Occurrence and symptoms of food allergy.
I say that allergy is complicated because allergic diseases are so widely involved, including various cytokines and antibodies. Among the antibodies, there are not only the familiar rapid-onset allergic reaction IgE antibodies, but also the delayed-onset allergic reaction IgG antibodies.
Rapid-onset allergic reactions: symptoms usually appear within 30 minutes to 2 hours of encountering the allergen.
The combination of rapid-onset allergic reaction IgE antibody and antigen can directly activate eosinophils, basophils and mast cells, releasing inflammatory mediators and causing edema and acute inflammation of skin and mucous membranes, which is the rapid-onset allergic reaction.
Symptom presentation.
For example, itchy eyes due to pollen encountered in spring and autumn: allergic conjunctivitis; sneezing and runny nose: allergic rhinitis; coughing and shortness of breath due to dust, mites or animal fur: asthma. These problems have a great regularity and repetitiveness and are easily detected and prevented by patients and physicians.
Late-onset allergic reactions: easily overlooked by many physicians
IgG antibodies are small in molecular weight and cannot be engulfed and eliminated by phagocytes after binding to antigens, but can reach all parts of the body with the blood, where complement is involved in a more complex Therefore, unlike IgE-mediated mucosal-based manifestations, IgG-mediated allergic reactions are systemic reactions, and late onset allergic reactions will have the following symptoms.
Symptomatic manifestations.
Digestive tract: abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, mouth ulcers, flatulence, etc.
Skin: eczema, urticaria, dryness, hyperkeratosis, acne, etc.
Nervous: dizziness, migraine, sleep disorders, febrile convulsions, epilepsy, etc.
Mental: anxiety, melancholy, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, irritability, etc.
Respiratory: asthma, chronic cough, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, snoring, etc.
Musculoskeletal: arthritis, joint pain, etc.
Genitourinary: frequent urination, urinary urgency, vaginal itching, etc.
Cardiovascular: chest pain, hypertension, arrhythmia, etc.
What is the best way to prevent food allergy?
The best way to prevent food allergy is to avoid eating allergic foods. As baby’s digestive function is perfected and the intestinal tract develops and matures, food allergy will be significantly reduced. At the same time, it is important to check for food allergens in a timely manner, including both fast-onset and late-onset allergies, especially for the following babies who are the focus of the check.
Those who have had pneumonia or bronchitis twice before 6 months of age, those with severe eczema or recurrent eczema, and those who have had bronchitis or pneumonia three times before one year of age.
The jaw shaking, whole body or part of the body does not shake automatically, or there is no febrile convulsion around 1 year old.
If you have recurrent burping, farting, crying, diarrhea or constipation.
Those who appear to sleep with open mouth or snore before the age of 2 years.
Those with febrile convulsions before the age of 3.
How to control allergies through diet?
What should I pay attention to when my baby first starts to add complementary foods?
Due to the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract, children are more prone to allergies when protein-based foods are added. Protein foods have to be broken down by the body’s digestive system into amino acids or short peptides composed of several amino acids before they can be absorbed and used. However, due to the imperfect development of children’s digestive system and immature enzyme development, proteins cannot be completely digested and decomposed, and a considerable part of them are only decomposed into peptides (more than 10 amino acids), and children’s intestinal barrier development is also immature, these peptides will be absorbed into the blood. The human body instinctively recognizes amino acids and short peptides, but does not recognize peptides, and considers peptides as foreign invaders, thus the human body will produce IgG antibodies to bind and thus exclude such peptide substances, which is the occurrence of food allergy. Some fruits contain more phytohistidine, which can be decomposed into histamine and cause skin and mucous membrane allergy, especially oral mucous membrane and gastrointestinal tract mucous membrane, some children will have mouth and lip skin allergy after taking fruits, and some children will have tummy pain and diarrhea after eating fruits.
Is it possible to add complementary foods from the beginning of the baby’s life?
To give some dietary advice, or add principles, etc., so that mothers have some scientific understanding and can do a better job of preventing food allergies:.
1, add complementary food time is 17-26 weeks, not earlier than 17 weeks, too early will be more likely to cause allergies, not later than 26 weeks will cause children picky eaters.
2. Adding complementary foods should start with grains, because grains are the least likely to cause allergies, especially rice flour made from rice, then wheat, followed by fruits, and again meat.
3. Before the age of 1, it is best not to add egg-based foods to children, as egg protein is the most allergenic protein. In the past, our country is a cereal-based food country, people generally lack meat-based food, more likely to cause iron deficiency, maternal pregnancy iron deficiency, breast milk is also iron deficiency, due to the relatively high iron content in egg yolk, the past has been stressed very early to add egg yolk to children to supplement the iron element. But now the structure of our diet has changed a lot, iron deficiency has been very little, so the concept of adding complementary foods should also change accordingly.
4, before 1 year old need to give children breastfeeding or formula feeding, can not give children under one year old to eat fresh milk, formula is breastfed milk powder. As fresh milk contains more casein, it is not easy for the child to digest it completely, which is more likely to lead to milk allergy. And the more time that children are exposed to fresh milk is pushed back, the less chance of allergies occurring in children, and the phenomenon of milk allergies in children will decrease after about 3 years of age.
5. Fruits are less allergic than protein-based foods, but are still allergic to grains, mainly berries. The most common fruits are tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, oranges, oranges and kiwis. Other fruits and vegetables that can easily cause diarrhea are pumpkin, onion, cantaloupe, and melon. The least allergic fruits are apples, pears, bananas, and it is still recommended to eat them after they are cooked when you start adding them.
6, meat food is the least allergic is white meat, that is, poultry, followed by pork, again is lamb, the most allergic meat is beef. And the longer the meat is stewed, the less likely it is to be allergic. It is recommended to add meat to children for the first 2 months starting with chicken.
7. Seafood is mainly shelled and allergy-prone, such as shellfish, abalone and shrimp. Since seafood is rich in histidine, histidine is easily broken down after the death of seafood to release histamine, and the longer the seafood is dead, the easier it is to be allergic. So add seafood to your child to start with live seafood.
8, the principle of complementary foods added is from less to more, from thin to thick, gradually added. Each food added for three days in a row, if the child appears bloated, abdominal pain, diarrhea should stop, 1 week after trying, if a similar situation occurs again, it means that the child is likely to be allergic to such food. And if the child does not want to eat a certain food, do not force the child to add it, perhaps refusing to eat is a reaction to allergies. Don’t add your own hobbies to your child.
9. As a protein-rich food, breast milk can also cause allergies in individual children. If breast milk allergy occurs, make sure to use hydrolyzed milk powder instead of breast milk. Do not think that breast milk is the most nutritious and imposed on the child, allergic to breast milk although it can not be said to be poison, but it is also very damaging to the child.