The meeting focused on the pediatric allergy and asthma (PAAM 2011), will bring together representatives of the 6,800 specialists in allergy and clinical immunology 107 countries that make up the EAACI.

   The study notes that there are specific hypothesis that lifestyle and eating behaviors favor the early onset of allergic symptoms.

   Thus, exposure to different environmental agents increases the risk of respiratory infections and asthma, and that "exposure to allergens such as certain foods, dust mites, pets and pollen, is a prerequisite for the development of allergy-related diseases ", as highlighted in a statement the president of the meeting, Professor Halken.

   Halken also said that genetic factors may influence the patient's vulnerability to various environmental agents.

   "Some studies show that a child with atopic dermatitis and a family history have a higher risk of developing asthma in a more advanced stage of his life. When one parent is allergic, the child has predisposition to be allergic too, and the risk is greater if both parents suffer from this disease, "he said.

   The professor pointed out that knowledge about allergies can help patients avoid contact with those agents "harmful" to their health and thereby reduce symptoms and avoid risky situations.

   However, the symptoms of allergies can disappear or be replaced. "Normally, babies often suffer from atopic dermatitis, gastrointestinal symptoms, and constant wheezing, while children are mainly bronchial asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis," said Halken.

   In this sense, allergic reactions to food, especially protein from cow's milk, usually manifest during the first years of life, and respiratory allergies occur mostly in a later stage of childhood.