A food allergy, or hypersensitivity, is an abnormal reaction to a food triggered by the immune system. Food allergies are most common in the first three years of life. They are more likely to be experienced by those who have a family history of food allergies, or in those with a broader allergic family history (allergy, eczema, or asthma).
Food allergies are also most common in babies who are exposed to foods likely to have an allergic reaction at an early age. About ninety percent of food allergies in babies and children are related to one of the five foods: cow’s milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, or wheat. Most children with food allergies have an allergy to a single food, although the possibility of getting multiple allergies is always there. A significant minority of those kids who are allergic to cow’s milk are also allergic to soy.
Most kids outgrow their food allergies. Outgrowing milk and soy allergies is usually observed by the first birthday. The majority of them have outgrown their allergies by the time they are three. Even those who still have food allergies at three will, in normal circumstances, outgrow them, especially if they are not exposed to the foods causing allergic reaction for a year or two.
Some food allergies, however, are there for the whole life. Allergies to peanuts, nuts, shellfish, and fish are just a few classic examples.
Milk and soy allergies are particularly seen in infants and young kids. Usually, these allergies do not result in hives and asthma, but rather lead to colic, and possibly blood in the stool or poor growth. Infants and children are more likely to be susceptible to this allergic syndrome because of the immaturity and weakness of their immune and digestive systems.
Food allergies can be so severe that even the slightest contact with the food results in immediate itching, stinging, and/or inflammation of the lips, tongue, and throat.
Milk or soy allergies can attack an infant within days to months of birth. Sometimes a family history of allergies or feeding problems can be traced. Food allergies might be identified or diagnosed when withdrawing a food improves symptoms and reintroducing the food bring back the same symptoms.
Eliminating the food causing the allergy is the heart of treatment. This can prove to be a hard task because some foods are included as hidden ingredients in many other foods products. Usually symptoms will get better significantly within three days of eliminating the food that causes them.
Allergy testing can also be useful. In infants, a positive result is mostly indicates the presence of an allergy, but a negative result does not give much information either way. In preschool children, the opposite is right. A negative result is a good sign that a child is not allergic to the food. A positive result, however, might or might not suggest an allergy.
If the baby is on cow's milk, the doctor might suggest a change to soy formula or exclusive breast milk, if feasible in that case. If soy formula causes an allergic reaction, the baby may be suggested to stay on a basic formula.
These formulas include processed proteins, basically sugars and amino acids. There are hardly any allergens in these materials. The doctors sometimes prescribe corticosteroids for the treatment of infants with severe food allergies. Time mostly heals this particular gastrointestinal illness. It is likely to resolve within the first few years of life.
Exclusive breast feeding, excluding all other solid food items for infants for the first six to twelve months of life is often suggested to avoid milk or soy allergies from developing within that time duration.
Such breast feeding often leads to parents avoiding infant-feeding troubles, especially if the parents are allergic; the infant is more likely to be allergic. There are a few children who are so sensitive to a particular food, however, that if the food is taken by the mother, significant quantities enter the breast milk to result in a food reaction in the child. Mothers sometimes must themselves stay away from those foods to which the infant is allergic.
Breastfeeding can help avoid many food allergies. This is particularly true if the mother gives up some of the most allergic foods like peanuts and perhaps milk or eggs. On the positive side, mothers who take in beneficial bacteria, as in yogurt, while pregnant and nursing might help their kids in staying away from food allergies.
After one suspects a food allergy, a medical evaluation is the key to proper treatment. Treatment basically involves avoiding the food or foods after identification. People having children with food allergies should become well-informed about allergies and how they are treated, and should work with their doctors.
It's significant for parents with kids allergic to foods to identify them and to avoid foods that cause allergic reactions. Some foods can cause severe illness and, in some cases, a life-threatening allergic reaction that can block airways in the lungs, critically low blood pressure, and cause suffocation by the swelling of the tongue or inflammation of throat.