Preventing Food Allergies in Infants
Introducing Low Allergy Foods First to Prevent Allergic Reaction
Sep 3, 2009
Food allergies can run in families, but even infants with no family history of allergies can develop food allergies. Parents can take precautions by delaying solid foods until at least 6 months of age, avoiding high allergy foods until the recommended age, and watching for signs of an allergic reaction to get infants the medical help they need as quickly as possible.
When to Start Solid Foods
The nutritional needs of infants are entirely met by breast milk or formula during the first 6 months of life. Parents can slowly introduce solid foods after the age of 6 months, watching for any signs of intolerance such as gas, constipation, fussiness, or rashes. Infant rice cereal is the best first food choice for many infants since it has a very low risk of food allergies associated with it.
Introducing Foods Slowly
Starting solid foods is a major developmental milestone for infants and new parents are often so excited about the process that they start several new foods at once. Starting several new foods at the same time can make it difficult to determine which food is the culprit if the infant has an allergic reaction. Once infants tolerate rice cereal well they can be slowly introduced to other single ingredient foods one at a time with a break of at least 4 days in between each new food to be sure the infant has no adverse reaction.
Avoiding High Allergy Foods
Infants have the highest risk of developing food allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. Delaying the introduction of these food groups to infants, especially for infants with a family history of food allergies, can help prevent or delay the development of food allergies. Food allergies may very well still appear when the infant is introduced to the food group at a later date but being older when the first allergic reaction occurs can help prevent a more serious reaction.
Watching for Food Allergies
Food allergies can cause a variety of symptoms. The most common symptoms include, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, eczema, and other rashes. In severe cases of food allergies infants can go into anaphylactic shock, which is life threatening and needs to be treated immediately. Parents should watch infants closely for signs of a food allergy after introducing a new food, especially if it is a high allergy food.
Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerance
True food allergies are fairly rare but many individuals have food intolerance. Food intolerance is less severe than food allergies but can cause infants some very uncomfortable symptoms. Lactose intolerance is one of the most common food intolerance but infants can be intolerant of any number of foods.
Food allergies may not be able to be entirely prevented in infants who have a true food allergy but introducing foods with a higher risk of allergies when an infant is older can help prevent a severe reaction and hopefully prevent a more severe food allergy.
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