Food allergies-why so many? Just wondering b/c

[Nooknookmom]

w/ DD (11 yo) I have never heard of so many! Even with all my friends kids before I had DD, I have not heard of so many allergies. Peanut yes, but not all these other ones. The only thing my ped. told us not to give DD till she was a year was honey.

I'm very curious b/c I'm having another one here soon and it's kinda freaking me out!

Any ideas?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I know there was a little something about this recently on here (link??). There are new thoughts coming out that delaying exposure to the allergens for so long is part of the problem. Kids aren't being sensitized. It's all very confusing and I don't know if anyone has a great answer. There sure do seem to be a lot more food allergies nowadays than when I was growing up.

Beth

[o_mom]

JMHO, but here is my take.

1. Food allergies are diagnosed more now. In the past unless you had severe symptoms few doctors would diagnose food allergies. Many kids with food allergies do not have classic 'allergy' symptoms such as hives, wheezing, etc. Irritability, eczema, colic, hyperactivity, sinus congestion are all possible indicators of food allergy, but many times were not considered 'real' allergies. The increased use of blood tests and emphasis on diagnosis has made for better diagnosis.

2. Awareness - along with #1, now you have parents requesting more considerations for kids at school and daycare, not to mention more kids in daycare.

3. Some things that may or may not be linked to it, I can't say for sure...

Over cleanliness - there is evidence that exposure to dirt and germs is actually beneficial.
Immunizations - the number of immunizations that children receive has increased dramatically in the last 20 years and they are given much earlier.
Increased exposure to some allergens - peanuts and soy, for example, are almost impossible to avoid and with the increase in pre-packed foods in children's diets, they are exposed to these in much larger quanities and much earlier than previous generations.
Increased chemical exposures - increases in the use of plastic and other chemical sources. In tandem with this, new energy efficiency standards mean that indoor air quality has gone down because the houses are sealed up tight.

[anamika]

I have been wondering about this myself so I'm curious to see what other people say.
Just extrapolating on my experience being Indian -

> Over cleanliness - there is evidence that exposure to dirt
>and germs is actually beneficial.

I think is a huge factor (JMPO). We grew up in India and food allergies are extremely rare. Kids in India are exposed to all kinds of germs and have robust immune systems. DH and I were also a bit germ-conscious when DD was younger. But since DD was diagnosed with multiple mild allergies to everything and has severe eczema, we have completely backed off. We follow basic hygeine but don't whip out the Purell all the time. We even make her sit in the shopping cart without a cover (we're that far gone ;))


Another thing I wanted to mention is that peanuts are consumed all over India but peanut butter is unheard of. I know that the way peanuts are treated and the varieties of peanuts used here make them nore allergenic.

[jgriffin]

There is a possible connection between soy and peanut allergies. We use a lot of soy products here in the US (in formula, prepared foods, and skin products) that could be priming babies systems for peanut allergies.

This is an old article (4yo at this point!), but it has some interesting info on the peanut-soy link http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030315/food.asp

[Nooknookmom]

Kind of what I was thinking as well. Lack of exposure, etc., etc.

I remember when I was growing up my parents (Dad esp.) would NOT let me near dirt/grass/the outdoors. Guess who has horrible allergies/hives to those things?! My cousin OTOH was raised in a dirt-box (so it seemed) and is just fine.

Can't win can we, lol!

Thanks for all the info everyone!