How To Deal With Food Allergy In Children

Food allergy is a medical state of reaction wherein the immune system overreacts to certain food items that results in inflammation of the body tissues. It is a hypersensitive reaction in which the child’s immune system generates multiple antibodies named IgE as a response to foreign proteins. This indicates that every time the child eats such food items, the immune system produces IgE antibodies. It is these antibodies that are termed as allergens and are responsible for the allergic symptoms when they become adequate in number.

Due to this kind of reaction, food allergy is categorized as type 1 allergy. In children, this allergy takes place who are under four years of age. In real, food allergies are rarely found in children. According to a research, hardly 3 in 100 toddlers actually suffer from this allergy and most of them come out of it until the age of three. But in practice, approximately one third of the children are not given certain food items in their diet as parents are of the opinion that they have the potential to cause allergic reactions.

Food Allergy Causes

Type 1 allergic diseases can also be genetically inherited. Due to this reason, the mother must always consult the GP or allergy specialist known as allergist if anybody in the family has a history of an allergy, eczema, hay fever, or asthma before being pregnant.

Food allergens are the major causes of food allergy in children. Listed below are the most common allergens.

• Eggs
• Fish
• Milk
• Nuts
• Citrus fruits
• Tomatoes

Food Allergy Symptoms

Sometimes, an allergic reaction occurs as soon as the suspected food is taken or sometimes it can take place after a few hours. Listed below are the symptoms of the food allergy.

• Severe infantile eczema or skin rash
• Vomiting and diarrhea all of a sudden
• Asthmatic bronchitis or asthma
• Allergic cold (itchy, streaming eyes and nose)

With more production of antibodies, the symptoms that were mild in the past can become serious. Always take care of not giving any allergic food item to your child when out of home if your child is suffering from food allergy.

What if Found Suspected

Listed below are certain guidelines that you should keep in mind with regards to the suspicion of food allergy in your child.

• Consult your doctor first before you go ahead and make diet changes.
• Avoid abnormally limited diet for your child that can cause severe malnutrition.
• Avoid considering any change in your child’s bowel movements as an indicator of food allergy. This is because a change in the child’s bowel movements is a natural consequence of any change in the diet.
• Avoid panic and relax. Never take for granted that your child is having food allergy until the allergy specialist diagnose it.

Treatment

The ideal treatment is to exclude the food items that trigger the allergy. In some children, anaphylactic shock can take place even on consuming a little amount of suspected food. In this shock, the airways are narrowed down, heart does not function accurately, and breathing goes down the standard line. Such a situation can result in collapse and therefore, requires urgent treatment through adrenaline.

So, if you notice the state of difficult breathing in your child, run to the doctor without any delay.

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