Allergies are really scary when they happen to you. But imagine the same reaction, happening to small children who cannot even talk properly to convey their discomfort. There are differing degrees by which people can get allergic reactions but a severe reaction can cause the windpipes to swell up and completely cut off respiration resulting in death if it’s not treated immediately! Scary right! It was meant to be! Over six million Americans are allergic to something and quite a few of those adults have developed allergic reactions early in life. About 2% of all children develop some kind of food allergy but luckily a few children completely outgrow allergies as they grow older.

So what can you do to make sure you have a healthy child who does not develop allergies?

The basics of an allergic reaction are simple .For some reason, the child’s body cannot tolerate certain ingredients found in food or daily life. The most common allergy provoking ingredients are peanuts, milk, eggs and seafood. As soon as the child even touches or eats these ingredients, the allergic child develops a strong immune reaction by which the body starts to reject the offensive material by trying to attack and kill it. The various immune reactions demonstrated by the body may vary from child to child as some children develop wheezing, hives, diarrhea, vomiting, or rashes and swelling etc. But if you notice your child having the reaction commonly after ingesting particular foods then please discontinue the item immediately.

The nest step is to get your child tested for food allergies. Most doctors do recommend an IgE serum test to check for elevated levels of Immunoglobulin E which indicates and allergic reaction. But unfortunately the test is not really conclusive and does not indicate which material you are allergic to. Skin allergic testing can also be done but it’s not really specific in children under the age of 12 months.

Can food allergies be prevented?

Not completely but a few common sense steps can make sure you have your child safe guarded form developing an allergic reaction before time.

• Breastfeed your infant compulsorily for at least six months when the child’s immune system is still developing. And continue to breast feed for at least one year. The first solid feed you should attempt should be iron fortified rice cereal which is really safe and non allergenic.
• While breast feeding avoid common allergenic materials like peanuts, tree nuts eggs milk and fish to protect your child.
• Supplement your feed with hypoallergenic formulas available in the market with out soy or any substitutes in it.
• Do not use milk and dairy products till your child is one year old. Avoid all nuts till your child is two or three years old. Do not use egg whites till your child is atleast here old.
• Children do out grow allergies but there’s no specific test to determine how and why. As a precaution tell your child to not eat anything unless he has read food labels well and if he’s a toddler warn the daycare not to feed him anything unless you have expressly approved it.

A newer test is now available for food allergy testing called as the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE. This test determines IgE levels in a blood sample and is relatively accurate for blood testing.

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