Food allergies

Allergies have emerged as a major public health problem in developed countries during the twentieth century.

The number of children diagnosed with a food allergy does seem to be increasing.

At least 1 child in every school year at school will have a food allergy.

It was only a generation ago any type of food allergy was generally unheard of.

Now it is quite common for a parent to know someone’s child who needs an Epipen or has to study the labels on everything because of an allergy.

It’s estimated 1 in 4 children have some form of allergy with 1 in 20 being a food allergy.

An allergy is a reaction to an allergen or a trigger.

Triggers can be food related and symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room.

Caring for children with food allergies is quite costly. It can cost families nearly $25 billion annually.

Unfortunately approximately 1 in 3 children with food allergy reports being bullied as a result of their food allergy.

Allergies in general are on the increase.

In this increase food allergies are the most common.

About 60% of allergy cases appear during the first year. Some allergies are able to be ‘outgrown’.

Heredity can also play a part.

Children who have a family member with an allergy have a 20-40% higher risk of themselves developing an allergy. It grows to a 50-80% increased risk if there is two or more family members with allergies.

Studies have shown a leap in the number of food allergies. For example, since 1990 in the UK alone the hospital admission rate for those admitted with a food allergy related illness rose a whopping 400%.

The rate for anaphylactic reactions was even higher at an enormous 600%. In America  the prevalence of food allergies increased 50% between 1997 and 2001 according to The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

In 2011-2012 in Australia 17% of Australians aged 2 years or over (or 3.7 million people) reported avoiding a food due to allergy or intolerance.

Allergies to milk, egg, wheat and soy often resolve in childhood.

Although it is important to note that whilst children appear to be outgrowing some of these allergies more slowly than in previous decades, with many children still allergic beyond age 5.

Allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish are generally lifelong.

A child develop an allergy at anytime and at any age.

It can be from birth or it can develop later in life.

An allergic reaction to breast or bottle can actually happen as early as the first few weeks or months as they react to breast or formula.

An allergic reaction may occur later when introducing to solids.

A child will develop and show signs commonly associated with allergies such as vomiting, hives, colic, difficulty breathing.

These may be evident early on in the breast or bottle feeding and if this occurs there are many formulas on the market to help combat allergies.

No.

There is no current cure for a food allergy.

The increased frequency of food allergy is driving research into areas such as prevention, treatment and the question of why there is such prevalence.

Food allergy can be effectively managed.

Strict avoidance is essential in the management of food allergy.

There is not a great deal that can be done to prevent a child from developing a food allergy. Delaying introduction of allergenic foods does not provide protection against food allergy.

Scientists are always researching ways to prevent allergies; it is an active area of research today. However, there is no sure way to eliminate an allergy or predisposition to one.

There is no conclusive evidence that avoiding foods or other allergens during pregnancy has an impact on preventing allergies in your child.

It is recommended that babies be exclusively breastfed during the first 6 months as it appears to help protect against allergies.

As not everyone is able to exclusively breastfeed there are other measures you can take such as using a hydrolysed milk formula, reducing the exposure to cigarette smoke and not starting solids early (the current WHO recommendation is to start introducing solids at 6 months).

Another recommendation is to introduce foods slowly so as to be able to distinguish the food that is causing the allergy.

Studies have shown that soy milk doesn’t prevent the development of allergies as once thought.

While there are many types of allergies such as a allergy to certain types of medicines, plants and environmental the most common is a food allergy.

9 foods cause 90% of food allergies.

The most common allergy triggers are egg, cow’s milk, peanut, tree nuts, seafood, sesame, soy, fish and wheat.

There are more than 170 foods that have been linked to causing food allergies.

Most food allergies are attributed to a food intolerance which is different but only a medical diagnosis can clarify this.

A food intolerance is much more common and is a chemical reaction to a food whereas a food allergy is an immune response.

Most common foods that cause allergic reactions:

• Eggs.
• Fish.
• Nuts such as peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans.
• Soy products.
• Sesame products.
• Milk and/or dairy products.