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Food Allergies The chance that your child will have a food allergy of one kind or another is about one in twenty, one in ten if you or your partner have food allergies—not insignificant probabilities when it’s your wee one we’re talking about. Immediate symptoms may include itchy/swollen throat, sneezing, and watery eyes. (In very rare instances, food can cause anaphylactic shock, in which a child’s throat will swell to the point of obstructing breathing and a sharp decrease in blood pressure occurs.) Other symptoms may take up to a few days to surface, and they include skin rashes, stomach cramps, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. The majority of food allergies are caused by the following:
•• Dairy products
Less-common culprits:
•• Citrus fruits
•• Berries
•• Egg whites
•• Chocolate
•• Peanuts
•• Cinnamon
•• Soy products
•• Mustard
•• Shellfish
•• Peas
•• Artificial additives
•• Pork
•• Tree nuts (walnuts, cashews,
•• Sugar
almonds, etc.)
•• Wheat
•• Tomatoes •• Yeast