More and More Children Becoming Vulnerable to Food Allergies

According to Dr Jim Harris, an allergist from South bend Clinic, the number of children vulnerable to food allergies has tripled over the last ten years.

Out of fifteen million people diagnosed with food allergies, 1 in 13 have been found to be kids.

This has increased the need for parents take a closer look at children's dietary requirements. This is holds especially true for new parents.

Trial studies conducted in Houston and London recommend early intervention and also support the creating of new guidelines. Authorities feel that this could reduce the rate of peanut allergies in kids.

"The recommendation for feeding children for years has been to wait until they are a year-old to introduce certain foods, milk, eggs and peanuts," said Dr. Harris. "That may have been the wrong thing to do. When in fact, what we should have done was introduce those things early in life before the immune system develops its defenses. So they develop a tolerance to that."

"These guidelines are fairly urgent change because the food allergy instance is growing so quickly and so rapidly it really has become an epidemic," said Dr. Harris.

Dr Harris goes on to add, "The most exciting development that's going to come out hopefully in the near future is a patch, a peanut patch, where you actually put it on the skin. A small amount of peanut is absorbed through the skin and overtime you develop a tolerance and reduce the allergy to peanut in the patient who's wearing the patch."

Parents of kids diagnosed with food allergies also agree changes need to be brought in. Schools could be better prepared to deal with any peanut related allergies.

"25 percent of kids that have not been diagnosed will have their first allergic reaction at school, and 18 percent of kids that are diagnosed have already had reactions at school," said Erica Andert, of the Michiana Food Allergy and Anaphylactic Support group.