Many parents suspect their child has food allergies and live in fear that they will have a severe reaction. They watch every bite the child puts in his mouth and watch for symptoms, fearing the worst. If this is you, you will be relieved to find out that only 2% of children even have food allergies and those that do often outgrow them. This probably makes you feel better, but to be sure, let’s look at some of the symptoms of true food allergies and the ones that are most common.

Food allergy symptoms vary in how severe they are. Some reactions are mild and some can be very severe requiring immediate medical treatment. Most reactions start with itching in the mouth as the food is eaten. If the allergy is severe, the throat may begin to swell after the food has been swallowed. Next, symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain once the food has begun to be digested. As the allergens reach the bloodstream, symptoms may include hives, rashes, and eczema. Finally, as the blood reaches the airways, it can cause restriction in the air passageways and the child will have difficulty in breathing. The allergy has to be severe for the symptoms to reach this stage.

What most parents refer to or think is a food allergy in their child is really just a food intolerance. Symptoms of food intolerances can be the same as food allergies – itching, nausea, vomiting, asthma, and rashes. So if the symptoms are the same, then how do you know if it is an allergy or just an intolerance? The difference is when it is an allergy, the symptoms are usually immediate, dramatic, and visible. Food intolerance symptoms are the same but it is a slow reaction taking hours, days, or even weeks to develop.

Whether your child has actual food allergies or food intolerances, you need to find out what they are. The most common foods that children are allergic to are:

• Peanuts
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Eggs (especially whites)
• Soy
• Wheat

To discover what is causing these symptoms in your child, you will need to keep a food diary and record everything they ate and when they ate it. When you suspect several foods as the culprit, only introduce one of the foods at a time and keep them from eating the other suspicious foods. By isolating the foods in this way, you will know for sure which food is causing the symptoms. As you can see, this can be a rather long and drawn out process but if it will relieve your child of annoying or potentially life-threatening symptoms, it is worth it.

Jason Ladock

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