You're Looking For The Same Answers Whether Searching For 'Infant Food Alergies' or 'Allergies'

Whether you've typed "infant food alergies" or "infant food allergies" when performing your online search, you're probably in urgent need of some practical advice about your baby's condition.

If your baby has a food allergy you tend to feel guilty. After all, you are the one providing the food. Your baby's body is merely reacting in an abnormal way to perfectly good food. The problem is with your baby's automatic response and not with the food itself.

That being said, there are certain things you can do to either avoid the problem or to deal with it when it occurs. infant food alergies

Not only allergies give these symptoms

Does your baby have a rash, high temperature, snuffly nose, breathing difficulties, diarrhea? These symptoms may be produced by the body's defense mechanisms which produce complex chemical reactions. Unfortunately, all of these signs can also be caused by other substances such as household sprays, an infection and so on.

Pinpointing food allergies

You can tell whether the problem is food related by only introducing one new food at a time and waiting several days before starting with another one. Symptoms may take as long as 72 hours to develop. Certain foods are more likely than others to cause problems - cows milk, soya products, citrus fruits, egg, nuts and wheat are among the commonest causes.

Food allergies begin most often at the time of weaning and there is some evidence to suggest that they are less likely to occur if a child takes only breast milk for the first 6 months. This isn't always possible.

I had a 5 month old who , if sitting on my lap, would reach out for anything that might be edible including chips, fried fish and ham sandwiches - none of which are normally considered first foods. By the time her sister came along the older one was perfectly capable of slipping her the odd piece of cereal when I wasn't looking. Nor was she really old enough to understand why she shouldn't.

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If your baby is being weaned a little early or you are not breast feeding for some reason, avoid the foods that are most likely to trigger problems.

A few babies can develop problems even when being breast fed - many mothers avoid fish and nuts at this time for this very reason. This is especially advised if there is a family history of allergic reactions and conditions such as asthma and eczema.

The web site Kid Source has advice for those trying to avoid or deal with baby food allergies. It also gives you the good news that most infant food allergies will disappear by the time a child is two or three years old.

Practical tips

One great tip is to keep a food diary. Not only will it help you to discover the cause of any likely problem, but you can also show it to your doctor or health visitor. They distinguish between food allergy and food intolerance - the former is likely to produce almost instant symptoms, whereas a food intolerance can produce more long term difficulties. infant food alergies

Regardless of what you do, seek medical advice and get the true situation confirmed.

As well as giving medical help your clinic may also be able to link you to support groups  - either in your immediate area or via the web. Even just finding out that you aren't the only ones going through this can be a great emotional help.

infant food alergies