Food allergies can be life threatening. For a child who is allergic to peanuts, eggs, soy, shellfish or milk, the vigilance required by the parent can be overwhelming. Is there any way that you can help prevent food allergies in your child?
Pediatricians and scientists have been trying to figure out why there has been such a great rise in the number of young children who have food allergies, especially severe food allergies. There are a couple of theories that so far haven’t been proven.
One theory says that it is simply a matter of more proper diagnosis being made. In other words, more food allergy cases are being identified than ever before, even though the number of children with food allergies has not grown.
Another popular theory held that early exposure to food that is likely to cause an allergic reaction can actually make a child more likely to have an allergy. So parents have been told that they should wait to expose their child to peanut products, milk products, eggs and all of the other possible allergy triggering foods. Pregnant women were advised to avoid some of these products as well, such as peanut butter. Recently, a new study says that there is no correlation between early exposure to some of these possible allergens and a food allergy.
Some researchers wonder about cesarean deliveries and food allergies. The theory goes that during a vaginal delivery, a baby is exposed to more bacteria that may actually help protect the child from developing allergies. The reason behind this theory is the fact that there are both rising rates of food allergies being reported and rising rates of cesarean sections being performed. But another recent study debunked this theory showing that a child born by cesarean section was no more likely to develop and allergy than was a child born naturally.
So, for science, there is no sure reason or risk factor that can contribute to food allergies with the exception of one: heredity. If a parent has a food allergy than chances are higher that a child will develop one also, although the food trigger may not be the same one.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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