Does anyone wonder why food allergies among children continue to rise at an outrageous rate? According to four large, national surveys published in The Journal of Pediatrics, 4% of all children in the U.S. have food allergies.
The exact reason for why kids allergies are on the rise is still to be found. According to LATimes.Com self-reported food allergies have risen 18% from 1997 to 2007, according to government researchers. Between 2003 and 2006 kids living in the United States averaged 317,000 visits to health care settings per year for food allergies.
“If you ask physicians, school nurses, the Food and Drug Administration, industry, there is an impression that there are more children with allergies than before. Asthma, eczema and hay fever are also going up. The message seems to be we need to start believing this and looking for answers instead of worrying about just how many people are affected,” says Dr. Scott H. Sicherer, professor of pediatrics at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and author of “Understanding and Managing Your Child’s Food Allergies.”
One theory on why kids are more allergic to foods than before is a hygiene issue. Many think that kids have a lower immune system due to being less exposed to germs than previous generations. Exposure to some germs builds an immune system to protect itself. Now our children’s immune systems overreact when it comes in contact with usually harmless substances which can cause allergies, eczema or asthma.
Afraid your kids are allergic to some foods? Get them tested for food allergies near your home.
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