Weaning & allergies!

[Erlouise]

Hello ….
starting my weaning journey with DD at the end of this month when she’s 6 months.

doing my homework and seen that if you have people in the family who suffer from eczema, hay fever etc, then to speak to GP / food allergy specialist before weaning.

DD’s uncle (DP’s brother) had eczema as a child and my brother & dad both get hayfever but something they both developed later in life as adults.

im just curious whether this would be a concern or not? I’ll contact the GP on Monday but just wanted to get others take on it as tbh im getting a bit worried and feeling a bit disappointed I didn’t look into this sooner!

thank you

No this isn't a concern or reason to delay weaning. Just crack on as normal!

Doi GP and allergy mum.

www.allergyuk.org/resources/weaning-support-pack/

Eczema wound only be relevant if baby has it and is moderate to severe generally. Allergy UK is good for reputable advice 🙂

Thank you both so much!

and thank you for the link! I will have a read. I did think I probably don’t need to worry too much but wanted to be safe than sorry.. thanks so much again ladies x

I wouldn't bother. My DH has anaphylactic allergies to several things and I mentioned this to the GP when we were close to weaning she got DD1 (I was there for an appointment for her for something else). He had no idea why I thought it would make a difference to weaning her, and neither did the two HVs I asked at the drop in weighing clinics. I presume you read the same NHS advice I did online which specifically says to check with a GP/HV if there's a family history, but none seemed to know why I was asking.
The advice from all three was to just introduce allergens one at a time, and watch out for any allergy signs - but that is the advice for all babies.

Allergies in my family, I have CMPA and Hayfever. Also allergic to house dust mites.

I just cracked on ad normal. Both DC do not have any allergies.

This guide from the Caroline Walker Trust gives some good guidance on weaning, including information on portion sizes, which can be hard to source.

Thank you both!
yes got the advice off the NHS website and also a PDF doc from unicef which said the same thing. Good to know that the advice doesn’t mean much lol.

and thank you for the link I will have a read through! X

The only precaution I would take is to introduce the allergens in the morning and on a week day which I what I would advise to everyone with or without family histories.

My daughter has food allergies identified during breastfeeding and this was the only precaution we had to take. Me and dad both have hayfever, dad and pat. Granddad are asthmatic and I have had 2 non-immune anaphylaxis due to a histamine release reaction/histamine intolerance. My daughters allergies are delayed and given gastric symptoms which are easily managed at home. It is also very rare to have an extreme reaction to the first exposure. Reactions usually get worse with repeated exposures. So I wouldn't be worrying excessively about it turning into a medical emergency. With both of my anaphylaxis reactions I had plenty of time to get medical help and support.