FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN

Issue 1

Food
Allergies
In Children

Issue Date

Ed

EDUCATE YOURSELF TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD

THE 101 ON FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN

Be In The Known
by Adrianna Duran

Imagine this. You go out to eat one day,

to try something new with your child.
You order for you and your child. Once
your food comes you dive in to try this
new dish you wanted to give a try. You
taste seafood in the dishshrimp it
seems to be. You realize your child has
never had shrimp and you hope they like
it. They seem to like it but suddenly get
rather quiet. Their face seems to change
and you realize something is wrong. You
ask with urgency. All you get is that they
cannot seem to breathe. You panic and
rush them to the hospital. Nurses ask
what happened, you let them know. Any
allergy they ask. You think of course not,
at least you think, you start to wonder,
you do not know anymore. Hours later
once your child is stabilized, the doctor
confirms it; your child has any allergy.
You panic and do not know what to think
or what will happen.

If you are a parent with a child with

allergies, it is okay to not know and worry
a little. You are new to this and it is okay!
Whether you learn early on of your childs
allergy, because of your own allergy, or
whether you learn later on of your childs
allergy, a complete shock as described
above, it is important that once you settle
into this new challenge you educate and
inform yourself fully. So that this
transition can run smoothly for both you
and your child and to protect your child
from ever experiencing any harm from
their allergen.

Ways To Prevent Reactions

To control an allergic reaction an EpiPen is used.

Page 3

Getting Tested
Should always be done by a professional.

Page 5

FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN | Issue 1

Brief Overview
WHAT IS A FOOD ALLERGY?
First lets define a few things.
An allergen is any substance that can
induce an allergy. They basically cause
the allergy.
An allergy is an abnormal reaction of the
body to an allergen.
The immune system is the system in the
body that fights to protect against
germs, viruses, or anything of that
matter which can lead to you being sick.
So in this case a food allergy is a reaction
of the body caused by an allergenfood.
The reaction of the body occurs because
the immune system is triggered by
something in a certain food and is seen as
a danger, so in allergic reaction occurs.

Peanuts, Wheat, Seafood | Google Images

Peanuts
Wheat
Soy
Eggs
Milk
Seafood
Any food can be an allergen. But the ones
listed above are the most common food
allergies seen in children.

FUN FACTS
President Barack Obamas daughter
Malia Obama has a peanut allergy.

POSSIBLE ALLERGENS

Allergic Reactions

Google Images

Just like how every child is different and

unique an allergic reaction also differs
from child to child. They can depend on
the child, the food, or both. They can
occur right away as soon as you come in
contact with the food or hours later. They
can be mild, moderate, or severe.
A mild reaction can involve a runny nose,
a breakout of itchy skin rashes, or a
tingling feeling on the tongue or lips.
A moderate reaction can involve
tightness in the throat, coughing,
vomiting, stomach pain.

A severe reaction can involve more than

one of the following above and also can
result with the dropping of the childs
blood. Breathing, digestion, blood
vessels, the skin, and the heart can all be
involved and can be life-threatening. This
experience is called anaphylaxis.
FUN FACTS
Kourtney Kardashians son Mason Disick
had an allergic reaction to peanut butter
when he was just 11 months old, and
resulted in him having to be rushed to the
hospital.

FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN | Issue 1

Ways To Prevent
Reactions
MEDICINE
Currently there is no known medicine or
treatment for food allergies. However
there is medication to help control an
allergic reaction in an emergency case,
which is epinephrine. It is usually in the
form of a pen, which makes it very easy
to have on hand when needed.

Allergen Statement
Google Images

Always Ask
Google Images

READ LABELS
When dealing with a food allergy an
important step in preventing an allergic
reaction is watching what you eat. Not
only that but to read what you are eating.
Yes reading the labels is always
important. Learning to always check the
label is a habit you want to acquire. The
information you want to look at is usually
below the ingredients list on either the
wrapper, box, can or whatever it may be.
The most common allergens are usually
clearly listed, as well as if the product
were manufactured in the same factory
as an allergen.
ASK
The most important and most critical
step in insuring your childs health is
never at risk is asking. Never be shy.
Whether it be at a social event or whether
it be at a restaurant, ask if you are
concerned that your childs allergen
could possibly be in the food they are
going to consume.

Facts
4 out of every 100 children have a
food allergy
Food allergies do not differ within a
gender
Over time food allergies have
become more and more common
among children in the U.S

Hispanic children have lower rates

of food allergies than non- Hispanic
children
From 2004 to 2006 there were
approx. 9,500 food allergy related
hospital discharges per year among
children under the age of 18

Children with food allergies are

more likely to have asthma or other
related conditions than children
with no food allergies
From 1997 to 2007 food allergies
have increased in children under
the age of 18 by 18%

FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN | Issue 1

Why So Many Food Allergies?

There are three main theories that
suggest why food allergies are
reoccurring so much more frequently
overtime. The three speculated theories
are the hereditary theory, the hygiene
hypothesis, and the GMO theory. The
three theories show three distinct views
with one thing in common, time.
HEREDITARY THEORY
As humans we are all alike. We are who
we are based partly on our parents, they
as theirs and so on. We inherit many
traits and things from them. So with this
in mind the first theory to while food
allergies occur is that they are inherited.
The supporting reason to this theory is
that food allergies usually run
throughout families.

organisms are being introduced to the

food supply it is in turn affecting the
health. This theory is not yet to concrete
because it has been determined by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration that
these genetically modified organisms are
not harmful.
The three theories are merely suggested
they are not concrete or have been
determined the exact cause by anyone.
One may be more believable than the
other theory and one may be more
concrete and supported by facts than the
other. To which theory one would favor,
would be completely up to their views on
the matter.

THE THREE THEORIES

Hereditary Theory| Family

Google Images

HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS
If we think back to our ancestors and their
way of living we can see many differences
to our modern way of living. One
difference is how much more sanitized
everything is today. Which leads to the
second theory, the second theory implies
that because we are in an age where
everything is rather clean, our bodys
immune system is not being exposed to
big germs or something to fight off. This
in turn leads to the overreaction that it
takes to substances in food when in
contact, allergic reactions.

Hygiene Hypothesis|Hand Washing

Google Images

GMO THEORY
Over time the agricultural production has
evolved tremendously. It has gone from
limited quantities and natural resources
to mass production and chemically
produced results. This leads to the third
theory, the GMO (genetically modified
organisms) theory. It states that because
these chemicals and genetically modified

GMO Theory | Potato

Google Images

FOOD ALLERGIES IN CHILDREN | Issue 1

Getting Tested
Whether you suspect a food allergy or a new
one you should always go in to see a doctor
or specialist.
A doctor/ specialist would test to whether
you have the food allergy or not to a
suspected allergen. First, they would start off
with questions; they would want to know
your problem with the suspected allergen,
when you consumed it, where you consumed
it, how long the reaction took place after you
consumed it, and so on. After that they
would ask about your family history.
After hearing and evaluating all that the
doctor/ specialist would go on to perform a
test. The test involves being scratched on
different spots on the skin and going in to
place the allergen or a liquid of the allergen
on the skin. If the spot of skin exposed turns
red or shows signs of an allergic reaction it is
a great possibility of a food allergy. However

not in all cases is it certain therefore the

doctor/ specialist may give you the allergen
to consume to ensure a sure allergic reaction.
One should never perform this test on their
own. Always go to a doctor/ specialist to
avoid a tragedy. If you do have an allergic
reaction being with medical help they could
give you medicine to control it, being on your
own you may not be able to control the
allergic reaction.
An alternative test could also occur. A
doctor/ specialist could do a blood test. They
would mix a sample of your blood and a
sample of the suspected allergen to
determine if there is a food allergy.

Google Images

Works Cited
Branum, Amy M., and Susan Lukacs. Food Allergy Among U.S. Children [Electronic
Resource] : Trends In Prevalence And Hospitalizations / Amy M. Branum And Susan
L. Lukacs. n.p.: Hyattsville, MD : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, [2008],

Food
Allergies
In Children

2008. Government Printing Office Catalog. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.

Family Food Allergies 101 - CNN.Com. CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 14 Oct.
2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/03/health/family-food-allergies/index.html>
Smallwood, Jordan C., ed. Food Allergies. KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about
children's health. The Nemours Foundation, Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
<http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/food_allergies.html>
Understanding Food Allergy. Understanding Food Allergy. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodallergy/understanding/pages/default.aspx>

Adrianna Duran
Mrs. Scaife
Composition I
17 October 2015