Early weaning and severe allergies

[HEIHEI23]

I have a 3 month old and am starting to look at weaning. I have seen a few articles saying that introducing allergens at 4 months can significantly reduce the chance of developing an allergy to it. This was for children who are at higher risk of allergies. I have had severe allergies since I was a child (carry an EpiPen) and my husband has severe eczema and asthma that he takes a weekly immune suppressant injection for.

Has anyone got any advice on who we would speak to about if we should do this? Our health visitor just said flat out no to anything before 6 months. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I'm desperate for him to avoid the childhood me and my husband had due to allergies!

We have allergies and I weaned at 6 months. Slightly younger with DC2 as they were showing all the signs of readiness, mainly by grabbing some food and eating it as quickly as she could!

Someone with more knowledge on the research will be along soon but I've heard that a lot of the research associated with early weaning is funded by the companies selling prepared (usually UPF) baby foods or does simply not hold up to any rigor.

Thank you for your reply!! Were your children ok with food when you weaned them? I just want him to avoid all the upset we both had as kids! The ones I've been looking at are suggesting introducing just a tea spoon of an allergen a couple of times a week rather than food pouches x

Yea they've both been fine with no allergies, thankfully. We thought that DC1 had non-IGE CMPA for a while but it turned out that the symptoms were caused by Tongue Tie

I've heard MNers say things like they use a mixed nut butt and put a small amount in their food but I don't know how effective that is.

I researched this subject a lot with my first as I was also worried about allergies (partner has eczema and lactose intolerant). There is pretty good evidence that introducing allergens before 12 months reduces the risk of developing allergies, particularly peanut and egg. For babies at higher risk of allergies (usually defined as babies who already have eczema and/or other diagnosed allergy) there is also evidence that introducing the allergens between 4-6 months has additional benefits. The findings are based on two big UK studies (LEAP and EAT), I've posted some links below which explain things pretty well.

In our case, we started at about 5 months with milk, then egg, then peanut, wheat and sesame. We first did a skin test, and if there was no reaction, then mixed a tiny bit in with baby rice/ porridge. Obviously make sure you are aware of symptoms to watch out for, and I always did this at a time when I knew we would be at home for a while and he had just woken from a nap. Our experience is just a single data point, of course, but he is now 5yo and has no allergies, despite having eczema and the family history.

Hope this is helpful!

www.bsaci.org/resources/allergy-management/food-allergy/allergy-prevention/early-introduction-of-food-allergens/

www.allergyuk.org/resources/weaning-and-introducing-your-baby-onto-solids-factsheet/

There's no history of allergies in my family, but I have seen how hard it is for children WITH peanut allergies, and world like to avoid it for my LO if possible! Following these studies, I also decided to wean early (but very, very slowly) so I could introduce allergens while my LO was still predominantly breastfed (which seems to provide some additional protection). I've been using the Biona mixed nut butter, started with tiny amounts (1/4 teaspoon) mixed in to porridge or fruit purée.

If you're breastfeeding they will be exposed to any allergen you eat anyway. I wouldnt early wean unless guided to do so by a paedeatrician.

I think the UK is still the outlier with the 6 month weaning advice. Most of Europe and the rest of the world starts around 4 months and have never changed.

Dd was weaned at 4 months on the advice of her paediatrician. She still has multiple food allergies.

I don't know about six Vs four months, but one thing to be careful of is to ensure their first exposures to well known allergens are through the gut not the skin. Particularly if the baby has eczema/broken skin. So if you're eating foods with common allergens, wash your hands, and don't rub food on their skin too test it first. Also steer clear of creams based on oats and other foods.

https://allergyfacts.org.au/development-of-food-allergy-through-food-based-skincare-products/#:~:text=It%20is%20thought%20that%20putting,that%20food%20is%20actually%20eaten.

This is really interesting, hadn't come across this before, but thank you for sharing. I think the advice on this must have changed over the years, as this was definitely a suggested way to introduce it some years ago but will bear in mind now for my second child.

Professor Gideon Lack is the expert in the field. I believe he’s at KCL. I’d try getting in touch with his department and see if there’s any studies going on you could participate in or anything they might recommend.

But yes there is a lot of evidence to suggest weaning early and introducing allergens via the gut (and not on the wrist, as the idiot BLW “expert” I saw with my first told me) can help with allergen resistance.

My understanding is the only reason they upped the age from 4 months to 6 months in the UK some years ago was because they were trying to prevent people from introducing solids even earlier than 4 months. It was a buffer zone if you will.

Yes it's quite new guidance I think. My DD's peanut allergy was diagnosed about two years ago and her specialist said not to test things by rubbing on the skin as that's now thought to sensitise them. I'd never heard it before. I think you can rub on the inside of the lip but not sure.