Food allergies in children: The signs parents must know

The core identification signals of children's food allergies are actually divided into two timelines: immediate reactions that appear within a few minutes to 2 hours after eating, and delayed reactions that only appear from a few hours to 72 hours after eating. Among them, if the immediate reaction occurs at the same time with red, swollen and itchy skin + respiratory/digestive tract discomfort, it is a danger signal and must be sent to the doctor immediately. This is the core principle that all parents must first engrave in their minds.

I encountered such a thing last week at the allergy clinic. Three-year-old Zhuang Zhuang ate half a mango in the morning. His mouth turned red just after eating. His grandma said, "It stings with mango juice. Just wipe it off and it will be fine." However, less than forty minutes later, Zhuang Zhuang started rubbing his eyes and nose. I coughed several times and my voice was a little hoarse, so my family hurriedly brought me over. When I arrived at the consultation table, my upper eyelids were already swollen to the point that I could hardly open them. Fortunately, they were delivered in time and I quickly recovered after taking the medicine. If it were any later, I might have suffered from laryngeal edema and suffocation.

Many people’s impression of food allergies is that they get a rash immediately after eating. In fact, this is not the case. Some signs of delayed allergies are very deeply hidden. A few months ago, I met a 6-month-old baby who had constipation and constipation for almost a month. The parents went to several hospitals and were treated as enteritis. Even after taking a lot of anti-inflammatory drugs, the baby didn't feel better. Later, I asked her to keep a food diary for two weeks, and I found that every time the mother drank milk and fed breast milk, the baby would definitely have constipation the next day. The milk protein in the breast milk was stopped, and the baby was cured within three days. This is non-IgE-mediated delayed allergy. Not to mention the uncertainty of parents, many doctors who are not allergy specialists can easily miss the diagnosis.

Don't underestimate the inconspicuous little reactions, such as the baby suddenly clearing his throat frequently, rubbing his nose and eyes after eating a certain food, or having a few inexplicable itchy rashes on his body, or the baby won't say it, cries inexplicably after feeding, kicks his legs, and vomits a lot more milk than usual, or even a baby who has just been fed complementary food will have constipation or diarrhea for two or three days in a row after eating something.

There are actually different opinions on allergy intervention. One group is more conservative. As long as allergy is suspected, the corresponding food should be strictly avoided for 3-6 months, and then slowly try to add more food.； The other group advocates not blindly tabooing foods, and it is best to make accurate judgments through food stimulation tests. Especially for babies with slow growth and development, blindly tabooing several high-nutrient foods can easily affect the growth of children due to lack of nutrients. Both of these statements are actually reasonable. The core still depends on the degree of allergy of the child. If the rash is just a slight rash and does not affect eating, drinking and sleeping, there is no need to be too nervous. If coughing, bloody stools, and delayed growth and development have already occurred, you must strictly follow the doctor's advice on dietary restrictions.

Many parents go to check the allergens as soon as they suspect that their children are allergic. When they get the test report and see a positive result, they dare not give their children anything to eat. It is really unnecessary. I have come across many babies whose IgE tests show that they are allergic to milk 3+, but they don’t have any reaction when they drink milk. This kind of false positive is very common. ； There are also those who test negative but get a rash as soon as they eat eggs. This is the delayed allergy I mentioned before, and the test sheet cannot detect it at all. The most reliable method is to keep a food diary at home, add new food separately each time, and eat it for three days to observe the reaction. It is more accurate than any laboratory test.

It’s funny to say that ten years ago, we were still telling parents that high-risk foods such as eggs, seafood, and peanuts should be introduced after the age of 1. Now, the latest guidelines recommend that these high-risk foods can be gradually introduced in small amounts when supplementary food is introduced at 4-6 months, which can actually reduce the probability of allergies. Medicine is constantly being updated, so you don’t have to cling to old ideas when raising a baby. It’s always good to be more flexible.

In fact, to put it bluntly, parents don’t need to think too scary about food allergies. Most children’s allergies to milk and eggs will slowly heal on their own when they are about 3-5 years old. Only allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood may last longer. Always be more careful and remember what reactions your baby will have after eating. If you are really unsure, consult a reliable allergist. Don't make blind guesses about food taboos, and don't take a minor problem seriously and turn it into a big problem. That's enough.