When Your Child Doesn’t Have a Food Allergy, but Still has Symptoms The inside story on food intolerance and sensitivity By Virginia Olson
MILK. EGGS. WHEAT. SOY. TREE NUTS. PEANUTS. SHELLFISH. FISH....
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or most individuals, this list looks like a mix of food groups. To a parent whose child has food allergies, these foods are culprits. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, approximately 90% of all food allergies are caused by these eight foods. For parents learning that their child has been diagnosed with a true food allergy, it is not good news; still, it IS an answer to why their child has an abnormal response of the body to a certain food. From this point on, parents know every time their child has this particular food, they will have the same allergic reaction. But for parents to learn that there is no food allergy but something else, it is frustrating. What is that “something else?”
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“The answer may be a food intolerance and/or food sensitivity,” says Dr. Daniel Todd, a physician at Midwest ENT & ALLERGY. “Kids may experience many of the same symptoms with food allergies and food intolerances, but the two are not the same diagnosis.” An allergic reaction triggers the immune system response, whereas food intolerances involve the digestive system, Dr. Todd explains. An allergic reaction occurs when the body wrongly thinks a food like peanuts or shellfish is dangerous. The body’s immune system mounts a defense against the allergen. The defense can be mild to moderate, causing hives, vomiting, dizziness. It also can be life-threatening or deadly when it triggers breathing difficulties or anaphylactic shock. Treatment can be immunologic therapy with gradual exposure to small amounts of the allergen through oral drops.
