What I Learned About My Baby’s Food Allergies & Sensitivities

My Baby’s Food Allergies

A food allergy is an abnormal reaction of the body to a particular food. Being a mom, I have noticed reactions to certain foods in my child’s diet. Sometimes my baby cries, fusses, or even nurses more frequently once I consume spicy or “gassy” diets. These are some common symptoms my infant shows as a reaction to allergic food that reaches the body.

The strong response associated with a food allergy will occur rapidly, often within seconds. In mild cases, it can be any time within 2 hours after eating the trigger food. If a child displays signs after 2 hours, it’s hard for parents to identify the problem, unless they are aware the kid is sensitive to the food consumed. I always prefer to make a list of foods prior to feeding the same for the first time and check the responses of my little one to mark the food as safe and non-allergic. 

Start Gradually to Identify Food Allergies in your kids

It is advised to begin with a few non-allergenic foods first to see how the baby handles solid food. Foods that comprise single-grain iron-fortified infant cereals, meats, and beans are encouraged as first foods, as they furnish nutrients like iron and zinc. Potentially allergenic foods, like eggs, peanut products, wheat, and fish are also recommended because postponing their introduction can increase the chance of food allergy. Specific diets like walnuts and chunks of peanut butter extend a choking risk, so the quantity of food and its consistency are also expected to be analyzed. Cow’s milk and soy milk can only be given for 12 months. 

Serve plain fruits, vegetables, and meats rather than diverse varieties. If the newborn responds to a specific food, stop serving that food. It is the second time kid consumes the food that the allergic symptoms occur. If IgE antibodies react with food at this point, histamines are released, which can lead to hives, asthma, itchy mouth, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhoea in the child. Only two or three out of every one hundred newborns have an allergic consequence, most frequently to cow’s milk in their mother’s diet. Most babies eventually outgrow their allergy to cow’s milk, although food allergies to other substances can last a lifetime.

Causes of Food Sensitivities

Children are supposed to be at extremely high risk for evolving food allergies if they have a family history of food allergies, moderate to serious eczema, or asthma. The intestine acts as an obstruction, retaining undigested food particles in the digestive tract, but those with leaky gut have small spaces between the cells of their intestinal lining. This enables food particles from inside the intestines to ‘leak’ through the gut lining into the bloodstream, resulting in a variety of symptoms, often including eczema. Topical creams can lower the external indications of eczema, but they are only a band-aid treatment to cover the symptoms, meaning they do not get to the “cause.” Nothing will benefit more than curing holistically from within. 

Aiding the baby’s gut is the crucial element in resolving their food sensitivities and eczema because the healthier a baby’s gut is, the better their digestive and immune systems function. So far, no evidence not eating certain foods while breastfeeding can contribute to a child developing allergies or asthma. However, if the family has had severe food allergies, limit intake of milk and dairy products, fish, eggs, peanuts, and other tree nuts during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Carefully monitor the baby for skin rashes, respiratory problems, unusual stools, or other allergic symptoms and tell the paediatrician about the family’s medical history.

How to Avoid Food Allergies

If your baby responds negatively to a particular kind of food, you should stop feeding that specific food temporarily. If these signs persist every day and last for a lengthy duration, they may indicate colic rather than food sensitivity. Do not assume that the baby will be “clear” if a particular food has been introduced without reacting to it. It frequently takes a few introductions before indications are noticeable, as responses can worsen with every subsequent feeding and kids can outgrow their allergies as their bodies and immune systems mature. Allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish normally persist for life. Only 10-20% of children who have these allergies will outgrow them. Many develop milk, egg, wheat, or soy allergy on their first birthday, but it can persist until age 5-9. But these allergies also tend to resolve less often than in the last decades. 

Sometimes, an allergy can result in a drastic reaction named anaphylaxis, even if a prior reaction was mild. Anaphylaxis can commence with some of the exact symptoms as a less serious reaction, but it can shortly get worse.  The child may have difficulty breathing or pass out. More than one portion of the body may be affected. If left untreated, anaphylaxis can be life-threatening. When the sensitivity risks have been reduced, it is instructed to reintroduce the diets that the newborn is sensitive to, one at a time. Some professionals advise that each food be consumed by itself, in the morning, before the child eats anything else. Food allergies are incurable. But medications can treat both mild and severe symptoms. 

It’s also a promising notion to carry an over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamine for the child, as this can help treat mild allergy signs. A rotation diet assures that no one food is eaten further once every four days; rotating and modifying food intake in such a means will avoid new sensitivities from developing. A rotation diet has advantages to address the whole family, not only those impacted by food sensitivities. It contributes to a mixture of fresh, nutrient-rich, unprocessed diets. This ideal sort of diet can prevent and occasionally correct digestive problems.

Learn how this mother increased her child’s appetite to eat more by clicking here!