Causes of Food Allergies
One of the most common causes of this type of allergy is overfeeding.
Constant overeating provokes reactions in the baby even to those foods that were previously well perceived by the body. Even such seemingly hypoallergenic foods as can cause an allergic reaction. In addition, do not forget about the most common type of food allergy in children – to some types of fruits (especially exotic ones that do not grow in the region where the child lives). All fruits and vegetables with a bright color (mainly red and orange), some berries (to, etc.), as well as their juices are considered allergenic.
It has been proven that if the mother abused allergenic products during pregnancy (), then the child with almost 90% probability is doomed to be allergic, since the allergy can form in utero.
Allergy symptoms
The main signs characteristic of food allergies are damage to the skin of a child, the appearance of various kinds of rashes, excessive dryness (or, conversely, getting wet) of the skin. Parents often call such symptoms, but it is more correct to say atopic dermatitis. Allergy can manifest itself not only on the skin, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (colic, regurgitation, vomiting, increased gas production and upset stools) are common. Also, a child with food allergies may develop intestinal dysbiosis. Much less often the respiratory tract suffers – nasal congestion, allergic rhinitis and nasal breathing are infrequent companions of food allergies. Many fruits and berries can cause similar symptoms, so the first priority for parents is to track the child’s reaction to these foods and identify specific allergens.
We identify allergens
There are a huge number of ways to identify allergens, but they all have some nuances, therefore, first of all, parents should try to independently isolate an allergenic product from the diet. Help in this matter will provide, in which it is necessary to record everything that the baby ate and drank. After that, you can contact a specialist who will examine the child, interview the parents and compare the data obtained. If these methods turn out to be ineffective, indications appear for conducting, but it should be borne in mind that such studies have age-related contraindications. So, for children of the first two years of life, such methods are not informative, therefore, they are practically not used. More modern methods of laboratory diagnostics for the detection of an allergen suggest.
Treatment
in each case, the doctor determines the treatment regimen, since everything is very individual with regard to allergies, however, there are general recommendations that should be followed in each case, without exception.
Parents should not even try to deal with allergies on their own, use homeopathy and the advice of friends and relatives. Uncontrolled and improper treatment of food allergies can adversely affect the health of the child and result in serious complications.
The first and most important task is to limit the child’s contact with the allergen, that is, to completely eliminate the latter from the diet. To do this, the baby will have to follow a special hypoallergenic diet. Often, the child is prescribed antihistamines and, if necessary, symptomatic treatment is carried out.
Diet. Diet in this case means not only certain foods, but also their quantity. Parents should strictly monitor the amount of food taken and the time between meals. It is important that your child’s nutrition remains balanced and varied. Nutritionists, together with allergists, adhere to three main stages in diet therapy. The first stage lasts for 1-2 weeks, all potential allergens are excluded from the child’s diet, it is forbidden to eat semi-finished products, dairy products are necessarily limited. On second stage the allergen (as well as its main source) has most often already been identified, so the list of permitted foods is expanding, but the diet itself continues for several more months (most often 1-3). On third stage diet therapy, a significant improvement in the child’s condition is observed, and therefore the list of products can be further expanded, but allergenic products are still prohibited.
The introduction deserves special attention. It is recommended to introduce it to babies after six months of life, however, for children with food allergies, these periods may shift and complementary foods in no case should be started with fruit juices and purees. In the process of choosing foods for complementary foods, you need to take into account important nuances:
– products should not have a bright color, for example, if apples are the first, they should not be bright green or yellow; – chicken eggs are best replaced with quail eggs;
– it is best to replace meat broths with vegetable ones, and choose lean meats for meat complementary foods;
– in the process of preparing multicomponent vegetable puree at home, you must first soak each ingredient (cut into pieces) in cold water for 12 hours.
Replacement for fruit
One of the most pressing questions that parents have is how to replace fruit – such a rich source of vitamins – if a child has allergies? It’s simple: fruits can be replaced with vegetables that are no less rich in vitamins and fiber. In this regard, nutritionists advise to apply simple rules in practice:
– in the process of preparing the first courses, you need to add frozen or fresh Brussels sprouts or cauliflower, broccoli to them;
– as a side dish, you need to cook vegetables as often as possible (green peas, light pumpkin, etc.);
– the ideal option would be a weekly consumption of spinach broth, to which lemon juice is added; on the basis of such broth, you can cook many light soups;
– babies every day need to eat a small piece of sweet green pepper in any form;
– hypoallergenic fruits (green apples, white currants, pears, gooseberries, white cherries) can be included in the diet, but their quantity must be strictly controlled in order to prevent overeating;
– vegetables are most useful raw, since it is heat treatment that destroys most of the vitamins.
How to avoid allergies?
In order to prevent the development of allergies to fruits and berries, it is necessary to “acquaint” the baby with these food products in small quantities and as late as possible (especially if the child has a predisposition to allergies). It is advisable to start giving berries only after a year. If, after eating several berries, redness appears on the cheeks or skin of the child, exclude this product for up to three years, it is by this time that the child’s immune system matures and can adequately respond to allergenic fruits and vegetables.
Often parents try to feed the baby with fruit due to the high content of vitamins in them, of course, this is so, but the fruit can be replaced with other sources of nutrients. If there is no way to keep the baby from eating such tasty but dangerous products, you need to subject them to heat treatment: in the process of thermal exposure, the structure of the food allergen is destroyed, which reduces the risk of developing a reaction to almost zero. If there is no reaction, you can gradually increase the amount of fruits and berries, but this does not mean that you need to stop monitoring the child’s reaction to these fruits or vegetables.
The most important thing is not to rush to feed the child with a whole bowl, it is better to start with a couple of berries. Overeating in this case can provoke an allergic reaction, since the child may not have the necessary enzymes (or their amount) in order to digest and assimilate the substances received. It is for these reasons that it is necessary to check the child’s reaction to any fruit or berry, which for the first time appear in the diet of even a healthy, allergy-free baby.