The number of mothers who believe their baby is allergic to some foods is out of all proportion to the actual number found to be allergic, a new study has found.
In only the second-ever major study into food allergies and intolerances University of Portsmouth researchers have found that, contrary to popular belief, the true rate of food hypersensitivity is not rising.
Carina Venter, a dietician and senior researcher at the university, led by Professor Tara Dean, spent three years studying nearly all the babies born in one year on the Isle of Wight. Their study found that not only are parents, usually mothers, too quick to assume their child has an allergy or intolerance for a specific food, but also that food hypersensitivity has not increased since the only other major study on the subject 20 years ago.
Dr Venter said: ¿People have become more aware of food allergies, particularly of peanut allergy.
¿Mums tend to put down every rash, tummy ache, diarrhoea and crying to food allergy or intolerance. I sympathise with them ¿ it seems reasonable to blame the food when an infant screams or turns red in the face minutes after being fed it for the first time.¿
Also, some babies might react strongly to some common foods and then outgrow this allergy or intolerance within a year or two. MORE FOLLOWS>>>
For more information visit the following link: http://durrants.mediacoverage.co.uk/pr/29112381/pOebDVH9
Dr Venter said by the age of three about three-quarters of the babies who were allergic to or intolerant of milk had outgrown their reaction and half had outgrown their reaction to eggs. Babies who reacted badly needn¿t necessarily avoid these foods forever. They could very easily be eating cakes made using eggs or milk by the time the age of two and scrambled eggs by the age of three, although a small proportion may remain allergic throughout life.
Of the 807 babies in the study, more than a third of their parents ¿ 272 ¿ said their child was allergic or intolerant to one or more foods. The babies were studied at six months, one, two and three years of age and the actual number who proved to be allergic to any food by the age of three was fewer than 60.
Of those who proved to be allergic to a food at the age of three, the most common allergies were to peanuts, eggs and milk.
The main reason parents gave for thinking their child was allergic to a food was their child coming out in a rash, itching or developing hives or eczema. The second largest reason for reporting an allergy was a gastrointestinal effect including the child developing a tummy ache, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation or colic. The third symptom highlighted by parents was a respiratory problem, including shortness of breath, asthma, wheeziness, a runny or itchy nose and coughing. Four parents reported behavioural problems after their children ate certain foods at the age of two and 14 parents reported the same when their children were aged three.
Dr Venter said: ¿Parents tend to be relieved when they discover their child is not allergic or intolerant to anything.¿
The foods most commonly blamed by mothers for causing a reaction were milk, eggs, fruit (mainly strawberries and citrus fruit), tomato, including tomato sauce, additives (colourings and preservatives), wheat, peanuts, fish and soya. No baby underwent food challenges to test peanut or sesame allergy until they reached the age of three because it is considered that infants should not be exposed to these foods in the first few years of life.
The most likely foods to cause an allergic reaction in the children (with number confirmed as allergic at age three in brackets) was: peanut (11); eggs (nine); milk (four); wheat, brazil nut and almond (two); gluten, hazelnut, cashew nut and corn (one); fish and tomato (0).
The £600,000 study was funded by the Food Standards Agency.