Preventing Allergies in High Risk Children

Filed in archive Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on May 14, 2008

Yes, the stork delivered us a baby girl two weeks ago!

It's been a topsy-turvy couple of weeks, but my girl is as fabulous as they make 'em! Naturally, with my first-born having had multiple food allergies, asthma, and atopic dermatitis, I am curious whether she'd have allergies too. She's considered to be on a "high risk" for developing allergies, and to be safe, I am acting as if she already does. I watch what I eat, avoiding possible allergens especially nuts, as I am breastfeeding her and nut proteins are known to be passed on via the breastmilk. Come to think of it, avoiding nuts is not all that difficult for me to do anyway, as I our home is virtually nut-free since we learned of my first-born's nut allergies. Also, I intend to exclusively breastfeed for a full 6 months before introducing solid foods - a recommendation for children at high risk of allergic diseases.

Will all these precautionary steps assure me of an allergy-free child? Of course not. It could be that genetics may be a stronger determinant in our case. At this point, I can just hope that she gets the luck of the draw.

Photo Credit: Jenny Rollo