QUESTION: There’s a student in my 8-year-old son’s class who has an egg allergy and now none of the students can bring anything to class that has anything with eggs in it. A student last year had a peanut allergy. I don’t remember any kids having these kinds of allergies when I was growing up. Are they becoming more common? Why?
DR. RASKIN: Your question is both relevant and truly eggs-traordinary! You are absolutely correct that more children in the U.S. are developing food allergies. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of kids with food allergies went up by 18 percent from 1997 to 2007. There are currently about 3 million children younger than 18 with a food allergy. Most food allergies are caused by peanuts and other nuts, seafood, milk, eggs, soy and wheat. The good news is that most kids will outgrow their food allergies as they get older. But, that is not true for all. Some kids will have these allergies for the rest of their lives.
A food allergy happens when the child’s immune system makes a mistake. Instead of fighting off intruders such as bacteria and viruses, the immune system treats something in a certain food as if it’s a danger. Then, antibodies are made to fight off the invader.
When the body is exposed to the food, the immune system releases chemicals such as histamine, which causes symptoms from sneezing and runny nose to hives, diarrhea and respiratory distress.
Other signs could include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and cough. In the most serious cases, food allergies can cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition where breathing tubes can narrow and the tongue can swell.
Parents of kids with food allergies need to be prepared for this severe reaction, and should have an emergency medicine on hand called epinephrine, which can be life-saving.
If you are not sure whether your child has a food allergy, you can take them to an allergist for skin testing or a blood test. This, along with an observed reaction to the food, will help the doctor determine if the child is truly allergic.
The underlying reason for this increase in cases is still a mystery, although there are several theories that scientists have proposed. One theory has to do with the diet of Western industrialized nations, and the difference in the bacteria in our guts compared to less industrialized nations, such as those in Africa where there are far fewer cases of food allergies.
Because the Western diet contains more sugar, animal fat and calorie-dense foods, there is much less diversity in the bacteria found in the intestines of our children. This may lead to their immune system seeing more foods as “foreign” and creating the immune response of the allergic reaction.
Another theory is that children need to be exposed to common allergens, such as nuts and shellfish, from a much earlier age to avoid developing allergies.
One study tried to figure out why Israeli children had far fewer peanut allergies than those in the United Kingdom. When comparing peanut allergies among children in England and Israel, it was discovered that 69 percent of the Israeli kids received peanuts by nine months of age versus the 10 percent of kids in the U.K.
Therefore, some in the field are suggesting exposing our children to these foods at a much earlier age to help ward off possible future allergies.
More research needs to be done to get to the bottom of these important questions. In the meantime, life can be hard for kids who can’t have peanut butter and jelly or French toast. So, teach your kids to be understanding, empathetic…and eggs-ceptional.
Palisadian Damon Raskin, M.D., is a board-certified internist who offers preventative medicine, concierge services and addiction medicine to patients in and around the Palisades. Contact: (310) 459-4333. To submit your medical questions, email info@palipost.com.
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