Peanuts threaten the lives of children !!
We often hear about food allergies and that some people can not eat eggs or milk for example because they are allergic to it. Many people complain of food problems in their babies and are allergic to it, although the real food allergies are relatively rare.
Recent statistics indicate that food allergies have increased in recent years. Scientists attributed the increase to new food products and increased use of food additives to environmental factors such as increased environmental pollution and the use of chemicals in agriculture.
What is the reality of food allergies, and what are their symptoms and effects on children? What foods can children feel?
Allergy or intolerance:
In fact, there are two main terms that are highly confusing: food intolerance and food allergies, and the main difference between these two conditions is the nature of the body's reaction to food.
Food Intolerance:
It is the inability of the body to tolerate a certain food and the occurrence of undesirable effects such as diarrhea and vomiting when eating this food, and result from the inability of the body to digest and represent the food intake, often because of enzymatic deficiency such as lactose intolerance caused by the absence of lactase enzyme Essential for the metabolism of lactose sugar. Food intolerance may be caused by contamination of food with germs and toxins or containing certain substances that are drug-effective.
Food Allergy Food Allergy:
It is a special type of food intolerance and is considered an immune reaction caused by a strong interaction between the antigen (usually a food protein) and antibody. This reaction contributes to the release of histamine responsible for most clinical manifestations.
How sensitive is the food?
The prevalence of food allergies in infants is more than that of adults, which is high in children with dermatitis. The prevalence varies according to different studies and ranges from 4 to 20%. As mentioned, recent statistics indicate an increase in the prevalence of food allergies. In France, More than twice as many as five years ago.
What foods cause allergies?
There are a large number of foods that may cause allergies, but the most common of these foods are cow's milk, eggs and peanut peanuts. These three foods make up 75% of allergy foods, and other foods are soy, walnuts, fish, oysters, chicken and wheat.
Cow milk intolerance Cow Mlik Intilerance:
This condition is seen in young infants and has a prevalence rate of about 1 - 50%. It is seen in males more than females and is common in families where allergic diseases are common (asthma and atopic dermatitis)
1 - digestive symptoms are the main symptoms usually where the child occurs in diarrhea and vomiting, agitation and colic which may be severe, and may occur with time malabsorption and failure of growth and digestive bleeding.
2 - Skin symptoms such as dermatitis, urticaria and eczema.
3 - respiratory manifestations (asthma - rhinitis).
This condition disappears in 50% of the cases around the age of the year and most of the rest will be cured within two years.
The occurrence of symptoms is associated with the amount of milk consumed by the child, and may be able to bear the child's small amounts of milk.
Dehydration of cow's milk from food leads to the disappearance of symptoms. In some cases, cow's milk protein may be passed through mother's milk (if the mother has taken cow's milk) and the removal of cow's milk from the mother's diet in this case causes the child to decline symptoms.
Allergy to peanuts:
Allergy to peanuts may be serious and lead to a severe allergic reaction called Anaphylactic Shock, which can be deadly if not treated quickly. Allergy is characterized by difficulty breathing, edema, hypotension and shock. This condition can occur within minutes of the sensitive substance, but this condition is rare. and thank God.
Allergy to peanuts lasts a lifetime as opposed to the sensitivity to other foods that can usually go away with time. It is important to note that peanut oil is widely used and may sometimes contain part of the sensitive protein, so it should also be avoided.
Allergies to food additives:
There are many industrial substances that may be added to food products manufactured to save or give them certain flavors, and may cause these allergies sometimes, and is attributed to excessive amounts of behavioral disorders in children and these substances Tartarazine (E102) Tartrazine and benzoic acid (E210) These substances can trigger asthma attacks and chronic urticaria in children.
Diagnosis:
The diagnosis depends largely on the detailed story, and the reaction that always occurs after eating a particular food and does not happen with others or at another time of good evidence of the sensitivity of this food usually clinical examination usually only if the child reviewed the case of allergic shock, Diagnosis is what we call the food challenge test. Food that is believed to be allergic to the child's food is canceled. After clinical improvement after 2 weeks, this food is usually returned again. If symptoms reappear, this indicates the diagnosis. Carries a certain gravity (s D) sometimes causes severe allergic shock). Therefore, it is performed only under medical supervision, and the doctor alone decides when and how to administer the test. Other diagnostic tests may be used by the doctor in some cases:
1 - Skin tests (tingling test - scratching).
2 - Measure the level of lgE (artificial globulin sensitivity) in the serum.
3. Bowel biopsy.
the cure
There is no cure for the lack of food, and the main measure is to avoid allergenic food, and this needs to change the daily routine in the family and efforts of parents to apply this issue.
In fact, the decision to prevent food is dependent on several factors: the severity of the relapse of the food and the extent of confirmation of the diagnosis in addition to other conditions for each case related to parents and the patient.
Parental education is the basis of management and must also include patient education (if appropriate) and school staff (administration and teachers).
Conclusion:
1) Food allergies can lead to a serious life-threatening condition, namely, allergic shock.
2) Allergy to peanuts may last a lifetime but the sensitivity to other foods may go away with time.
3) There are no special medicines that cure food allergies.
4) The only prevention of food allergies is to avoid food allergens and the only treatment is to control the symptoms after they occur.
5) Sensitivity to food disappears in 90% of cases at the age of 3 years.
6) It is generally recommended that, when a positive family sense story exists, the pregnant mother avoids peanut-rich foods and delayed the introduction of various foods and egg whites into the child's food beyond the age of the year, all aimed at reducing the risk of developing food allergies in the infant.
Dr.. Emad Mohammed Zoukar
Pediatrician - Department of school health for boys in Riyadh
Director of the school health unit in Harimla
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