate99]

Hi,

I know that asthma, hay fever, eczema etc are all related but i was just wondering what the chances are of passing on conditions and preventing them from being passed on.

My mother has hay fever and allergies to many chemicals, she has very sensitive skin and psoriasis and gets nasty reactions if she uses anything that is harsh. Myself and my siblings have asthma, my brother is also allergic to horse hair and has quite severe hay fever as does my maternal aunt. There is also a history of mild eczema.

My fathers side are all allergy free.

Is it guaranteed that these will be passed on to future generations or can we do something to prevent it?

[Dr Adam Fox]

Hi
you can pass on 'atopy' ie an allergic tendency rather than specific allergies. If both parents have allergies , the chance of passing this on is greater. The only thing shown to help is aiming ot exclusively breast feed for 4-6 months. WHat actually happens once you have allergic disease is very much dependent on environmental factors that we do not understand very well.