Has one of your children recently been diagnosed with a food allergy? Are you waiting for an appointment with an allergist, to discuss the situation? Having topics to discuss with your child's allergist can help to increase your understanding of his or her condition. Here are a few things you may want to think about before your appointment:
Having all of your children tested: A food allergy can be inherited, meaning that your children are at a greater risk for allergies if you or your spouse have them. If one of your children has an allergy, your other children could have inherited a similar allergy as well. Since it can take several different factors to combine before a food allergy develops or is noticed, you may not even realize that there are allergies at work. For example, a severe milk allergy in one child may include hives and wheezing after a product that contains dairy is ingested. But if another child simply gets the occasional itchy eyes or a runny nose after eating a bowl of cereal, you may not even realize that they could be allergic.
A food allergy can develop suddenly: Although most food allergies develop in childhood, they can appear suddenly and without warning in adults. If one of your children has an allergy, you and your spouse should consider being tested as well. This will allow you to find out whether your child inherited it from you. If they did inherit it, testing may be able to show whether or not you should be worried about developing a more severe form of the allergy at some point in the future and whether your other children may inherit allergies as well.
Your child may outgrow their allergy: Approximately 1/5th of children with a food allergy may outgrow it later in life. A blood test may be able to show whether or not the allergy could be outgrown in the future. If they have the potential to outgrow it, they will still need to be monitored by a doctor in order to confirm whether or not they have. But a child who is allergic to peanuts today may grow up to be able to enjoy a peanut butter sandwich with his or her siblings. If your child is upset at not being able to enjoy the same foods as his or her friends, he or she may be somewhat mollified by the prospect of maybe being able to eat these foods in a few years. If you choose to share this knowledge with your child, make sure that he or she understands that eating the forbidden food before their doctor allows it could be dangerous and might make them very sick.
For more information, contact an allergy specialist like Alidina Laila MD.
Share23 July 2015
My parents taught me healthy eating habits and I played outside a lot as a kid. Once I was old enough to work, I got a job as a waiter at a restaurant and kept waiting tables throughout high school and college. After college, I got my very first desk job, and my health started declining. I soon realized that even though I had never stepped foot in a gym, I was living a sedentary lifestyle for the first time in my life. I wasn't getting exercise playing outside or running around at work, so I decided to commit to going to the gym. My health began to improve and I now greatly enjoy bodybuilding. I know many other people are in ill health and can't figure out why, so I decided to start a blog to share my health tips and inspire everyone improve their health!
