Managing Children’s Food Allergy

Managing Children’s Food Allergy

March 6, 2020 5:05 am Published by

Food Allergy is a growing epidemic. In the USA, the number of new cases of food allergy over the past 10 years has increased tremendously.

An allergic reaction to food occurs when the child’s immune system mistakenly identifies proteins from food as harmful. The most common types of food causing food allergies are: peanuts and other nuts, seafood such as shrimps, milk (especially cow milk), soy, eggs and wheat. However lots of other kinds of food can cause a food allergy to your child.

Symptoms Food allergy symptoms differs from one child to another. Some of the signs that the child may be having an allergic reaction could be:

  •   Hives
  •  Itching of mouth, lips, tongue, throat, eyes, skin
  • Swelling [angioedema] of lips, tongue, eyelids or the whole face
  •  Difficulty swallowing
  • Runny nose, hoarse voice, wheezing, shortness of breath .
  • Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain

 Managing Food Allergies

The main management strategy for food allergy would be total avoidance of that particular food. However, this is sometimes difficult to implement, especially that a food allergic child will be leading a normal life, thus going to school, visiting his friend’s place, going camping,. , Therefore, you should always be prepared by ensuring the following:

  •  Every Food Allergic student has a self injectable epinephrine device
  • The family and child (if age appropriate) are familiar with the usage of the device,
  • The child and the school are aware of the emergency action plan for the facility to follow in case of a reaction.
  • Many kids outgrow allergies to milk and eggs as they grow older, however severe allergies to foods often last a lifetime.

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