Allergies in Infants

Recognizing an allergy early could save mothers and infants much aggravation and stress. An average newborn should sleep more than he is awake. His feedings should make him satisfied and he should be sleeping few hour stretches at a time. His skin should be clear and smooth.

If a mother notices that something is not so smooth, infant is not so satisfied and happy, or skin not so smooth or even red, she should check it out.

Infant allergies could express itself in a variety of ways such as: colic, anxiety, extreme crying, irregular stools, red rash, or itchiness (seen when infants scratch their face constantly). Checking with you pediatrician, you can look into various ways to try to detect a possible allergy.

A formula fed infant might be instructed to switch formulas, and seeing whether the baby finds relief, thus detecting an allergy or just sensitivity.

With a breast-fed baby, it gets a little trickier. The mother then might be instructed to abstain from certain foods such as milk, eggs, nuts, fish and soy. The doctor may direct her to give it a few weeks to see whether the baby clears up and becomes more satisfied and happy. The mother then may start to add foods slowly into her diet to try to pinpoint the exact culprit.

Although it is easier said than done, with an allergic baby, it is usually possible to see a drastic improvement once the mother goes off of the highly allergenic foods. The mother may or may not decide to experiment with various foods. Her calm and happy baby may give her the strength to abstain from the highly allergenic foods for a few more months. Once the child begins expanding their diet, foods should be carefully selected and slowly introduced. Patience will go a long way to detect the exact food allergy.

Although there are many allergy tests out there that seem easier and quicker, the truth is that up until a year old, they are not that reliable. The most accurate way to detect an allergy in an infant is to follow this food elimination diet and slowly rule out foods that are fine thus detecting any problematic ones.