Food Allergies Continue to Occur in Children Even If Parents are Aware of Them
Researchers at National Jewish Health in Denver observed 512 infants between 3 months to 15 months old who were diagnosed with or suspected to be allergic to milk, eggs or peanuts. The researchers followed the infants over a period of 36 months and found that 72 percent of the babies had at least one allergic reaction while 53 percent had more than one.
In total there were 834 allergic reactions to milk, eggs or peanuts during the study period of which 87 percent were due to accidental exposures while majority of intentional exposures were found in teenagers who were embarrassed about their allergies.
"Intentional exposures to allergenic food are typically reported in teenagers, who tend to take more risks or who might be embarrassed about their food allergy. What is troubling is that in this study we found that a significant number of young children received allergenic foods from parents who were aware of the allergy", lead researcher David Fleischer said.