According to an electronic survey in the U.S., 8% of children suffer from food allergies, with 2.4% of them having multiple food allergies. If you are afraid of these statistics and wondering how you could identify and address food allergies in children, you have landed on the right page.

In this comprehensive guide, we will dive deeper into the basics of food allergies in children, causes, symptoms, identification, treatment, and more. So, without any further ado, let’s begin exploring!

What is Food Allergy in Children?

Food allergy refers to an abnormal immune response to certain foods. It’s quite different from food intolerance, which doesn’t affect the immune system. Food allergies are mainly caused when a sensitive child is exposed to a particular food at least once directly or via breast milk.

Allergy symptoms appear when your child eats the same thing a second time. It’s when the IgE antibodies identify the food particles as germs and begin to release histamine. This release can trigger certain symptoms, including vomiting, itching in the mouth, trouble breathing, hives, asthma, stomach pains, and/or diarrhea.

Do you know: Around 90% of food allergies are caused by these eight foods: shellfish, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, eggs, and milk.

Symptoms of Food Allergies

Children may experience allergic reactions within minutes or even after an hour of ingesting the food. Though each child experiences different symptoms, some of the most common symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Itching or swelling of the lips, tongue, or mouth
• Itching or tightness in the throat
• Diarrhea
• Wheezing
• Lowered blood pressure
• Cramps
• Hives
• Swelling
• Eczema
• Difficulty breathing

As per the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a severely allergic individual can experience symptoms with as little as 1/44,000 of a peanut kernel. Aside from this, some babies can experience non-life-threatening, delayed allergies to soy, milk, or other allergens. These allergies have the following symptoms:

• Poor growth
• Colic or fussy behavior
• Severe eczema that doesn't go away
• Blood in your child’s stool

Non-life-threatening allergies are quite hard to identify, as their symptoms are similar to those of other health problems. So, ensure that you consult with your child's pediatrician for a timely diagnosis.

How to Identify Food Allergies in Children?

Diagnosis is mainly made on the basis of physical examination and health history. History features a list of foods that were eaten before the allergic symptoms. Your child’s healthcare provider might ask for some tests done for an exact diagnosis. These include:

Skin Prick Test

It’s a common allergy test that measures the body's IgE bodies to specific allergens, like animal dander, pollens, or foods. The Skin Prick Test involves putting diluted allergens on the pricked or scratched area of the skin. If a child is allergic to that allergen, a mosquito bite-type bump will appear in about 15 minutes.

Using this test, healthcare professionals can test for multiple allergens at a time. Results are offered right away. However, this test is not suitable if your child has recently experienced severe reactions or suffers from chronic eczema or hives.

Blood Tests

These tests detect IgE bodies for a specific allergen in blood using RAST (radioallergosorbent test). Blood tests are mainly done when the skin test results aren’t obvious or can't be performed due to certain reasons. However, a positive blood test doesn't surely indicate that your child has a food allergy. It needs to be explained by a healthcare professional who is familiar with test results analysis and knows your child's medical history well. Not only do these tests take longer, but they are also costlier.

Food Challenge Test

This test is only recommended by an allergist. Under their own supervision, they give your child a very small amount of allergen via the mouth or the nose. Then, the reaction of that allergen is observed closely. A food challenge test is basically done when allergists are sure that your child can eat this small amount of allergen without showing severe reactions.

How to Treat Food Allergies in Children?

So far, there isn't any known medicine to prevent food allergies in children. The treatmentinvolves avoiding food that your child is allergic to. Healthcare professionals may ask to avoid other similar foods in that food group. If you are breastfeeding, you might need to avoid these foods, too. In some cases, your child is prescribed some vitamins to compensate for the nutrients that they can't ingest due to specific food allergies.

Children suffering from food allergies and are at risk of severe reactions must carry two epinephrine autoinjectors all the time. This will help prevent severe reactions; you can ask your child's healthcare provider about its usage. The key thing to note here is that some children can outgrow their allergies. Healthcare providers will better guide this aspect and plan out follow-up testing or food challenges. It's because many food allergies are short-term in children.

If your child is allergic to milk, treatment will include shifting to the baby's formula or soy-based milk. If your child is allergic to soy formula, you might need to shift to an easily digested hypoallergenic formula. Your child might be able to eat the same food without any reactions after the age of 3 or 4 and sometimes even 11. However, you must consult with the healthcare provider before reintroducing the food, as you won’t know if there are still risks of severe reactions.  

Wrapping It Up!

Long story short, food allergies are common in children, but there isn't any known treatment for them. You can identify them based on certain tests and symptoms, but treatment will only involve avoiding that food and shifting to alternatives. In some cases, healthcare providers prescribe some vitamins to make up for the nutrients that your child was supposed to obtain from allergic food.

Remember, our team at Healthy Kids Care at Sunrise is always here to answer any questions or concerns you may have about school bus safety. Feel free to leave a comment if you need more information!

In Health,

Dr. Atousa