Child Food Allergies on the Rise in U.S.

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It's really important that parents who suspect their kids may have a food allergy seek a professional opinion before removing foods from their diet. Removing foods could cause malnutrition in extreme cases and because kids are growing, they need complete and appropriate nutrition. It's also important to keep a history of all food reactions because having a record of food incidents is very helpful for allergists to determine the exact cause. While there is no cure for food allergies, there are many resources available for parents to understand proper food substitutes and what to eat to make sure their kids are getting the proper vitamins and nutrients. And, the good news is that most children with food allergies to milk, soy, egg and wheat grow out of their sensitivity.

Leonard Bacharier of MO 12:54PM November 23, 2009

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A.Stevens of GA 9:14AM November 20, 2009

For those children out there who feel the effects several hours after eating a specific food, it can be challenging for the parent to pinpoint the cause. We only learned three weeks ago that our son is allergic to the major three--dairy, wheat and eggs, because the physical effects were so similar to dust mite or animal dander allergies. About six hours after eating (usually in the middle of the night) he would wake up with itchy eyes and congestion, and scream unconsolably (he's 4 by the way). It would take over an hour and allergy medicine which I hated giving him to get him calm and back to sleep.
In the meantime his behavior was all over the map, which I thought was because he was always tired from disrupted sleep. All together VERY challenging not to get frustrated with bad behavior, but I was tired of making excuses for it too. Eventually it dawned on me that it was all related and a friend who was visiting for the weekend witnessed the midnight horrors, and told us it was similar to what her son experienced who is allergic to wheat. It never crossed my mind that it could be food related as we the parents have no food allergies. But we decided to get him blood-tested. Within 48 hours of starting a gluten, dairy and egg-free diet, our son became a completely new person! No more of any of the symptoms and a huge improvememt in overall demeanor. I would have characterized him before as "grouchy" and "unhappy" and now afterwards as "happy" with more energy and humor. I think more parents should think about how food directly relates to behavior issues--I wish I had!! And don't even get me started on how bad sugar is........

Laura of WA 1:30PM November 18, 2009

This is a good article but our media needs to wake up and start investigating the connection between the increase use of GMO food and adverse reactions. I recommend everyone see these three DVD, Food Inc., The Future of Food and Food Matters you’ll be astonished and outraged over what id happening to our US food supply by big corporations.

John B of NY 8:58AM November 18, 2009

I was born in 1990, and I have a ton of food allergies. My actually got worse over the years as compared to a lot of children who outgrow theirs. For parents (or anyone else) dealing with cooking for people with food allergies I highly suggest this blog: http://www.foodallergyqueen.com/
John, for your daughter that is going to college, its going to be rough, but its also do-able. I've noticed so many more different pre-prepared foods on the market for people with common allergies. Thats great that her school has EpiPen training though! I'm sure she'll be okay.

Ariana M of IL 11:54PM November 17, 2009

One day the little people will likely figure out that it was mostly childhood vaccines disrupting the body's God-given immune system that led to the explosion in allergies. Similar discoveries will link Juvenile-onset diabetes I suspect, and some of the gut problems kids experience.

Scott Parrish, R.Ph. of FL 3:12PM November 16, 2009

I'm wondering if the whole "don't give kids this food 'til age __, don't give them this one til age ___" is actually increasing the problem. It seems like there are more and more rules about when to introduce things as we're seeing this increase in allergies. I don't think there was any rule about when to feed a kid peanut butter when I was a kid and I don't know too many people my age who are allergic. Any research on this correllation?

Amber of NH 2:00PM November 16, 2009

Is it really so difficult to just print a link to the actual source? http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2009-1210v1.pdf

Douglas Held 1:24PM November 16, 2009

With the increasing prevalence of food allergies, we need increased research on the cause and cure. My daughter's diet is limited to meat, apples, tapioca, and potatoes. She can't eat in a restaurant, for fear of cross contamination. In 2011, she should be going to college, but I'm not sure how she will be able to eat. While she is a severe case, she sees a number of people coming to the Epipen training at the beginning of each school year.

John H of IL 1:23PM November 16, 2009

I have a 7 year old with a Peanut allergy which he may actually outgrow. At least the blood tests are leaning that way.
I am impressed daily on exactly how inconsiderate people can be regarding a potentially fatal condition. People will ignore our requests and simply refuse to look at labels because its a minor inconvenience. A big case of the "Not my problem"s
Perhaps it's because we live in the midwest which has historically been intolerant.

Dave of MO 1:08PM November 16, 2009