Food Allergy in Toddlers Explained

My experience and observation of my children and that of others tells me that though we may want to give our toddlers a varied diet, 2-4% of the children in the age group of 1-3 years develop an allergy or intolerance to certain foods that they grow out with age.  Being an immune reaction to a particular food or foods, food allergies range from mild to severe, with some allergic reactions being life-threatening.

The most common food allergy is cow’s milk allergy or CMA that when undiagnosed distresses the infants and leaves the family anxious. Caused when the immune system identifies a protein in cow’s milk as harmful, its consumption triggers an allergic reaction that shows up as tummy pain, reluctant feeding, moderate to severe eczema, loose stools or constipation, with more severe symptoms being anaphylaxis and breathing problems.

Here are some of the symptoms that occur quickly include: 

• Breathing difficulties that express themselves as chest tightness, congestion, cough, and wheezing

• A flare up of eczema

• Hives

• Rashes, itching and redness of the skin

• Sudden diarrhea   nausea

• Nausea

• Swelling of lips tongue, face

Some symptoms that occur late include: 

• Abdominal pain or colic

• Mucus or blood in stools

• Constipation

• Loss of appetite

• Diarrhea

• Eczema

• Pallor

• Reflux

• Vomiting a few hours after a meal

It would be best to understand all about food intolerance that is different than food allergy; food intolerance is a reaction that is not connected with the immune system and is rarely life threatening. It could be a non-allergic reaction as a child’s inability to digest lactose in milk, or to tolerate high levels of acidity or other chemical factors such as histamine or salicylate in citrus fruits and vegetables like tomato.  

Causing a delayed reaction, symptoms could include headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, bloating and constipation or a harmless rash around the mouth. Some more of the foods that cause food intolerance in toddlers are cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, cereals containing gluten like wheat, rye, barley and oats, fish, some food additives, sesame seeds and soya.

A few things that you can do to manage a food allergies or intolerance:

Contact your family general practitioner in case your toddler shows signs and symptoms of food allergy/intolerance for diagnosis; he/she may refer you to a specialist or a specialist dietician.

The best way to manage food allergy is to fully avoid the food that has been diagnosed to cause allergy; some toddlers may however be able to tolerate small amounts without any harmful effects.

It is also very important to know the foods to be avoided and check food labels and know the level each food is to be avoided; a specialist dietician could help you in this regard.

A special mention is to be made about symptoms of cow milk allergy that are often mistaken for other common conditions such as colic and eczema caused by other conditions; their symptoms vary from baby to baby and could be immediate or delayed following exposure.

Cow’s milk allergy that is the most common food allergy in infants and young children is generally confused with lactose intolerance. While cow milk allergy is an immune system allergic reaction to the protein in cow’s milk; lactose intolerance is the inability of the digestive system to digest lactose a sugar in milk.

All these points would help you to correctly manage food allergies/ intolerance, however if symptoms do not still resolve it would help to consult the allergy clinic for reassessment and advice. Last, but most important realize that infants soon grow out of most food allergies including cow milk allergy.