Duration of the allergic reaction
The food allergy falls like for example also a grass and pollen allergy into the category of the allergies of the immediate type (type I allergy), the most frequently encountered allergy form. It is characterized by a very fast onset of symptoms within seconds to minutes. Nevertheless, the first symptoms of a food allergy can also appear up to two hours after food intake. The reason for this is that the so-called ingestion allergens are often only released and absorbed by the body during the digestive process. The duration of the symptoms then varies greatly and can last from hours to a few days, depending on the symptom and the individual.
Food allergy in babies
Infants and toddlers are usually particularly affected by food allergies and suffer much more from diarrhea and vomiting than teenagers and adults. This is often accompanied by an impairment of their normal development, especially with regard to size and weight gain. Thus children suffering from celiac disease (a food allergy to gluten) are usually smaller than their peers.
Babies and children are typically affected by different allergies than adults. Above all, basic foods such as gluten, lactose, eggs and increasingly also soya are typical allergens for infants. In the case of severe sensitization, an allergy to breast milk may even occur, since breast milk can contain all the allergens that the mother takes in with her food.
The optimal nutrition of newborns consists for at least the first four months of life exclusively of mother’s milk, whereby the nursing mother should possibly do without risk food for the above-mentioned reason. Apart from this, special hypoallergenic food, so-called HA food, is available for babies who cannot be breastfed. However, their disadvantage is a very bitter taste.
Soy-based baby food is not recommended in any case, as soy is potentially allergenic. In fact, many children who suffered from food allergies in infancy and toddlers very often grow out of their allergies by the age of five. Nevertheless, these children seem to have a predisposition for allergic diseases, so that sensitization (to pollen, for example) or the occurrence of bronchial asthma later in life is not unlikely.
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