Infant food allergy and how to manage

Food allergy is high in children, especially in children under 3 years old, because the immune system and intestinal tract of children are still weak, the permeability of the gastrointestinal mucosa is high, if exposed to food High allergenicity is easy to develop into allergies.

Food allergy is the body's reaction to certain substances in food. In professional terms, these substances are called allergens .

The key ingredient in food allergies in children is protein in foods . These are proteins that are not easily degraded by protein cleavage enzymes such as proteases and are not easily modified by temperature. Therefore, these proteins just leave the whole blood through the mucous membrane, enter the intestinal cells, even into the bloodstream. This integrity entry is the basis of causing a response to the "strange" part of the immune system. These food protein molecules combine with the IgE in the secretions, in the blood, they continue to be attached to the cells of the cells, the cells have a lot of reception points with IgE. This powerful, uniform combination broke a large number of cellular cells, releasing a high concentration of chemical intermediates, especially histamines. These intermediates begin to cause body changes, which are the basis of allergies: vasodilation that causes congestion, edema, discharge, rash, rash; smooth muscle spasms cause abdominal pain, nausea, difficulty breathing; Stimulation causes intense itching and scratching cannot be done.

The key ingredient in food allergies in children is protein in foods.

Expressions of food allergies

Allergies can occur a few minutes or a few hours after eating.Symptoms may include : swelling, itching of the throat, mouth, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, dizziness, rash, itching on the skin. More severe than dyspnea, lower blood pressure, even death .

Some children develop late symptoms (several days after eating food containing allergens) including dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, persistent cough, runny nose, constipation, sweating, Anorexia, decreased concentration and poor sleep.

The severity of the disease depends on the time of the reaction after eating, the amount of food the child has consumed and the child's location.

However, distinguish food allergies from food intolerance , such as lactose intolerance. Lack of lactose is an enzyme that helps digest lactose in milk, so when you eat cow's milk, your child will have symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, bloating, bloating, and even rash on the skin. However, the immune system does not participate in the mechanism of these symptoms, so we do not call it allergy. In some underdeveloped countries, people consume less lactose-containing preparations (milk and dairy products), so the lactose-secreting glands are atrophic, causing an acquired lactose intolerance .

The allergenic foods are peanuts, almonds, fish, seafood, eggs (especially egg white), milk . Remember, your child's immune system takes time to form an antipathy. Immune response to allergens in food. That's why food allergies rarely occur when first exposed to that food.

Frequency of food allergies?

According to recent studies, up to 40% of young children are at risk of food allergy. This rate gradually decreases with age and depend on the changing environment, eating habits and lifestyle of each community and individual.

Which children are prone to allergies?

The rate of allergies is increasing in the world especially in young children. Based on the history of allergies from parents, we can determine the child's risk of allergy even while still in the womb. For example, if both parents have allergies, 50 - 80% of children are at risk; If one of the parents has an allergy, about 20-40% of the children are at risk of allergies, and even if the parents do not have allergies, there are 5 to 15% of children at risk of allergies.

The allergy food is peanuts, almonds, fish, seafood, eggs (especially egg white), milk .

So which children need to pay attention to allergy? These are babies born in families with both allergic parents and one of two parents with allergies. This is called a high-risk group of children.

How to treat allergies?

The principle of allergy treatment is to discover which allergens are the cause of allergies and avoid exposure to allergens.

It is sometimes necessary to change eating habits and be more cautious about using food for children.

When children start to eat food, start with less allergy foods like rice and tubers. Avoid giving children industrially prepared foods such as bacon, pork, pigments, artificial spices.

Consult an allergist when you suspect your child is allergic to a certain food. Doctors will visit, ask for a disease and may perform some specialized tests such as a child's skin test or a blood test to ascertain the food that the child is allergic to. However, the accuracy of this test is not high. Therefore, you cannot rely solely on test results to determine your child's diet. Some tests have higher accuracy but lower safety as stimulation test with the same type of suspicious food. This test should be performed under the supervision of an allergist.

When you know your child is allergic to a certain food, remove it from your child's menu. Do not prepare or store your child's food in bowls with food allergies.

However, food allergies do not last a lifetime, so you do not need to force your child to abstain from any kind of food. After a while, you can feed your child back to the food (except those that cause an acute allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis).

When food allergy is confirmed, treatment should be conducted as soon as possible with two major measures:

1. Eliminate allergenic foods from your child's diet.
2. Use appropriate medications for allergies.

Excluding the diet of children with allergenic foods is the most important measure, to reduce the level and prevent the reappearance of allergic reactions .

Some foods that are cross-sensitive to allergy foods should also be excluded from children's meals, such as goat's milk with cow's milk, beef (veal) with mutually susceptible mutton together. 50-90% of cases, between types of fish, legumes are often cross-sensitive. In cases of mild allergies, reducing the allergenic foods in the diet may also be enough to reduce allergy symptoms, not necessarily completely eliminate these foods, but good. The most is still completely eliminating these foods.

For children who are allergic to milk, mothers should carefully read the ingredients of powdered milk or nutritious powder before using it for children. Children who are allergic to cow's milk can often use safe powdered milk or powder made from soy flour, if they are allergic to both cow's milk and soy flour, mothers should Look for types of milk powder with hydrolyzed formula.

Seafood is one of the causes of allergies.

Some cases of food allergies in children, especially in cases of allergies that appear early, children often reduce and gradually lose their sensitivity to food after a while due to the immune tolerance of the body . In these cases, when a child has grown up, try to re-use foods that once caused allergy with caution. Note that cases of food allergy appear late or allergic to certain foods such as peanuts, shrimp, fish, this immune tolerance status usually does not occur and should not be tried again. once caused allergies in these cases. Similarly, children who have had anaphylaxis due to food should not try to use them again.

Eliminating some food from your child's diet may lead to an imbalance of these diets and affect his development, so it is best for mothers to consult of nutritionists learning to find a suitable diet for their children, supplementing vitamins and mineral salts may be necessary.

Use of anti-allergy drugs in the treatment of food allergies to reduce symptoms or prevent the occurrence of these symptoms when children are allergic to many foods or when allergy foods cannot be avoided application. However, the use of the drug must be prescribed by a doctor who specializes in Pediatrics or Dermatology.