Infant Food Allergy Rash Truths

An infant food allergy rash occurs for a very specific reason. In general, babies get rashes for several reasons – because of heat, nappies not changed often enough, in reaction to very acid stools, infections and of course because of allergies.

These rashes can be flat, scaly, red, skin coloured, have white centres or be a little lighter or darker than the rest of your child’s skin. 

But how can you tell which is which?

Telling Baby Rashes Apart

All babies seem to get diaper rash at some time. If it is caused by a yeast infection there will be white marks in the mouth and the rash will have red bumps at the outside edge. This needs medication. A heat rash on the other hand will disappear once the child is cooled down. Erythema toxicum affects about half of all tiny babies. It consists of flat red blotches usually with a white pimple in the centre. It will disappear by itself.

Infant food allergy rashes are, of course, a result of an intolerance to a newly introduced food.

You can spot it most easily if new foods are introduced one at a time. If you are breastfeeding there is a possibility that the baby may react to something you have eaten such as shellfish or nuts. Infant food allergies are most likely if others in the family have similar food allergies, but every baby is its own person and what one can enjoy another will react to.

Even something as basic as milk drunk by her mother caused problems for one little girl I know until she was tested at one year old. Her reactions were so extreme that she would scream for hours and have an angry red rash – but very few cases are so severe.

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Eczema is common in small children and can be worsened when certain foods are taken. Eggs may trigger it, but in our case my daughter reacted badly to foods which contained a yellow colouring – including her favourite custard cream biscuits and even antibiotics given for a chest infection. Cutting out the colouring was easy at first, but became more difficult as she grew older and ate a wider variety of foods – and also as she met more adults who gave her such things as biscuits. All sorts of treatments were tried, but eventually she overcame the condition.

Typical Causes of Infant Food Allergy Rashes

Colouring isn’t the only culprit however. In small infants any of the following can be the guilty party:

• cow’s milk
• egg white
• soya milk
• cod
• wheat
• citrus fruits
• peanuts... Allergic Child .gives advice in such cases

Other Causes Of Infant Allergies

Foods aren’t the only thing that produce allergies of course. Some children react to certain spray polishes or the detergent used. And it seems that in modern times more children have this kind of reactions. There are any number of theories as to why this occurs.

Probability of an Infant Food Allergy Rash

It may simply be that modern life is more complicated – we eat a wider variety of foods for instance and use more chemicals than our forefathers. Previous generations weren’t exposed to foods from the other side of the world.

Some research seems to prove that children who avoid certain foods in infancy and whose mothers avoid the same foods when breast feeding are much less likely to develop eczema or asthma during their first two years.

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However, about 6% of all babies will develop a food allergy of some kind. The percentage is higher in those with eczema.

What to Do

If in any doubt about a rash consult a doctor. Small babies don’t usually get stricken with such things as measles or meningitis, but it can happen.

However it is much more likely that something such as food coloring or egg yolk is the cause. So don’t panic, but consider the options:

• does your child actually seem ill?
• how sudden is the rash?
• is it different from previous rashes?

If there are breathing difficulties or any doubt ask for help. It is better to be considered a bit fussy than to have an ill child.