TreatAllergies.com

While not strictly hereditary, there is a genetic predisposition for children to develop allergies if their parents have them. Chances are that, if both parents are allergic, the tendency to be allergic will be passed down to the children. Of course, the children may not develop any allergies but if one parent is allergic then it has been estimated that a child has about a 50% chance of having allergies, a risk that increases to around 75% if both parents have allergies. What this means is that the child inherits a tendency to be allergic, but does not inherit the reaction to a specific allergen because the manifestations of the allergy are different. The allergy will not develop until the child is exposed to a particular allergen. If a parent has an allergy to dogs or has asthma, the child may develop a different sort of allergy, such as hayfever or an allergy to mould. This is why, if you have allergies, it is a good idea to try to limit a child's exposure to common indoor allergens. This is also why families with allergies do not always have allergies to the same things.