Food allergies can be scary. Here is an article from the NY Times on how to reduce your baby’s risk, understand allergy tests and respond to a reaction if it happens.

THE GIST

• A food allergy occurs when the body mounts a predictable immune response to a food. Peanuts, milk, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, soy, sesame, fish and shellfish are the most common.

• Babies are considered high-risk for developing peanut allergies, and likely others, if they have certain risk factors, such as severe eczema or another food allergy.

• If your child is high-risk, a pediatrician or allergist might recommend a blood or skin test before introducing peanuts.

• Be aware that false positives are exceedingly common on blood and skin allergy tests. A positive test requires follow-up with an allergist, who ideally will do an in-office food challenge to see if your baby is truly allergic.

• Introducing peanut products early can help prevent peanut allergy in high-risk babies. The goal for any baby is a diverse diet, including major allergens within the first year of life.

• Kids can outgrow some food allergies, and new treatments are being developed that offer hope of improving the lives of kids with persistent food allergies.

• In babies, hives and vomiting are the most common food allergy symptoms. Mild rashes or skin irritation are common and might not mean that your child is allergic to the food.