Complementary food allergy-prone foods

When it comes to allergenic foods in the complementary feeding stage, there are currently 8 types of foods with high allergenic risks recognized by the global medical community, namely milk and dairy products, eggs (especially egg whites), peanuts, nuts, fish, shrimp, shellfish and other aquatic products, soybeans and soy products, wheat products, and sesame seeds.； The remaining fruits with burrs such as mango, pineapple, kiwi, and photosensitive vegetables such as celery and spinach also have a certain probability of allergy, but the overall risk is much lower than the above 8 categories. What many novice parents struggle with most is when to add these things and how to add them to avoid allergies. My baby just passed the complementary feeding period and there are a lot of parents and nurses around me. I will give you some details based on the guidelines I have checked and the pitfalls I have actually stepped on.

When I first started adding complementary foods, my mother kept whispering in my ears every day, saying that I had been allergic to eggs and had to go to the hospital when I was a child. She told my baby not to touch eggs or seafood until he was under 1 year old. Now the latest pediatric feeding guidelines clearly state that regardless of whether there is a family history of allergies, as long as the baby is over 6 months old, the tongue thrust reaction disappears, and the baby can sit firmly and hold things while eating, he or she can gradually introduce highly allergenic foods after adding complementary foods. Deliberate delay will miss the window period for inducing immune tolerance and increase the risk of long-term allergies. My best friend has been through this trap. The elderly at home insisted on adding eggs after the age of 1. As a result, the baby broke out in hives all over his body after eating boiled egg whites for the first time. After more than half a year of desensitization, the baby gradually recovered. I regret it every time I talk about it.

Don’t listen to some businesses bragging that their food supplements are “zero allergenic”. There is no absolutely safe food supplement. Foods containing protein have some risk of allergies. There is no need to dare not touch this or try that just because of the extremely low probability. I strictly followed the guide, first adding high-iron rice cereal, then adding root vegetables such as pumpkin and carrots, and it took almost a month before I even dared to touch the egg yolk. Then I chatted with a pediatric nurse I knew well, and she laughed and said that many nurses in their department gave babies complementary foods. In the second week, they dared to give the baby two licks of diluted peanut butter. Nothing happened to the baby. In fact, there is really no need to worry about the order of addition. As long as you only add one new food at a time and observe it for 2-3 days after eating, if there is no rash, frequent vomiting, abnormal diarrhea, or inexplicable irritability, you can safely add the next food. It is much more effective than sticking to rigid rules.

Let me talk about a few pitfalls that novices can easily fall into. Many parents think that soluble beans are a good food supplement for practicing grasping. However, the first time they feed their children, they become red and rash. When they turn to look at the ingredient list, they most likely include full-fat milk powder and egg white, which just hits the target of highly allergenic foods. The first time I bought Rongdou, I specifically chose the milk-free and egg-white version. I gave the baby a lick first, and then I dared to eat half a pill if there was no reaction the next day. There is no harm in being cautious, but there is no need to act like a big enemy. There was also a relative's child who had continuous diarrhea after eating wheat-based noodles for several days. The parents thought it was a cold at first, and they took gastrointestinal medicine for a long time to no avail. It was not until they stopped the noodles that the condition improved, and they realized it was a wheat allergy. You see, allergies are not just a rash. Rubbing the nose and eyes, crying inexplicably while sleeping, and blood in the stool may all be signs of allergies. Don't just look at the skin.

There is also a lot of controversy now. For example, some people think that if there is a history of allergies in the family, it is best to do an allergen test first and then arrange the order of additions. Some people think that the allergen test has too high a false positive rate, and it is not as accurate as directly testing a small amount of allergens. In fact, both opinions are reasonable. If your parents have severe allergic rhinitis, or your eldest child has severe food allergies, and you are really worried, you can first ask a child care doctor who is familiar with your baby's condition. There is no need to copy other people's experience.

To be honest, when I first started researching complementary foods, I was overwhelmed with various lists every day. One moment I said this must be added later, and the next moment I said that if I eat that, I will be allergic. Later, as I kept it, I realized that there are so many black and white rules? Foods that are prone to allergies are not a scourge. Some children are allergic to mangoes and are not allergic to vegetables. Some children can hold peanuts and eat eggs but become red. Individual differences are huge. Try slowly, observe more, and find a rhythm that suits your child better than anything else. After all, every child has a unique little body.