Food allergies affect 3.9 percent of American children and teens, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. This means that, as of 2007, approximately 3 million children younger than 18 presented with a food or digestive allergy in the previous 12 months, an increase of 18 percent since 1997.
The October 2008 NCHS "Data Brief on Food Allergies in American Children" also noted that these children are two to four times more likely than other children to have other allergic conditions, including asthma.
Step 1
Think about your child and his reaction to food. The Mayo Clinic recommends watching for symptoms that begin a few minutes to an hour after eating a food. They note that food allergies in children can cause many conditions, including tingling in the mouth, hives, itching or eczema, swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat, wheezing, nasal congestion or difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting and lightheadedness or fainting. If your child had any of these reactions or you suspect food allergies may be present, keep a journal of everything he eats, including the ingredients in combination foods such as soups. Then record the reaction. A pattern may become obvious.
Step 2
Eliminate all foods likely to cause allergies or intolerance. Writing in the September 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Jonathan O'B Hourihane listed the eight foods that cause 90 percent of allergic reactions. They are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and seeds, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommends beginning an elimination diet by removing all of these likely offenders from your child's diet. Do this for seven days. The child will feel less singled out if the whole family does the same and if there is no discussion of the process. During this time, make only single-ingredient whole foods and prepare them without spices or other seasonings. If allergic symptoms do not appear, the culprit is one or more of the eight common allergy-causing foods. To find out which one, add back into the diet one food at a time. If there is no reaction, wait four days and add in the next food in the list. If there is a reaction, eliminate that food entirely but continue through the list, adding one new ingredient back every four days. Many children who are allergic to one food have other allergies. If the elimination diet does not eliminate the child's symptoms consult an allergist.
Step 3
Avoid restricting your child's diet based on invalid testing methods. Common blood tests looking for the serum immunoglobulins that form in allergic reactions are not valid indicators of a reaction to a specific food, according to Dr. David Fleischer of National Jewish Health in Denver. In an address to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Fleischer warned that restricting a child's diet based on IgE testing, the most frequent approach, unnecessarily removes foods that are needed for proper nutrition and socialization. Combining an elimination approach with food challenges, performed in a medical setting for safety, can allow children's reactions to a food to be retested. This can increase a child's repertoire of available food choices, which usually increases compliance with any remaining food restrictions. For example, the 8-year-old boy who finds out he can start eating wheat again may not mind skipping the cheese on a pizza to prevent his remaining milk allergy.
References
- National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief: Food Allergies Among U.S. Children: October 2008
- Mayo Clinic: Food Allergy, Symptoms
- "British Medical Journal"; Are the Dangers of Childhood Food Allergies Exagerated?; J. O'B Hourihame; September 2, 2006
- MedPage Today: AAAAI: Blood Tests for Food Allergy Found Inaccurate
Member Comments