A recent survey indicates that in France, one in three children suffers from allergies. And that can affect his education. Several schools took action.
Distracted, drowsy, absent pupil … No, your child is not necessarily a dunce. He may simply be suffering from allergies, which can affect his education. According to the results of a recent survey carried out by Ifop in partnership with the Stallergenes Foundation, this would be the case for one in three children in France.
Absenteeism and learning difficulties
At the end of this survey, 38% of parents declared having children suffering from food, respiratory or drug allergies. “Children are a segment of the population at risk because they are more sensitive to allergens, chemicals and viral infections,” explains the pediatric allergist Nhân Pham-Ti.
The symptoms of respiratory allergies have significant consequences on the daily life of children: irritated eyes, blocked nose, sore throat, difficulty in breathing. Parents believe that these disorders disrupt schooling: 93% of French people believe that children are tired, 74% that respiratory allergies lead to repeated absenteeism (asthma attack) and 62% to learning difficulties. Indeed, lack of sleep as well as difficult breathing can affect a student’s concentration when he is in class.
School supervision
“Schools play a key role in screening for allergies,” according to the Stallergenes Foundation. In November 2013, the latter set up a system for 1,000 nurses and school doctors from the Academies of Ile-de-France. Their mission is to detect children’s allergies and then take care of them, throughout their schooling in the establishment. “Given the success we had last year with the training on allergies in school health in Paris, we wanted to renew this program in 2014 in the Paris region. », Says Catherine Akari, Managing Director of the Stallergenes Foundation.
2 times more allergies in 20 years
The Ifop poll also asked the French how they feel about the evolution of children’s allergies: 94% of them consider that there are more allergies than before. Figures from the World Health Organization corroborate this impression: in 20 years, the rate of French people suffering from allergies has increased from 25% to 30%.
Pollution, pesticides, chemicals in textiles and food, climate change… The causes of these intolerances are multiple. However, this phenomenon is far from spreading to France: by 2050, the WHO predicts that worldwide, one in two people will be allergic.
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