What You Need to Know About Food Allergies

Food allergies affect around 5% of children aged zero to six years. The most common allergies are milk (2% of babies), eggs (often stop being a problem as children get older) and nuts.

Food allergies can be identified through a skin prick or blood test, although the first you may know of it is when a child experiences an allergic reaction. Babycenter.com.au lists the symptoms to be on the look out for:

• hives on face, which may spread across the body
• swelling in the face, lips or eyes
• feeling or being commonly sick
• diarrhoea
• watery eyes, runny or blocked nose, sneezing
• irritated throat, itchy mouth
• anaphylaxis in severe cases.

If your child is allergic to a food, the above symptoms are likely to appear soon after eating, although delayed allergic reactions are also on the increase. In this case, you may not be able to identify the culprit so easily, so an elimination diet, put together by a dietitian, will be used to help determine which food caused the allergic reaction.

It is important that you don’t start eliminating foods from your child’s diet without consulting a health professional. Always be sure to seek advice and a proper eating plan before trying to identify a food allergy.

Have you noticed any of the common symptoms of food allergies in your children?

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