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Pointers for Screening Food for a Baby with Food Allergies |
 For as long as I can remember, I have had allergies and asthma. I can recall an incident; I couldn’t have been any older than six, when I went outside to play with a friend across the street. I went home not long thereafter, eyes itching, running and bloodshot. My mother had never seen anything like it. There were no detectable whites to my eyes. To this day, we aren’t sure what triggered that allergy attack.
Mealtime was a challenge because back then, it took me two hours to eat just one pea. So finding foods I would enjoy that wouldn’t trigger an asthma attack was like tiptoeing through a minefield. And of course, the foods I enjoyed most were the ones I needed to stay away from. That combined with the fact that information about infant and children allergies was not as accessible then as it is now. The result was an uncomfortable childhood and a weary set of parents.
Fast forward a few decades. Information accessibility about infant allergies is no longer the problem it once was. The FDA, Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, that became effective in January, 2006, mandated labeling of food product ingredients and food packaging environments to protect consumers with allergies and especially parents buying foods for allergic infants.
But even with this, a study in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) states many food allergic adults and/or adults with infants have a difficult time deciphering the technical jargon and ambiguous terminology used on food labels. That combined with inconsistent listing of new ingredients, makes for potentially tragic mealtime outcomes when you want to give good foods to your youngster.
Here are a few suggestions for anyone who has to cope with infant food allergies. First, stay away from any baby foods that are unlabeled. To be absolutely certain of the safety of the foods you are buying for your baby, steer clear of foods that are labeled if you are unsure of what an ingredient is or how it is derived.
Taking your little one to a restaurant is particularly tricky. Restaurants prepare and exhaustive list of foods and their focus is on selling to hundreds or thousands of people, not tailoring what they make for people with allergies. Restaurant desserts are known for having hidden ingredients or being processed in close proximity to food allergens, in particular chocolates. If you do wish to buy something at a restaurant to share with your allergic baby, be prepared to speak with a representative from your favorite restaurant. In many cases, it is wise to bring something you trust to feed your infant when you go out or just eat at home where you can control the menu.
Others who prepare meals for your infant include day care workers and teachers. As a parent, be sure that anyone who will be responsible for feeding your baby is clear on cross contamination issues and risks to the allergen sensitive baby. Contact family members, parents of your little one's friends who may be watching her and teachers so everyone knows about the danger of an allergic reaction to your infant.
As a parent of a baby with food allergies, it is your job to make them aware of the specialized food needs of your baby. To make matters simple, when your baby is going to be in the care of someone else, send packaged, allergy-safe foods for your baby to eat. When your baby gets old enough, you can help her understand the importance of saying “no thank you” when offered unfamiliar treats.
Keep in mind that baby food allergies can be triggered through something as simple as a kiss. So if your baby's favorite Aunt Cleo had PB&J before her Sunday afternoon visit, you and your baby could be in for an unscheduled trip to the emergency room. Its sad to impose such concerns on something as sweet as a kiss from a relative. But better safe than sorry.
Another point of consideration is vaccinations. If your young child has an egg allergy, she could be at risk of a reaction from flu shots. “Individuals with egg allergy may be at risk for an allergic reaction to H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines due to the egg content in the vaccine preparations,” reports Dr. Thomas Casale. Dr. Casale, Professor of Medicine and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and Chief of Allergy/Immunology at Creighton University in Omaha, admonishes parents of babies who are allergic to eggs to their baby's physician before having the infant vaccinated.
So what can we do to protect our babies with allergies from foods we purchase? These six suggestions were provided by The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network:
- Be on guard for unsuspected ingredients in any baby food that could contain an allergen that will set off a reaction in your infant.
- Recognize the early symptoms of an infant allergic reaction so you can stop the continued eating of that food before too much is consumed by your youngster.
- Always be prepared to handle an allergic reaction in your baby.
- Carry your baby's prescriptions with you wherever she goes and make sure those who are charged with her care are aware of medications.
- Teach others how they can help watch out for infant allergy contamination, particularly those who are in contact with your baby regularly.
- If your baby does have a dangerous food allergy reaction, waste no time. Get the infant to an emergency facility at the earliest signs of a reaction
It may sound cliché, but in the case of protecting an infant who has a food allergy, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.
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