Being a parent can feel overwhelming, especially after having your first child. Babies require a lot of care and attention in the first 3–4 years of their lives. Keeping an infant or toddler clean, well-fed, and healthy is no easy task.
Many things can go wrong with the health of your baby during their first years. Some conditions can have a lasting impact on your child for years, or even decades. A food allergy is one such condition that is often quite hard to properly identify in early child development but can be an issue throughout their entire lives. In this article, we will look at common food allergies in early childhood and how you can identify the signs and symptoms.
What is a Food Allergy?
Our body’s immune system is designed to protect us from foreign entities and diseases. When the immune system recognizes a threat, such as germs, parasites, or foreign chemicals (toxins), it releases many special proteins and chemicals.
These chemicals trigger a range of symptoms – skin rashes, sneezing, swelling, runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, or wheezing – all designed to eliminate the threat from your body. Pollen, dust, insect bites, and certain foods like seafood are common causes of allergies. The cause of food allergies is unknown. In some cases, allergies experienced during childhood may resolve in adulthood. Symptoms of a reaction can include digestive problems, hives, or swollen airways. Severe reactions can be life-threatening.
In otherwise healthy individuals, exposure to these items do not cause any reaction. But in people with allergies, these substances trigger a massive reaction from the immune system. However, if you have a mild allergy, the symptoms will also be mild and probably a minor irritation at worst. An unpleasant or dangerous immune system reaction after a certain food is eaten.
On the other hand, if you have a severe allergy, exposure to the substance can lead to serious reactions and even death in certain circumstances. People can develop allergies at any time in life – early childhood, teenage years, or full adult years. Some allergies wear off after some years, while others are life-long.
Allergies in Children
There is no way to predict or prevent allergies in children. Anybody can develop allergies during their childhood. Substances that cause allergies are called allergens. Possible allergens for children include pet hair, pollen, mold, insect bites, smoke, perfumes, and more. The symptoms of these allergies are often easily identified. The child may be sneezing or wheezing, and may have itchy eyes, a runny nose, and other symptoms that go on for hours, days, or even weeks.
Milk and tree nut allergies are two of the most frequently mentioned food allergens. Other individuals may have a seafood allergy, crustacean shellfish (lobster, shrimp, crabs etc), soy allergy, wheat allergy, gluten allergy, or egg allergy. Of all these, peanuts and shellfish cause the most severe allergic reactions. They are also more likely to last your entire life. It’s estimated that just under 6 million children suffer from some form of allergies in the United States.
Common Food Allergies in Young Children
Infants can start showing symptoms of allergies at a very early age. Food is the most likely culprit behind allergies in children between the ages 1–3. There are two main ways in which children that young get exposed to allergens:
- Through Breast Milk – When a lactating woman eats peanuts or shellfish, some of the proteins and chemicals in these foods show up in the breast milk. If a baby is extremely sensitive to these proteins, they can start showing allergy symptoms from drinking that breast milk. This is not very common, but it can happen.
- Through Baby Food – When a baby is 6 months old, you can start giving it solid food. If your baby is allergic to cow milk, soy, wheat, or other common foods, they may start having allergy symptoms around this time.
The most common food allergies in childhood are caused by cow milk, which is an ingredient in nearly all brands of baby formula. Child food allergies can have the following symptoms:
- Digestive problems
- Wheezing
- Nasal Congestion
- Rashes
- Hives
How to Detect Signs of Food Allergies and a Severe Allergic Reaction
Here is the hard part – it is not very easy to identify food allergies and a food allergy reaction based on symptoms alone. The most common symptoms – an upset tummy, stuffed nose, or skin rash – often happens in babies due to other reasons. To be certain, the doctor will have to use several different methods – a physical examination of baby, reviewing your family history, checking the diet for any recent changes, and finally, testing the blood for allergies.
It is important to detect food allergies in young children due to the following reasons:
- Severe allergies can lead to anaphylaxis, a dangerous condition that can require hospitalization.
- Untreated allergies can be long term and lead to poor quality of life for the child.
- Allergy symptoms can also affect parents who are often forced to take leave from work to take care of the child.
Food allergy treatment can include taking steps to avoid the allergen in the child’s diet, and keeping an injector of epinephrine (EpiPen) at the house at all times. If the child suffers a severe allergy reaction, the epinephrine injection can save their life.
It may be difficult to control your child’s exposure to or accidental ingestion of allergenic foods when they not under direct parental supervision. This is especially concerning when they do not simply have mild symptoms, but may potentially have a life threatening reaction requiring emergency treatment.
Figuring out what to do for an allergic reaction to food can be hard, especially for first-time parents. How can you know when to contact a doctor? Should you go to the emergency room?At VNA Health Care, we offer pediatric services and resources for you to learn about common food allergies, food allergy reactions, food intolerances, and also can provide a food allergy diagnosis. VNA providers can also recommend strategies for prevention and treatment when symptoms occur. Find the nearest center near you or call us at (630) 892-4355 for more information.