Food Allergies In Children

It's not uncommon for children to develop a food allergy at some stage. However, how can you tell the difference between a mild intolerance and a serious allergy? Consultant dietitian Sarah Keogh explains

Throughout childhood, children suffer from coughs and sniffles, have tummy upsets and diarrhoea and occasionally turn up with odd rashes or dry skin. There can be any number of causes for any of these - coughs can be a simple cold, tummy upsets can be too many sweets at once and a rash might just be a brush with nettles. But if children keep turning up with the same problem, many parents start to think that a food allergy might be the cause.

Articles and stories about food allergies are very common in the media and they are often touted as being responsible for every ill. Everything from feeling run-down to being overweight is blamed on food allergies. So many people are now convinced that they have a food allergy that they often get tested for possible food allergies even when they have no symptoms at all! While many people do suffer from genuine food allergies, the actual number is quite small. About 20% of adults claim to have a food allergy. In reality, only about 1-2% actually do. Just like adults, many common childhood problems are blamed on allergies. There is a little more basis for these claims as about 6% of children do have food allergies, but luckily many children do grow out of them. So if you think your child may have a food allergy what do you need to know?