The word diathesis in ancient Greek means a predisposition to something. Diathesis is not a disease, but an individual feature of the child, manifested in a tendency to develop a number of diseases under the influence of certain factors. Most often, it is understood as various allergic reactions, for example, allergic dermatitis, but in fact there are more types of diathesis in children.

Diathesis is a collective term that can mean a variety of abnormalities in the body. If we draw a rough analogy, then the phrase “stomach hurts” means only the presence of some kind of malfunction in the organs, but which one is not known. Diathesis in children can actually be described as an overreaction to a common stimulus.

Each of us has its own peculiarities of the constitution – a set of genetic, mental, functional, metabolic, adaptive and other functions of the body. Within certain limits, we can change some features, for example, by hardening, become more frost-resistant, but these limits are genetically embedded in us and we cannot jump above our heads. So, diathesis is a weak spot in our constitution.

If diathesis is not uncommon in children, then it does not occur in adults. It is logical – the body grows, develops, learns to respond to external stimuli, but everything is within certain limits. Allergy to citrus fruits remains in many people, although it becomes less pronounced. The little man first encounters dust, pollen, citrus fruits, synthetic fabrics and dyes in them. An adult, having drawn conclusions, avoids influences that can cause a pathological reaction in him.

The severity of the manifestations of diathesis in children will depend on the genetic predisposition, on the health of the child himself, on the strength and duration of exposure to harmful factors, nutritional conditions, adherence to sleep and wakefulness, even on the health of the mother during pregnancy.

Types of diathesis:

Allergic or exudative-catarrhal – manifests itself in the form of allergic reactions and a decrease in resistance to infectious diseases.
Lymphatic-hypoplastic – manifested by a tendency to allergic and infectious diseases, an increase in lymph nodes, pathology of the thymus glands.
Nervous-arthritic – manifested by metabolic disorders, increased excitability of the nervous system, a tendency to diabetes, hypertension, obesity.
Symptoms of diathesis
If you start from a wide and far from complete list of manifestations presented above, then you can grab your head. Maybe that’s why there is a misconception about the nature and manifestations of the disease – I want to simplify the complex and make it as clear as possible. Most people think that diathesis is another name for allergic dermatitis. The child’s cheeks turned red – they immediately joyfully make a diagnosis. Well, skin rashes are indeed one of the most common symptoms of childhood diathesis, but far from the only one.

Symptoms of allergic or exudative-catarrhal childhood diathesis: peeling of the skin, thickening of the skin of the cheeks, diaper rash, as well as increased vulnerability of the mucous membranes, eyes and upper respiratory tract, resulting in gingivitis, conjunctivitis, sinusitis, bronchitis and laryngitis.

One of the first symptoms of lymphatic-hypoplastic diathesis in children is increased weight and a violation of body proportions at the time of birth. Низкая подвижность, увеличение лимфатических узлов, частые и длительные ОРЗ, на рентгене можно увидеть увеличение вилочковой glands.

With neuro-arthritic diathesis, the symptoms may not be sufficiently manifested. It is rare and its symptoms are non-specific, extremely rarely someone associates them with any particular disease: night terrors, stuttering, joint pain.

Treatment of diathesis
Since diathesis is not a disease, but an individual feature, then its treatment will also consist in prevention. Is there any manifestation? It is necessary to find the factor that provoked it and protect the child from it. For example, if the cheeks of a breast-fed baby turn red, then you need to think about what the mother has eaten in the last 24 hours, what means the baby’s skin care is provided for, how diapers are washed and what materials they consist of. Even the smallest residual amounts of chlorine compounds contained in washing powder can cause a violent allergic reaction. Or it’s quite banal: with artificial feeding, the child will constantly ask for food, kind parents will give him a bottle of milk and, as a result, constant overeating will lead to the development of a disease to which there is a predisposition.

An attentive attitude to all, even seemingly the most insignificant factors that the baby faces is a guarantee that you can isolate the true cause of diathesis, a vulnerable spot in the child’s health. The individual features of the constitution are therefore individual, which is often almost impossible to give one piece of advice for everyone, but in this situation such advice can be given: in the vast majority of cases, look for the external cause of this disease in your child.