The Most Common Food Allergies to Look Out for In Children

With food allergies becoming more and more common in children, many parents are becoming concerned about potential allergens in their children’s food. You can’t just force your child to avoid common allergies out of fear, because that can unnecessarily complicate your child’s life and cause some anxiety for them. But what you can do is monitor your child when they eat particular foods to determine if they are actually allergic. Here are some common allergies for children that you can look out for:

Dairy – Symptoms of a milk allergy include hives, wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, an itchy skin rash around the mouth, or a runny nose.

Eggs – If you child is allergic to eggs, they will most likely develop skin inflammation or hives. Some less common symptoms include nasal congestion, cramps, nausea, and vomiting, or asthma-like symptoms. A more sever egg allergy could result in anaphylaxis, where the child will be unable to breathe.

Peanuts & Tree Nuts – This is the allergy that most parents are concerned with, as it can be potentially life-threatening. In addition to anaphylaxis (which is not very common), you should also look out for itchy skin and hives, nausea, itching or tingling in the mouth or throat, and a runny nose.

Soybeans – An allergy to soybeans can present itself with hives and itching, tingling in the mouth, swelling in face, lips, tongue, or throat, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, or skin redness.

Wheat – Wheat allergies, or intolerance to gluten, can cause digestive issues (particularly constipation in children), keratosis pilaris (small red dots on the back of the arms), and fatigue after eating a meal, or mood issues.

If you are concerned that your child has one of the above allergies, visit our Allergy, Asthma, & Sinus center for food allergy testing in Somerset County, NJ.