Babies and Food Allergies By Maria Cummings At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Though it is possible for your baby to be allergic to a certain food, the supposed food allergy is many times something else. About six percent of younger children in the United States have a food allergy. When your baby is allergic to a food his immune system goes to work. It attacks the food like it was an enemy. If your baby eats this food again his immune system will cause histamine to be released. The histamine and other substances his body releases make allergic symptoms happen. These symptoms could be difficulty breathing, hives, fast pulse, heart beat irregular, very pale skin, vomiting, diarrhea, and swelling. He could lose consciousness. These are serious reactions. But baby less than six months old don’t normally have allergies. They haven’t had enough exposure to allergic substances. But sometimes that have allergic reactions when less than six months old. A severe allergic reaction is called anaphylactic shock.

There are many things which can cause allergic reactions. Here is just a small list of some of the things that can cause allergic reactions: latex, preservatives and food color, insect stings and bites, amoxicillin and other penicillin type drugs, peanuts, walnuts, cashews, fish, eggs, and milk.

If you think your baby is having a severe allergic reaction, call for emergency help. You need the paramedics. There isn’t time to go to the hospital or talk to your doctor. A severe reaction includes problems breathing, his face or lips swelling, or he develops severe vomiting or diarrhea after a meal. If you notice your baby repeatedly developing symptoms around two hours after eating discuss this with your doctor. Your doctor may send your baby to a pediatric allergist to be tested for allergies. Once you know which food or other substances cause the allergic reaction you can help your baby avoid them. He can tell you if the problem is an allergy or food intolerance.

The pediatric allergist may prescribe epinephrine auto-injector if the problem is an allergy. It injects the correct amount of medicine automatically. Normally these injectors are recommended for small children, but sometimes doctors prescribe them for babies that have food allergies.

It is important to let grandmothers, babysitters, and childcare workers know that your baby has an allergy and to what. Make sure they double check and foods before they feed your baby as the substance could be hidden in a food; they should read the label. Teach them what they should do in case of an allergic reaction. If you have any kind of allergy you baby is fifty percent more likely to have an allergy, but not necessarily the same allergy you have. If your spouse has an allergy also, your baby has a seventy-five percent chance of developing an allergy.Your baby may outgrow her allergy. When children reach school age many of them have outgrown their allergies to wheat or soy. Twenty percent of them outgrow their allergies to peanuts. But allergies to fish, shellfish, peanuts, cashews and Brazil nuts have a higher probability of being with them for life.

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