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Many parents find the risk of baby food allergies one of the
most worrying aspects of introducing new foods to their baby.
But there are simple steps you can take to minimise potential
problems and make your child's introduction to solid food a safe
and happy one.
Allergic reactions take place when your baby's immune system
mistakenly treats a harmless substance as a harmful one. Baby
food allergy symptoms include diarrhea, eczema, nausea,
constipation and watery or red eyes. Very rarely, a serious
reaction known as allergic shock can occur. This can cause the
throat and tongue to swell dangerously, which could lead to
choking. In this situation, professional medical help must be
sought immediately.
Baby food allergies should not be confused with food
intolerance. A baby with food intolerance would have difficulty
in digesting a particular type of food, which can be caused by
many other things besides an allergen. In either case, diagnosis
should be made by a medical professional.
In order to prevent baby food allergies such as these, or to
identify foods to which your baby reacts, it is important to
follow these simple guidelines --
1. Try to delay feeding your baby solid food until he is at
least 6 months of age. His immune system will be better
developed by this stage.
2. Only introduce one new food at a time and wait for a few days
to see if a reaction occurs. It will then be easy to spot the
"problem" food and eliminate it from your baby's diet.
3. Avoid foods that are known to be more likely to cause
allergic reactions. Examples of such foods include eggs
(particularly the whites), shellfish, gluten and citrus fruits.
4. Decide whether or not your baby is at a particularly high
risk of developing allergies -- for example, do you suffer from
an allergy yourself? This can often lead to an increased risk of
allergies for your baby, although not necessarily to the same
allergen (i.e. the substance responsible for the reaction).
5. Discuss any concerns with a medical professional.
Whilst it is sensible to be cautious, it is still important to
remember that baby food allergies only affect around 8% of
children. So try to keep things in perspective, introduce new
foods individually and stay alert for possible reactions --
these measures will give you the confidence to safely introduce
the delights of solid food to your little one.
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