Symptoms of food allergy in the baby may appear a few minutes to a few hours after eating the food, and may manifest itself through the baby's skin, digestive system and respiratory system.
The most frequent signs and symptoms that may occur due to food allergy are:
- Reddish spots, swollen and spread throughout the body; Generalized itching; Vomiting and diarrhea; Gases and cramps; Swelling of the tongue, lips and face; Coughing and wheezing when breathing; Difficulty breathing; Runny nose.
In addition to these symptoms, in more severe cases loss of consciousness can occur, so it is very important to pay attention to the first signs whenever a new food is introduced in the baby's diet.
What to do to avoid a food allergy
Due to the fact that the baby's immune system is still immature, some foods should be avoided during the first 6 months of life because they can cause allergies, such as cow's milk, egg, nuts, shellfish, soy, strawberry, blackberry, peach, kiwi and gluten, which is a protein present in rye, wheat and barley that can produce food intolerance. Honey, however, should only be included in the diet after the 1st year.
These foods should be introduced one at a time, and you should wait between 3 to 5 days before adding another new food, in order to understand which food is the source of the allergic reaction.
In addition, while breastfeeding, it is not recommended that the mother eat nuts and peanuts to prevent the child from developing an allergy to these foods. The pediatrician may also recommend removing the egg, fish and seafood from the mother's diet in cases where the father or close family members are allergic.
How to identify food allergy
If some foods have already been given to the baby without being tested first, to identify food allergy, a good tip is to remove some foods from the diet, write each one down in an agenda and leave it out of the baby's meals during about 5 days. If the baby's food allergy symptoms start to go away, it means the baby is allergic to one of those foods.
The pediatrician may also recommend a food allergy test to determine which or which foods he is allergic to.
Food allergy to cow's milk protein
A common food allergy in babies is allergy to cow's milk protein, which can occur even while breastfeeding. Learn how to identify cow's milk protein allergy.
As cow's milk protein passes into breast milk, breastfeeding babies are recommended to eliminate cow's milk from the mother's diet and replace milk with other calcium-rich foods, such as beans, tofu, soy milk or Brazil nut, so that the baby can breastfeed normally.
If the baby is fed with infant formulas, he may also suffer an allergic reaction and for that reason one should opt for formulas extensively hydrolyzed or based on amino acids, in which the cow protein is degraded and does not induce an allergic reaction. Learn how to choose the best milk for your baby to grow healthy.
