Food allergy

There is no medication to prevent food allergy. After your child’s physician discovers which foods your child is allergic to, it is important that your child avoid these foods (and other similar foods). If you are breastfeeding, you too must avoid foods that your child is allergic to.

• Your child’s physician may prescribe an emergency kit which contains epinephrine, which helps stop the symptoms of sever reactions
• Some children, under the direction of a physician, may be given certain foods again after 3 to 6 months to see if he or she has outgrown the allergy.

Little goes a long way to help patients with food allergies

As Children's official food shopper for children with allergies, Jeffrey Little, MS, RN, LDN finds ways patients can safely eat while they're in the hospital by buying food just for them at local grocery stores and overseeing the patient line responsible for preparing the meals in Children's kitchen. "Multiple allergies are becoming more and more prevalent in our patients," he says. "Sometimes you think 'What can I feed this child?'"

Read more: www.childrenshospital.org/dream/dream_fall07/jeff_little.html