What actually is a food allergy?
You could think of them as a case of mistaken identity – where the immune system, part of the body’s defense mechanism against infections and toxins, reacts to a harmless food protein as if it were a dangerous invader. It produces antibodies, a specific kind of purpose-built defense mechanism, which can cause a wide variety of unpleasant and dangerous symptoms when they activate.
How will I know my child has a food allergy?
At the time? Symptoms of food allergies are wide-ranging, but we’d always be suspicious if a child was noted to have swelling, hives, a red rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, funny breathing, or a cough – especially after trying new foods or high-risk foods (we’ll list them below). Diarrhea and changes in appetite or food avoidance can also reflect allergies, although they have a wider range of causes, particularly in older children.
In the clinic? We test for them! Testing for food allergies is a big part of the service we offer at Canberra Allergy, and we take it very seriously as the results can have long-lasting impact on kids’ wellbeing.
How common are they?
Well, the best Australian data we have on how common food allergies affect our kids is probably the HealthNuts study, from Melbourne. This large population survey, initially published in 2011, demonstrated that more than 10% of all Australian kids had at least one food allergy at 12 months. Raw egg was most common and milk, peanuts, cooked egg and sesame seed filling out the podium and tree nuts, meats, fish and shellfish, etc all less frequent. That could be surprising, because we see a lot more adults with shellfish, tree nut and peanut allergies than, say, egg! But that’s because most kids will outgrow milk and egg allergies by around age six, while peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and shellfish remain allergenic for most people through most of their lives.
Are my kids at risk?
Most Australian kids will experience allergic disease at some point in their lives. But only about 10% have food allergies that cause a significant impact. If you have any concerns, we’re always happy to help you find out more about how to keep your kids healthy and well – give us a call or book online here!
To find out more, check out these articles!