Making sure that our kids get the correct foods they need is very important, but it is also important to make sure that those foods do not cause an allergic reactions. Pediatric food allergies, which can sometimes lead to life-threatening situations, are increasing at a dramatic rate across the United States.

The author of a new study on the topic are unsure if the rise in reports of food allergies reflects an increase in actual prevalence or if better awareness of allergies has led more people to seek treatment for their symptoms. Whatever the cause may be, it is very clear that the number of children with food allergies has gone up 18 percent in recent years, and the number of people seeking treatment for food allergies at emergency departments or hospitals has tripled since 1993.

Amy Branum, who is the author of the study and a health statistician for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “People are more aware of food allergies today, and that could have something to do with it. But, when we looked at health-care surveys filled out by parents and those from the health-care sector, we saw the increase across the surveys so this may be more than just increased awareness.” The results of this new study were published on November 16 and will appear in the December print issue of Pediatrics.

Although many people still think of allergies as more of a nuisance than a serious health issue, food allergies in particular can be a very serious problem and in some cases life-threatening. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, the most common foods that people are allergic to include eggs, shellfish, peanuts, milk, tree nuts, and wheat.

Symptoms often appear within minutes after people eat a food that they are allergic to, however, it could take several hours before the reaction begins, according to the network. Some typical symptoms of a food allergies include swelling of the tongue or throat, breathing trouble, tingling sensation in the mouth, stomach cramping, hives, diarrhea or vomiting.

In the recent study, the researchers used information from four different national data sources to assess the current rate of food allergies that are occurring in the United States. The surveys included information from both the parents and the health-care providers, according to Branum. The researchers found that between the years of 1997 and 2007, the incidence of food allergies increased by 18 percent. The authors also noted that approximately 4 percent of the parents of U.S. children reported a digestive or food allergy in their child.

There was also an increase in the rates of which parents reported skin allergy known as eczema during this same time period. Approximately 8.9 percent of children in the U.S. had experienced a skin allergy in 2007, when compared with 7.9 percent in 1997. On the other hand, the health-care providers reported that the number of children that were being treated for food allergies had tripled, according to the data from 1993 to 2006.

The data included testing for immunoglobulin E, or IgE, which are antibodies in the blood for various foodstuffs, which can indicate a food allergy. The percentage of children that tested positive for IgE antibodies for peanut allergy was 9 percent, milk allergy was 12 percent, egg allergy was 7 percent and shrimp allergy was 5 percent.

Although IgE antibodies can indicate a potential food allergy, the test is often better at ruling out who does not have an allergy, Branum said. Also, a positive test does not mean that someone definitely has a food allergy, but suggests that the potential for the food allergy is present. The researchers also noted that Hispanic children had the lowest overall prevalence of food allergies but they had the greatest increases over time of parents that reported incidences of food allergies.

Branum said, “People should be aware that food allergy may really be increasing. If small children have symptoms when they eat a particular food, have that child checked out, particularly if they have co-occurring conditions like asthma and eczema.”

Dr. Jennifer Appleyard, who is the chief of allergy and immunology at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, said, “Food allergies are real. And it appears that the prevalence is rising.” She also noted that this would present various challenges. One challenge that already exists is the shortage of allergy specialists in many areas, Appleyard said. Another one, is that schools will have to gear up to take care of additional children that suffer from food allergies to ensure their safety during the school day and on field trips, she stated.

The parents who suspect their children to have a food allergy should first talk with their child’s primary care physician about their symptoms. The problem could just be food intolerance rather than an allergy, she stated. However, the child might need to be tested by an allergy specialist to make sure and get a definitive diagnosis.

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