When your baby is allergic to a food, his or her body treats the food like an invader and launches an immune system attack. It’s this attack that causes allergy symptoms, which can be mild or severe.
But sometimes, when a food allergy is suspected, it’s not the correct diagnosis. Other issues such as colic or reflux could be causing the baby’s distress, especially when the baby is formula-fed.
And sometimes, when the introduction of solid foods isn’t spaced out, it’s difficult to discern which food is causing the problem. Parents should always wait until the baby is six months old to start solids, and then, should only introduce one new food per week to eliminate confusion if there is a reaction.
With any new food, you should be on the lookout for allergic reactions.
The top eight allergenic foods
- Milk
- Eggs
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts (such as walnuts or almonds)
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Soy
- Wheat
Signs and symptoms of a food allergy
- Hives or welts
- Flushed skin or rash
- Face, tongue or lip swelling
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Coughing or wheezing
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of consciousness
- Fever and/or sweating
Usually, symptoms of a food allergy appear very soon after the food is eaten ““ within a few minutes to a couple of hours. What’s good is that as patients get older, most of the allergies go away.
But, the diagnosis of food allergies is on the rise.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children younger than 18 years of age who have a food allergy jumped to 4.6 percent in 2011, up from 3.5 percent in 2000.
Why?
“We know more now and are better educated about food allergies so we’re recognizing more cases of it,” said Dr. Delene Musielak, a staff physician at St. Elizabeth’s Covington Primary Care office who specializes in internal medicine and pediatrics.
If you think your child might have a food allergy, call his or her pediatrician as soon as possible. If your pediatrician also suspects a food allergy, you’ll then need to schedule an appointment with an allergist, who can run and supervise testing to see if your child does have a true allergy to a certain food.
“Overall, strict dietary avoidance of the food is the mainstay of food allergy management,” Musielak said. “It’s as simple as that.”
