Health Link

Allergy Watch

Story by Sue Robbins

From the word go, food allergies can be frustrating for new mothers and young children.  Here's the latest on how to spot and manage common food allergies.

Introduce Solids - Slowly!

Back in the 1960’s, babies were introduced to solid food as soon as they came home from the hospital. Our mothers tried stuffing us with rice cereal in a vain attempt to try to make us sleep! Food allergies weren’t a major concern—moms just watched for rashes and then forged on, giving us cereal, vegetables, fruit and finally meat.

Experts struggle to explain why food intolerances are increasing; some say that awareness of allergies has increased in the media, with health professionals and with parents. It may be that the diagnosing and reporting of food allergies has improved over the decades, rather than the actual increase in the incidence of food allergies.

Today, parents introduce solids slowly and carefully to babies, and most pediatricians don’t recommend the introduction of solid food until six months of age. Allergies can run in families, so if there is a history of food allergies in your family, ask your doctor, pediatrician or allergist about how, when and in what order to introduce foods to your children.

Breast is Best

While breastfeeding does not guarantee the elimination of allergies in a baby, it certainly helps. Allergies can be prevented, or the severity reduced, by breastfeeding. The Dieticians of Canada suggest breastfeeding babies, if possible, for at least nine to 12 months.

What goes in a baby’s wee tummy can cause problems even before solids are introduced. Signs of food intolerances or allergies can appear in the littlest of babies, transported by mother’s breastmilk. For babies in highly allergic families, breastfeeding mothers themselves should use caution when consuming milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, fish and shellfish, and monitor their babies afterwards for a reaction. If bottle-fed babies are allergic to milk products, cow-based infant formulas can cause similar problems.

A Mother's Story

Despite best efforts at prevention, food allergies can still develop. Just ask Beth Yim. Beth’s daughter Megan-Diane is now 16 years old.When Megan-Diane was just three months old, she developed a bad case of eczema. Her skin condition was the first sign of many allergies to come.Megan-Diane has life-threatening food allergies to pumpkin seeds, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, kiwi, cantaloupe and wheat. She has less severe reactions to milk products and eggs.

Food allergies aren’t fun. In fact, they can be life-threatening at their worst, causing an anaphylactic reaction that can trigger swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing, a loss of consciousness and even death. People with lifethreatening allergies are strongly advised to wear a MedicAlert bracelet and carry emergency medications (such as an EpiPen) at all times. Beth has managed her daughter’s food allergies in various ways. She says, “We don’t eat out much, and if we do I make her food in advance and she eats it at the restaurant.” Thankfully, Beth has become a creative cook, and admits, “I am very fortunate in that I love to cook! Many parents dealing with allergic kids don’t have that enjoyment and it ends up being a real chore.”

Most parents become experts in reading food labels to catch listed allergens. Parents of children with allergies also have to avoid bulk sections in the grocery store (because there is often cross-contamination), be especially vigilant at Halloween (to ensure allergen and nonallergenic treats don’t mix) and be an advocate for their children at school and daycare. (Alberta schools decide on a school-by-school basis to ban nuts and other common food allergens from the lunch room.)

Beth Yim wishes she knew then what she knows now when she found out about her daughter’s food allergies. “If your child has had a life-threatening reaction, you feel so out of control. Get control of as much of your child’s environment as possible. It will help you deal with the constant fear that your child will ingest something she shouldn’t.”

As a facilitator with the Allergy Asthma Information Association (AAIA), Beth also helps with referrals to allergists and pediatricians, and provides an ear to bend if families need support.

Milk Misconceptions

Some food allergies can disappear as children grow older. Milk allergies often disappear by the time a child is two or three.

Get control of as much of your child's environment as possible. It will help you deal with the constant fear that your child will ingest something she shouldn't.

Mary Anne Yurkiw is a Registered Dietitian and a Nutrition Educator with Alberta Milk. She gives presentations to the public and educators about milk and finds that, inevitably, questions about milk allergies and lactose intolerance come up—and there are differences between the two.

She’s careful to point them out.“Milk allergies are more common in infants and young children,” says Mary Anne.“Milk allergies are very rare in adults—less than 1% of the adult population has a milk allergy.” Babies can have a milk allergy due to their immature digestive tracts, but most children grow out of it. Mary Anne’s own son developed a milk allergy when he was six months old; by the time he was a year, his digestive tract had matured and he’d outgrown it.

Being lactose intolerant does not mean you cannot drink milk. A milk allergy can cause a body-wide reaction, including respiratory and skin problems, while lactose intolerance is restricted to gastro-intestinal difficulties. Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, flatulence or diarrhea are symptoms of many gastrointestinal problems, including lactose intolerance. A lactose tolerance test is the only sure way to diagnose lactose-intolerance for sure.

Advice from Beth Yim? “Learn as much as you can and get a good support system in place—allergies are manageable.”

Milk Allergies vs. Lactose Intolerance

Introduce Solids - Slowly!

Back in the 1960’s, babies were introduced to solid food as soon as they came home from the hospital. Our mothers tried stuffing us with rice cereal in a vain attempt to try to make us sleep! Food allergies weren’t a major concern—moms just watched for rashes and then forged on, giving us cereal, vegetables, fruit and finally meat.

Experts struggle to explain why food intolerances are increasing; some say that awareness of allergies has increased in the media, with health professionals and with parents. It may be that the diagnosing and reporting of food allergies has improved over the decades, rather than the actual increase in the incidence of food allergies.

Today, parents introduce solids slowly and carefully to babies, and most pediatricians don’t recommend the introduction of solid food until six months of age. Allergies can run in families, so if there is a history of food allergies in your family, ask your doctor, pediatrician or allergist about how, when and in what order to introduce foods to your children.

Breast is Best

While breastfeeding does not guarantee the elimination of allergies in a baby, it certainly helps. Allergies can be prevented, or the severity reduced, by breastfeeding. The Dieticians of Canada suggest breastfeeding babies, if possible, for at least nine to 12 months.

What goes in a baby’s wee tummy can cause problems even before solids are introduced. Signs of food intolerances or allergies can appear in the littlest of babies, transported by mother’s breastmilk. For babies in highly allergic families, breastfeeding mothers themselves should use caution when consuming milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts, fish and shellfish, and monitor their babies afterwards for a reaction. If bottle-fed babies are allergic to milk products, cow-based infant formulas can cause similar problems.

A Mother's Story

Despite best efforts at prevention, food allergies can still develop. Just ask Beth Yim. Beth’s daughter Megan-Diane is now 16 years old.When Megan-Diane was just three months old, she developed a bad case of eczema. Her skin condition was the first sign of many allergies to come.Megan-Diane has life-threatening food allergies to pumpkin seeds, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, kiwi, cantaloupe and wheat. She has less severe reactions to milk products and eggs.

Food allergies aren’t fun. In fact, they can be life-threatening at their worst, causing an anaphylactic reaction that can trigger swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing, a loss of consciousness and even death. People with lifethreatening allergies are strongly advised to wear a MedicAlert bracelet and carry emergency medications (such as an EpiPen) at all times. Beth has managed her daughter’s food allergies in various ways. She says, “We don’t eat out much, and if we do I make her food in advance and she eats it at the restaurant.” Thankfully, Beth has become a creative cook, and admits, “I am very fortunate in that I love to cook! Many parents dealing with allergic kids don’t have that enjoyment and it ends up being a real chore.”

Most parents become experts in reading food labels to catch listed allergens. Parents of children with allergies also have to avoid bulk sections in the grocery store (because there is often cross-contamination), be especially vigilant at Halloween (to ensure allergen and nonallergenic treats don’t mix) and be an advocate for their children at school and daycare. (Alberta schools decide on a school-by-school basis to ban nuts and other common food allergens from the lunch room.)

Beth Yim wishes she knew then what she knows now when she found out about her daughter’s food allergies. “If your child has had a life-threatening reaction, you feel so out of control. Get control of as much of your child’s environment as possible. It will help you deal with the constant fear that your child will ingest something she shouldn’t.”

As a facilitator with the Allergy Asthma Information Association (AAIA), Beth also helps with referrals to allergists and pediatricians, and provides an ear to bend if families need support.

Milk Misconceptions

Some food allergies can disappear as children grow older. Milk allergies often disappear by the time a child is two or three.

Get control of as much of your child's environment as possible. It will help you deal with the constant fear that your child will ingest something she shouldn't.

Mary Anne Yurkiw is a Registered Dietitian and a Nutrition Educator with Alberta Milk. She gives presentations to the public and educators about milk and finds that, inevitably, questions about milk allergies and lactose intolerance come up—and there are differences between the two.

She’s careful to point them out.“Milk allergies are more common in infants and young children,” says Mary Anne.“Milk allergies are very rare in adults—less than 1% of the adult population has a milk allergy.” Babies can have a milk allergy due to their immature digestive tracts, but most children grow out of it. Mary Anne’s own son developed a milk allergy when he was six months old; by the time he was a year, his digestive tract had matured and he’d outgrown it.

Being lactose intolerant does not mean you cannot drink milk. A milk allergy can cause a body-wide reaction, including respiratory and skin problems, while lactose intolerance is restricted to gastro-intestinal difficulties. Abdominal pain, bloating, gas, flatulence or diarrhea are symptoms of many gastrointestinal problems, including lactose intolerance. A lactose tolerance test is the only sure way to diagnose lactose-intolerance for sure.

Advice from Beth Yim? “Learn as much as you can and get a good support system in place—allergies are manageable.”

Milk Allergies vs. Lactose Intolerance

Least Allergenic Foods for Babies

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends a 3–4 day monitoring period between the introduction of new foods.

• Rice and other single-grain infant cereals
• Carrots
• Bananas
• Squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Peaches
• Pears
• Veal
• Beef
• Lamb
• Poultry

From the Canadian Paediatric Society Web site: caringforkids.cps.ca

Food Allergy Symptoms to Watch For

The most usual signs of food allergy are:

• Bloating and gassiness
• A sandpaper-like raised red rash on the face
• Runny nose and watery eyes
• Diarrhea or mucousy stools
• A red rash around the anus
• Generally cranky behaviour
• Vomiting or increased spitting up

From askdrsears.com

Baby Feeding Golden Rules

Breastmilk or formula—(no cow’s milk)— until 9 months to 1 year of age.

• Whole milk only until 2 years of age
• No egg yolks until 9 months of age
• No egg whites until at least 1 year of age
• No honey until 2 years of age (can cause infant botulism)
• No shell fish to children under 2 years of age
• No peanut butter until 3 years of age

For more information on allergies, please see Web Wise on page 4.