If you have a child with a food allergy you are not alone. A food allergy occurs in around one in 20 children in Australia.1 Nine foods cause around 90% of food allergies.1 These include egg, cow’s milk, peanut, tree nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, and pecans), sesame, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish.1 Most food allergies in children are not severe and may be ‘outgrown’ with time.1
Currently, the only way to manage a food allergy is to identify the food or food protein that triggers a reaction and then avoid all exposure to that food or food protein.1
An allergy is when the immune system reacts to a substance (allergen) in the environment, which is usually harmless (e.g. food, pollen, animal dander and dust mite) or bites, stings and medications.1 An allergic reaction is when someone develops symptoms following exposure to an allergen.1
In food allergy, the proteins present in the foods we eat, such as meats, eggs, soy, fish, nuts and all dairy foods, tend to cause the problems.2 As protein is essential for the normal growth and development of your child,3 it is important that it is not removed from your child’s diet. This means you may need some help making certain your child gets the nutrition they need for normal, healthy growth and development.
A food allergy can be mild, moderate or severe.1
Mild to moderate symptoms include:1
Swelling of face, lips and/or eyes
Hives or welts on the skin
Abdominal pain and/or vomiting
Some food allergies can be severe, causing life-threatening reactions known as anaphylaxis.1 Signs may include:1
Difficult/noisy breathing
Swelling of the tongue
Swelling/tightness in the throat
Difficulty talking and/or hoarse voice
Wheeze or persistent cough
Persistent dizziness and/or collapse
Pale and floppy (in young children).
To arrive at a correct diagnosis your child’s doctor will ask a series of questions that may help to narrow down the list of likely causes.1 Your child’s doctor will want to know is what foods have been consumed that day or in the days leading up to any symptoms.1
Sometimes a temporary elimination diet under close medical and dietetic supervision may be needed, followed by food challenges to identify the cause.1 Skin prick allergy tests or allergy blood tests help to confirm a diagnosis or exclude potential triggers.1
Allergy testing is a useful guide to determining whether a person is allergic and to what, but it does not provide a guide to whether any future allergic reaction will be mild or severe.1
Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Food allergy. 2016. Available from: http://www.allergy.org.au/images/pcc/ASCIA_PCC_Food_Allergy_2016.pdf (Accessed June 2016).
Victoria State Government. Better Health Channel. Food allergy and intolerance. 2018. Available from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/food-allergy-and-intolerance?viewAsPdf=true (Accessed June 2018).
Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Protein. Apr 2014. Available from: https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/protein (Accessed June 2018).
