What are food allergies?
A food allergy is an abnormal reaction called hypersensitivity, which occurs after taking a normal amount of a particular food. The reaction is repeated every time you take the food in question.
Although food allergies are rare, usually occur in children under four years.
The most common food allergies are milk, eggs, fish, nuts, citrus and tomatoes.
Children with food allergies often have different symptoms in recurrent episodes, including:
Severe childhood eczema (or rash)
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea (no reason)
- Asthmatic bronchitis and asthma
- Allergic rhinitis.How to start food allergies?
Almost a third of the population eliminates certain foods from the diet of their family or their own because they think they can produce an allergic reaction. But in reality, only about a third of children suffer from allergic reactions to food and most disappear before the age of three years. Among adults, only about 1% suffer from a particular food allergy.
Avoiding food allergies
The first type allergic diseases are inherited to some extent. It is therefore advisable for women to talk to the doctor or an allergist before becoming pregnant.
What should I do if I suspect my child has food allergies?
- If in doubt, consult your doctor.
- Do not make your child takes a strange restricted diet may cause malnutrition.
- A change in the child’s bowel movements is not a symptom of allergies.
- It is completely normal bowel movements change a child if you change your diet.
- Most importantly, relax. Do not assume that your child has a food allergy until confirmed by an allergist.
Is it possible to treat allergies?
If your child has a food allergy, the treatment is a diet that eliminates the food causing the reaction.
Once a year should be re-introduced into the diet of the child a small amount of this food to see if there is still the allergy and whether to continue with the diet. This procedure should be done under the supervision of an allergist.
credit to: Dr. Flemming Andersen, Dr. Brian Lipworth, Dr. ValentÃn de Benito Rica