What is food allergy in children
Food allergies in children are pathological immune reactions caused by the consumption of certain foods or food additives that cause a variety of dysfunctions or tissue damage in babies. This particular reaction to certain foods is only seen in a small number of “allergic” babies, and these foods are harmless to most babies.
For example, eggs are harmless for most babies, but for a small number of “allergic” babies, a series of symptoms may occur after eating a small amount of eggs, including general or localized itching of the skin (the baby will scratch and develop scratches), skin rashes or bumps, swelling of the mouth and lips, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and abdominal pain. Vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even sweating and shortness of breath, which are allergic reactions to eggs.
Why children are prone to food allergies
The peak of food allergy is usually in childhood. In our allergy clinic, long-term statistics show that food allergy patients are mainly in children, especially infants.
On the one hand, children’s immune system (especially the immune system of the digestive tract) is not fully developed and is more susceptible to allergies to foreign proteins (protein components from outside their own body). The most common are the complementary foods added to babies during infancy and early childhood, such as eggs, milk, fish, soy, and fruits.
On the other hand, it is because with the development of society, the variety of food is getting richer and more complex, including a large number of food flavorings and additives (common preservatives, colors, ripening agents, preservatives, antioxidants, flavors, etc.), and the intake of food containing these ingredients during the period when the baby’s immune system is not perfect will undoubtedly increase the chance of allergy.
When to suspect food allergy in babies?
Parents should suspect that their baby may be allergic to a certain food supplement (including eggs, milk, goat’s milk, apples, peaches, etc.) if the following symptoms and discomforts occur after the baby has ingested it
1, skin: the baby’s skin itching (generally the baby performance is more irritable, easy to cry for unknown reasons, moving around or scratching the body skin at will), skin red spots or rashes of different sizes (mostly on the face, neck and ear skin), some may appear “wind-bumps” change (like mosquito bites after the appearance of bumps) change, some may appear “wind-bumps” change (like mosquito bites). Some may have “bumps” (like bumps after mosquito bites) changes, some show dry, flushed skin, or may be the baby’s already existing eczema symptoms aggravated.
2, gastrointestinal tract: the baby appears nausea, vomiting (the baby may show frequent vomiting after eating), abdominal pain (the baby shows crying and restlessness), diarrhea (diarrhea), thin watery stools, etc.
3. Mouth and eyes: Some babies have redness and swelling of the mouth and lips, ulceration of the tongue and tongue edges after intake of complementary foods, resulting in crying and refusal to eat.
4. Nose: The baby may have a cold, itchy nose (always rubbing the nose), sneezing, and a runny nose.
5. respiratory: the baby may have a cough (unexplained cough, paroxysmal dry cough, more pronounced at night), shortness of breath, or even difficulty in breathing (immediate hospitalization is necessary).
6. Other: clinically, some babies with food allergy may show crying at night, irritability and irritability, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, drowsiness, fatigue, older children may complain of migraine, and in the long term, they may show no weight gain or even weight loss, slow growth, etc.
All of the above are suspected to be allergies to certain foods, especially for those with a family history of allergies.
What should I do if my baby has food allergies?
Seek medical attention, of course.
If you suspect that your baby is allergic to a certain food, you need to stop eating that food immediately and go to the hospital for a clinical evaluation by an allergist or pediatrician, which requires a thorough medical history, detailed supplementation, clinical symptoms, and a physical examination, relevant allergen screening tests (including skin prick test for food allergens, serum specific IgE test for food), and a food diary. The diagnosis will be made by exclusion diet tests, food diaries, oral provocation tests of food if necessary, and also by differentiation from other diseases.
When a food allergy occurs in a baby, the specialist will treat the baby symptomatically depending on the severity of the symptoms and the damage that has been caused to the baby’s body. Of course, it is necessary to immediately and strictly avoid (not to continue eating the food) the allergic food and related foods containing the allergic food formula. It must be reminded that parents cannot conclude that their baby is allergic or not allergic to the food on their own based on the skin prick test results alone, and then strictly prohibit the baby from eating the food, as this will affect the baby’s growth and development.
Will it be forbidden to eat for life?
As mentioned earlier, babies should strictly avoid allergic foods, is it a lifetime ban? Is it possible to reduce or even desensitize the allergic food?
If your baby is clearly allergic to cow’s milk (after all, cow’s milk is very important for your baby’s long-term growth and development and nutritional needs), you should first avoid cow’s milk and try alternative foods that have the same effect but are not allergenic, such as hydrolyzed formula, also known as amino acid formula (which can also ensure children’s nutritional needs and growth and development), hypoallergenic formula, goat’s milk or soy milk.
Many parents may find that as their babies grow up and avoid allergic foods for a certain period of time (for example, 3-4 years), they can gradually reintroduce some of the foods they were once allergic to and no longer experience discomfort. In fact, babies can “self-heal” from some food allergies because the body has developed a tolerance, such as to milk. If you want to know if you are still allergic to a certain food, your baby can have a repeat allergen test (including skin prick test and serum IgE test) every 1-2 years or so as a reference to help determine if he or she is still allergic. But allergies to seafood, peanuts and nuts can last a lifetime. The mechanism for the varying length of allergy history is still unclear and may be due to the gastrointestinal immune system.
Currently, clinicians and researchers have tried many approaches to food allergy treatment. The efficacy of oral desensitization therapy of food is uncertain and lacks safety, so it is not recommended.
Are baby food allergies related to mom and dad?
If both parents or one parent has allergic diseases, please note that the probability of your baby developing food allergies is greatly increased, and of course, babies without a family history of allergies may also develop food allergies. Parental allergic diseases include allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, allergic cough, allergic dermatitis, urticaria and other diseases. There is a relationship between food allergies and heredity.
Prevention and life precautions
Experts at home and abroad agree that exclusive breastfeeding is one of the effective ways to prevent food allergies in infants and young children. For infants and young children with a family history of allergies, it is recommended that breastfeeding should be adhered to within one year of age, as breast milk contains a variety of immunoglobulins, which are beneficial for preventing allergies, while the mother should appropriately limit foods that may be highly allergic (such as eggs, shrimp and crab), as the protein components of allergic foods can be taken up by the baby through breast milk. If breastfeeding is not possible, consider feeding hydrolyzed formula.
For infants under 1 year old, it is not advisable to feed allergy-prone foods such as fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish, eggs, mushrooms, onions, etc. It is better to exclusively breastfeed for 4 months, start drinking milk after 1 year old, start eating eggs after 2 years old, and eat seafood products after 3 years old. The order of adding complementary foods can be cereals – vegetables – fruits – meat, fish, eggs in that order.
3. When adding new foods to infants and toddlers, be sure to add them separately, one by one. When adding each new food, start with a small amount in order to observe the tolerance and acceptability of the baby’s gastrointestinal tract and reduce the adverse consequences of food allergies. At the same time, parents must pay attention to observe any allergic reactions, such as rash, itching, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., as well as some of the symptoms mentioned above. Once allergy symptoms appear, it is best to stop continuing to eat the food. Never add multiple new foods together, which is not good for parents and doctors to sort out the allergens. Identification: When trying new foods on babies, they usually refuse to eat and are uncooperative, which is a defense instinct of babies. If you continue to refuse something, you should also consider the possibility of food allergies, careful to continue feeding.
4. Some foods will be less allergenic when heated and cooked, which means that the possibility of causing allergies will also be reduced.
5, should try to avoid giving babies food containing synthetic colors, preservatives and preservatives.
6.For babies with food allergy, their guardians need to know how to identify and avoid food allergens, learn the early identification of signs and symptoms of food allergy, and learn how to deal with emergencies (severe allergic reactions) and what to do when the baby seeks medical attention.
Foods that tend to cause allergies
In 1999, the 23rd Session of the International Codex Alimentarius Commission published a list of common allergenic foods, and the eight categories of highly allergenic foods worldwide are as follows.
① Milk; especially cow’s milk.
② Eggs; especially eggs.
③Fish: seawater fish, freshwater fish.
④Shellfish: shrimp, prawns, crabs, large and small lobsters, clams, etc.
⑤ peanuts.
⑥Soybeans.
⑦ Nuts: almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, etc.
⑧ Wheat.
Also announced some other allergenic food (pork, beef, chicken, corn, tomatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, sweet peppers, oranges, pineapples, kiwi, mustard, yeast), China is more common mainly eggs, milk, cod, shrimp, crab, lamb, soybeans, mushrooms, cashews, pistachios, mangoes, peaches, strawberries, corn, tomatoes, etc..