If one of your children had food allergies, would you delay introducing this food to a baby sibling?

[crayon]

DS2 is allergic to various foods - most of which are foods I would normally want to include in a healthy diet (eggs, fish, tomato, citrus fruit). Would you delay giving these foods to your next baby?

I want to give DS3 fish soon, but am worried incase I should wait until he is much older.

Many thanks.

[mooshy]

How old is he now

[auntymandy]

just introduce one at a time and see what happens.
My eldest was allergic to all those. really made his skin bad etc. oh not eggs though.

[3andnomore]

Depends on the age, and at what age you introduced the food with ds2?
But if your child is over 6 month and you add food one by one...you should be o.k. if you look for signs of disagreement and respond in withdrawing that food.

[Chandra]

It depends, how old is DS3?

[nearlyfourbob]

I would wait the recommended times for all allergens for children who are allergic already, or have an increased risk of being so. So fish and eggs would be 2 years, wheat a year etc.

[iris66]

I wish I'd waited longer - DS is intolerant of everything the OP lists...and some.
He's only just (in the past week) able to tolerate tuna (the first "meat" he's not had a reaction with) at 13 mths! good luck!

BTW the hospital dietician advised me not to give cod until very late as apparently it's one of the most "allergic" fishes. HTH

[wb]

My ds is allergic to nuts. With any subsequent children I'd have them tested before introducing nuts but thats due to the possible severity of any reaction.

[tatt]

allergies to food aren't inherited, although you can inherit a tendency to alergy, and second and subsequent are less likely to be allergic than the first. Whether that is because the parents are clued up and avoid allergens for longer I don't know.

I introduced foods one at a time with my eldest child, that hadn't been enough and I wasn't running any risks with the second so they were weaned more carefully. I also gave them probiotics once I'd learnt that was a good idea. They don't have anaphylactic reactions so if I had a third I'd do it again. I'd be taking probiotics when pregnant and giving them to the baby probably from birth.

[crayon]

DS3 is six months, so obviously I wouldn't be giving eggs or citrus fruit yet, but would like to try fish soon.

DS3's allergies didn't seem to show at the time we first introduced those foods.

[crayon]

Thanks all.

Tatt - what do probiotics actually do in a child at risk?

Nearlyfourbob - are you really meant to wait 2 years before introducing fish and eggs to a child at risk of allergy? That is the first time I have heard that despite discussing allergies in our family with health visitors with DS1 and DS2. Is there a site that advises on this sort of thing?

[tatt]

significantly reduce the risk of allergy. To quote

" It has also been shown possible to halve the incidence of allergy in at-risk infants through administration of L. rhamnosus GG to expecting mothers and subsequently to their infants during the first half-year of life. " They look at eczema rather than food allergy but if probiotics work on one type of allergic response they may also work on others.

[malaleche]

Haven't read whole thread but i would definately take it slowly with the siblings of dc who had shown intolerance to anything.

[tatt]

I realise that I may have misled you. With one allergic child you are more likely than the average family to have another allergic child. However in families with allergies the first child is more likely to be allergic than the second and subsequent children.

[crayon]

TAtt - no probs, I don't think you misled me. By probiotics, do you mean yakult type stuff? Do you literally give a yakult to a baby, or is there a baby specific product you are meant to give?

Presumably subsequent children are less at risk due to the increased exposure to their environment from birth (if the reduction in the cleaning and sterilising with each additional child in our family is anything to go by)?

[Chandra]

I would definitively wait to introduce fish, the younger the child the more immature the gut is to digest protein, hence the guidelines for egg, fish, nuts, etc. Citrics are better avoided for longer.

The exposure to a less clean environment is, as far as I'm aware, still a very popular theory, although it is my belief that it may be true for environmental allergens. Food allergies are a bit different, the more exposure to the allergen you get the more likely the allergy develop further hence the need for restricted diets.

I wouldn't use yakult as it has far too much sugar, particularly for a young child, but there are some suplements especially formulated for children that come in powder form (to mix with food or milk) that are available through health shops.

HTH.

[Pitchounette]

Message withdrawn

[foxinsocks]

I did it very carefully second time round but didn't delay anything.

[tatt]

I gave mine the yakult like stuff once they were old enough for dairy produce. Didn't know enough about it before. If I had a baby now, though, I'd look for a liquid version that contains lactobaccillus rhamnosus. If I had trouble finding that I'd just get a different probiotic suitable for babies and move them to one with lactobaccillus rhamnosus once they were a bit older. There are definitely children's versions around but I'm not sure about a baby version. If anyone finds one can they post it as I have a relative who is hoping to be pregnant soon and I'll buy her some when she is.

Think I may try switching my kids on to lactobaccillus rhamnosus as well.

[mooshy]

I dont think you should be worried just yet if he is only 6 months old-DOh and WHO recommend exclusive breastfeeding or formula until now so only very bland foods over the next few months anyway.A bit of baby rice or pureed frit and veg-milk should still be the mainstay of his diet now.