allergies to food question

AmandaP678 · February 2012

Why is that they want you wait for certain foods in case they're allergic to it. What's it matter if they're allergic at 2 years or 6 months? Are they less likely to be allergic to it when older?

This maybe stupid but I've always wondered.

dairygirl19 · February 2012

I don't know either!

And apparently neither does my pedi! He said the same thing you an I do, that's why he's not too worried about what I feed LO unless there is an allergy history already established in the family.

He actually had research citing for me the longer you wait, the higher the allergy risk.

He did explain to me however, that the reactions could possibly be stronger the littler they are. There's also research citing the other way that kids can outgrow allergies by a yearish.

I think this is just one of those trust your instinct/do what's best for you things.

Yellow_Daisy · February 2012

dairygirl19:
I don't know either!

And apparently neither does my pedi! He said the same thing you an I do, that's why he's not too worried about what I feed LO unless there is an allergy history already established in the family.

He actually had research citing for me the longer you wait, the higher the allergy risk.

He did explain to me however, that the reactions could possibly be stronger the littler they are. There's also research citing the other way that kids can outgrow allergies by a yearish.

I think this is just one of those trust your instinct/do what's best for you things.

Your pedi may have found some research supporting this, but he's wrong. Repeat exposure can be very very dangerous.

My DS has an unknown food allergy and both our pedi and pediatric allergist want to wait until he is 1 to start introducing highly allergic foods because many kids outgrow allergies when they are young. If he's still allergic to things at 1, they will reintroduce at 18-24 mos and again a year or so later because most kids outgrow many of their allergies.

Also as someone with several life threatening food allergies I can say for a fact that repeated exposure actually makes the allergy worse. I had a mild seafood/shellfish allergy as a child and my parents didn't realize it, they thought I was just making up my stomach complaints because I didn't like fish. As an adult I have a critical allergy to seafood/shellfish, I carry epi pens just in case someone's seafood contaminates my food. If someone touches seafood/shellfish and then touches me, my skin will immediately break out in a rash and that's just from my skin coming in contact with a trace amount. The repeated exposure is what made my allergy worse and every allergist I have ever been to has said the same thing.

MilMom2B · February 2012

What Yellow said.

I've always been informed these are the reasons to wait on high allergy foods:

1. the reaction can be gravely dangerous in LO's

2. repeated exposure can worsen an allergy

3. many babies will outgrow their allergies as their digestive and immune systems mature

... FWIW I had a lot of allergies as a baby, both food and other ... but my parents figured it out early on and kept me away from my triggers ... I outgrew them all after a couple of years and now have no allergies as an adult

nbbride06 · February 2012

Yellow_Daisy:
dairygirl19:
I don't know either!

And apparently neither does my pedi! He said the same thing you an I do, that's why he's not too worried about what I feed LO unless there is an allergy history already established in the family.

He actually had research citing for me the longer you wait, the higher the allergy risk.

He did explain to me however, that the reactions could possibly be stronger the littler they are. There's also research citing the other way that kids can outgrow allergies by a yearish.

I think this is just one of those trust your instinct/do what's best for you things.

Your pedi may have found some research supporting this, but he's wrong. Repeat exposure can be very very dangerous.
My DS has an unknown food allergy and both our pedi and pediatric allergist want to wait until he is 1 to start introducing highly allergic foods because many kids outgrow allergies when they are young. If he's still allergic to things at 1, they will reintroduce at 18-24 mos and again a year or so later because most kids outgrow many of their allergies.
Also as someone with several life threatening food allergies I can say for a fact that repeated exposure actually makes the allergy worse. I had a mild seafood/shellfish allergy as a child and my parents didn't realize it, they thought I was just making up my stomach complaints because I didn't like fish. As an adult I have a critical allergy to seafood/shellfish, I carry epi pens just in case someone's seafood contaminates my food. If someone touches seafood/shellfish and then touches me, my skin will immediately break out in a rash and that's just from my skin coming in contact with a trace amount. The repeated exposure is what made my allergy worse and every allergist I have ever been to has said the same thing.

The pedi is not wrong. New studies are currently showing that the earlier you introduce allergenic foods the better. My SIL is an allergist and can quote you the new studies. However, IF you have food allergies (especially nut) in your family, it's a different story. You should follow your pedi's advice, but our pedi as well as my SIL actually recommend introducing all allergenic foods prior to 1 year. The only thing LO can't have is honey.

dairygirl19 · February 2012

I don't think my pedi was trying to be right or wrong here. He gave me both sides of the story, research for both and told me to do what I want with it. He wasn't pushing anything one way or the other.

MilMom2B · February 2012

nbbride06:

The pedi is not wrong. New studies are currently showing that the earlier you introduce allergenic foods the better. My SIL is an allergist and can quote you the new studies. However, IF you have food allergies (especially nut) in your family, it's a different story. You should follow your pedi's advice, but our pedi as well as my SIL actually recommend introducing all allergenic foods prior to 1 year. The only thing LO can't have is honey.

This is really interesting to me. And I'm kind of a nut case about being a well-informed mom so I can make my own decisions in the raising of my child. If you're able to, would you be able to point me in the direction of these studies so I could read them? If not, or if it's a lot of trouble, don't worry about it. Thanks!

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