Food allergies in children and how to treat them

Food allergy is the body's response to certain substances in food. In technical terms, these substances are called allergens .

The key ingredient in food allergies in children is the protein in food. These are proteins that are not easily degraded by proteolytic enzymes such as proteases and are not easily denatured by temperature. Therefore, these proteins just pass intact through the mucous membrane of the digestive system, into intestinal cells, even into the bloodstream. This integrity entry is the basis of a response to the immune system's "foreign". These food protein molecules bind to the IgE in secretions, in the blood and then they continue to be attached to the mast cells, which have many receptors for IgE. This powerful, synergistic combination shatters a large number of mast cells, releasing a high concentration of chemical mediators, especially histamine. These mediators begin to cause bodily changes, which are the basis of allergic disease: vasodilation causes congestion, edema, secretion, rash, rash; smooth muscle spasm causing abdominal pain, nausea, difficulty breathing; irritation causes intense itching that scratching cannot go away.

The key ingredient in food allergies in children is the protein in food.

Manifestations of a food allergy

Allergies can occur minutes or hours after eating. Possible symptoms include : swelling, itching of the throat, mouth, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, dizziness, a rash, itching on the skin. More severe than shortness of breath, decreased blood pressure, even death ...

Some children develop late symptoms (a few days after eating food containing allergens) including dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, persistent cough, runny nose, constipation, sweating, Anorexia, decreased concentration and poor sleep.

The severity of the disease depends on the reaction time after eating, the amount of food that the child has consumed and the child's location.

However, a food allergy should be distinguished from symptoms of food intolerance , such as lactose intolerance. Because lactose deficiency is an enzyme that helps digest lactose in milk, when eating cow's milk, children will have symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, bloating, flatulence, even a rash on the skin. However, the immune system is not involved in the mechanism of these symptoms, so we do not call it an allergy. Some countries are underdeveloped, people consume less lactose-containing products (milk and dairy products), so the lactose enzyme secretion gland shrinks, causing lactose intolerance .

Allergic foods are peanuts, almonds, fish, seafood, eggs (especially egg whites), milk ... Remember, your child's immune system takes time to form Immune allergy to food allergens. Therefore, food allergy rarely occurs when first exposed to that food.

Frequency of food allergies?

According to recent statistics, up to 40% of children are at risk of food allergy. This rate decreases with age and depends on environmental changes, eating habits and way of life of each community and individual.

Which children are prone to allergies?

Allergy rates are increasing worldwide, especially in young children. Based on a parent's history of allergies, we can determine the child's allergic risk while still in the womb. For example, if both parents have allergic diseases, 50-80% of the children are at risk; If one parent has an allergic reaction, about 20-40% of the child is at risk of an allergy, and even if the parent does not have an allergy, 5 to 15% of the child is at risk of having an allergic reaction.

Allergic foods are peanuts, almonds, fish, seafood, eggs (especially egg whites), milk ...

So which children should pay attention to allergy prevention? These are babies born into families with both a parent with allergies or either parent with allergies. This is called a high-risk group.

How to treat allergies?

The principle of allergy treatment is to discover which allergens are the cause of the allergy and avoid contact with allergens.

Sometimes it is necessary to change eating habits and be more careful in using food for children.

When your baby starts weaning, start with hypoallergenic foods like rice and roots. Avoid giving children processed foods like industry, bacon, bacon, pigments, artificial condiments.

Consult an allergist when you suspect your child is allergic to a certain food. Doctors will examine, ask questions and may perform a number of specialist tests such as skin tests or blood tests to ascertain what foods your baby is allergic to. However, the accuracy of this test is not high. Therefore, you cannot rely solely on test results to decide on a child's diet. Some tests have a higher accuracy but lower safety, such as a stimulant test with the suspect food itself. This test should be performed under the supervision of an allergist.

When you know your child is allergic to a certain food, it should be eliminated from the child's menu. Baby food should not be prepared or stored in bowls that contain foods that the child is allergic to.

However, food allergies do not last a lifetime, so you do not need to force your child to abstain from prolonging a food. After a while, you can re-feed the food (except for foods that cause an acute allergic reaction like anaphylaxis).

Once food allergy is confirmed, treatment should be initiated as soon as possible with two main measures:

Exclude allergy-causing foods from your child's diet.

Use medicine to treat allergies.

Elimination of allergenic foods from the child's diet is of paramount importance, to reduce the severity and prevent the re-occurrence of allergic reactions .

Some foods with cross-sensitivity to allergenic foods should also be excluded from the child's diet, such as goat's milk with cow's milk, beef (veal) with lamb, which is often cross-sensitive in 50 - 90% of cases, between types of fish, legumes are often cross-sensitive. In cases of mild allergies, the reduction of allergenic foods in the diet may also be enough to minimize allergy symptoms, not necessarily eliminate these foods completely, however, well. Most still, eliminate these foods completely.

For children who are allergic to milk, mothers need to pay attention to carefully read the ingredients of nutritional powder or powder before using them for their babies. Children who are allergic to cow's milk can usually safely use infant formula or nutritional powders made from soy flour, if they are allergic to both cow's milk and soy flour, mothers should look for powdered milk with a hydrolyzed formula.

Seafood is one of the causes of allergies.

Some food allergies in children, especially early allergies, children often decrease and gradually lose their sensitivity to food over time due to the body's immune tolerance. . In these cases, when the child is grown, it is possible to cautiously try back foods that have caused allergies. Note that in cases where food allergies appear late or are allergic to certain foods such as peanuts, shrimp, fish, this immune tolerance status does not usually occur and should not be tried again. have caused allergies in these cases. Similarly, children who have had anaphylaxis from food should not try them again.

Excluding certain foods from the child's diet can lead to an imbalance in these diets and affect the child's development, so it's best for mothers to consult. In order to find a suitable diet for your child, a supplement of vitamins and mineral salts may be necessary.

Use of anti-allergy medications in food allergy treatment to ease symptoms or prevent the occurrence of these symptoms when a child has an allergy to a variety of foods or when food allergens cannot be avoided. application. However, the use of the drug must be indicated and monitored by a pediatric or dermatologist.

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