Dealing With Childhood Food Allergies

Childhood food allergies can be devastating news for parents -- just ask the Ringstroms. Five-year-old Blake Ringstrom suffered allergic reactions to so many foods that he went from a pork and navy bean diet to being fed through a tube implanted in his stomach. "We felt like we were grasping at straws," says Blake's mother, Becky. "He wasn't getting better, he wasn't growing, he was still kind of sick all the time... the itching was constant. We had to put socks over his hands so he wouldn't make himself bleed." However, thanks to the Food Challenge, Blake is now able to eat most sit-down meals with his family.

"The Food Challenge is what we call the gold standard for diagnosing a food allergy," explains National Jewish Hospital's Dr. David Fleischer. In a landmark study, Fleischer and colleagues discovered that the best way to determine whether a food allergy was present was simply to give the child a small amount of that food in a clinical setting and gradually increase the dose until tolerance is reached. The kids food allergy study uncovered that they could reintroduce over 50% of the foods that came back positive in the allergy blood tests. "The problem is that a lot of people think they have food allergies; there are a lot of people that have reactions to food out there, but not every reaction is a food allergy," Fleischer says.

More often than not, suspected childhood food allergies turn out to be a false alarm of some sort. "The fear of possible reaction markedly reduces the quality of life amongst peanut-allergic patients and their families," stated Dr. Adnan Custovic, MD, PhD of the University of Manchester. "However, avoiding peanuts only makes sense if child is really allergic." In a recent study of 79 children who tested positive in blood allergy tests, Dr. Custovic found that just 13 developed allergic symptoms at all and only 7 actually had peanut allergies. Researchers concluded that misdiagnosis was very possible for 7.4% of those tested by blood or skin prick tests and that the only way to really tell for sure was with a Food Challenge study.

Rather than go through the time-consuming and money-consuming process of a Food Challenge, some parents would rather just shop carefully and try to make home life as normal as possible. Judy Phipps, owner of the Little Protégés early learning center, says she focuses her efforts on educating kids and parents about special diets for childhood food allergies. "We don't ever want to single a child out as being different. Kids don't know what they're not missing, so if we have a child with a peanut allergy, we'd go out of our way not to introduce that," she explains. "We talk about healthy food and we promote healthy food. We educate the parents but we don't try to pull someone out and make it awkward." She adds that they focus on healthy eating, which gives families something to feel good about in the end. "A lot of people see it as an inconvenience, but for others this is their kid, or even themselves, and it's a part of life."

Related topics about Childhood Food Allergies
Diagnosing Food Allergies In Children
Currently, there are two preliminary tests for food allergies in kids. After going over the child's and family's medical history, a basic physical examination and asking questions about the child's diet, pediatricians generally recommend a blood test. Even though this is not 100% predictive, many allergies can be ruled out this way.

Kids Food Allergies On The Rise
Perhaps blood tests for kids food allergies fail because they cannot distinguish between similar proteins in different foods. For instance, a child with an allergy to peanuts may also test positive for kidney bean, green bean, pea and soy allergies. Similarly, a child with a milk allergy may also test positive for a beef allergy.

Getting The Food Allergy Help You Need
If you would like more comprehensive food allergy help, you can find local resources through the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network or the Food Allergy Initiative. Here you will find support groups, food-related allergy recipes, activism events, research updates, literature downloads and methods for coping with allergy symptoms at home, school and restaurants. Once you're armed with enough allergy information, you'll feel more prepared for dealing with whatever life throws your way.