#weaningatarah
Food allergies in Babies

In India food allergy is something people ignore or does not understand the seriousness. People still laugh if we talk about Gluten intolerance or lactose intolerance, It is true that compared to the west we have less of food allergies but it's not nill. As we start weaning by 6 months let's look into things which are potential food allergens for babies.
1. MILK 🥛
2. NUTS
3. EGGS 🥚
4. FISH 🐠
5. CHICKEN 🐔
6. SHELL FISH ( PRAWN 🦐, LOBSTERS)
7. VEGETABLES LIKE BRINJAL, YAM etc
8. WHEAT 🌾

These are the common food allergens and it's recommended to introduce all these before 12 months because the effect and damages will be more of we introduce later, So earlier the better. Milk in direct form is not recommended until 12 months but it can always be added little in porridges, sheera etc. Wheat has gluten and some has gluten intolerance which will have adverse affect on their gut. So any form of wheat is not recommended and they need proper treatment.

Symptoms of food allergies :

Rashes : Babies will develop red rashes all over the body.
Swollen lips and eyes
Watery eyes : Babies eyes will turn red and the eyes will become watery.
Itching : They may not be able to tell us but will behave cranky.
Vomiting and loosies : There will be continuous vomiting or loosies, but again when you over feed your baby they might vomit, so with that we can't conclude that particular food is allergic to them.

So when you introduce the above listed food always introduce in day time and not in the evenings, if they are allergic to the particular food the symptoms will show within 6 hrs and this is why 3 days rule of same food is not followed now. When you see the baby reacting take the baby to the doctor immediately. Adding nuts powder to their food is nutritious but test each and every nuts on them, simply soak the nuts ( 1 nut 1 day) grind and offer. When you have tested all the nuts then you can make powder and it can be added in their food. Eggs and other non veg foods is upto you; to decide when to introduce but make sure to do before 12 months, For Atarah I introduced everything by 8 months and she has no allergic reactions to anything. If you are confused and not sure that it's allergy or not, offer the same food item after few days.

Our elders may come up with " we never did all this to you". Remember it's alway good to be proactive, When you know your child has allergy you will not offer and suffer later. These days when I order cake 🎂 for parties I make sure it's eggless because there are lot of kids who are allergic to eggs.
Happy weaning!