Over 50? Keeping Up With Your Healthcare Needs

Does Your Child Have A Food Allergy? Here Are Some Lesser-Known Symptoms

12 August 2015

Nellie Ryan

Allergies are more common than people think, especially food allergies. In fact, it is very common for young children to exhibit food allergies in the first couple years of their life. However, many parents assume that if their child has an allergy, that the child will have a severe reaction, such as anaphylaxis. Although some children do have severe reactions that cause troubled breathing and anaphylaxis, some of the symptoms are much more subtle. Here are some of the lesser-known symptoms of allergies and what you should look for in your child.

1. Eczema

Some people mistakenly think that eczema is a skin condition that their child is predisposed to get. Although eczema is a skin condition that afflicts some people despite treatment and changes in lifestyle, many times the eczema is actually a sign of a food allergy.

For example, people who have allergies to milk might exhibit eczema. The flare-ups could happen immediately after consuming the milk or it could be days later. This is why many parents fail to link the two together, because of the delayed reaction. Thus, if your child has eczema, you might consider that it could be caused by food. 

2. Anxiety

When a person consumes food that they are allergic to, it will jump-start the immune system. Many times when the immune system is in effect, it will cause the person to have an impending sense of doom or even an anxiety attack. An adult may be able to articulate the feelings that they are having, but a young child will not. Instead, the child may become irritable, excessively cry, become agitated or have behavioral problems.

Once you eliminate the food that the child is allergic to, you might notice he or she become better behaved, cry less and is an overall happier child.

3. Digestive Problems

If the child is severely allergic to something, they will reject it right away. For instance, a person severely allergic to peanuts might vomit and experience swelling and itching immediately after the peanut is consumed. But if the allergy isn't that severe, it can actually go through the digestive system, wrecking havoc the whole way. The individual might experience constipation, or excessive diarrhea as well as stomach pain.

If your child is having digestive problems, you may want to try an elimination diet to determine if food is the cause or talk with an immunology doctor.

These are just three of the lesser-known symptoms that parents should be on the lookout for. 

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