Early Detection
Recognizing Digestive and Allergy Issues
The excitement of pregnancy can sometimes be offset by the fear that the new baby may have medical issues. Most children are born healthy and beautiful. Even among our thriving kids, one issue that seems to be affecting our children frequently is food allergies or intolerances. There is no need to fear this. A little knowledge now will give you loads of power to help your growing baby and child. And, if he does develop allergies or food intolerances, this knowledge will help you partner with your pediatrician to recognize the signs and manage baby's diet so he is feeling well.
Your pediatrician will examine your baby and ask you lots of questions about his daily activities. Be open with your pediatrician about all of your baby's bodily functions; this includes crying, sleeping, eating and pooping. (Once you become a parent poop seems to creep into most every conversation!) No need to be shy either, everybody does it. Be specific. If baby is spitting up or vomiting, tell the doctor how much. For instance, "just a drop, like a teaspoon," or "it seems like everything he took in during the past five minutes just came back up." Follow your (soon-to-be developed) mother's instinct, for it is often correct!
Acid Reflux
Babies' digestive systems are immature. Oftentimes our little ones need some help keeping the food down. Acid reflux is common with infants, and symptoms may include spitting up, vomiting or even projectile vomiting, as well as fussiness and gassiness. In this case your pediatrician may prescribe a medication to alleviate the symptoms.
Food Allergies and Intolerances
If treatment for reflux doesn't seem to do the trick, you may need to consider foor allergies or intolerances. Food allergies and intolerances are common with young children, and most allergies are outgrown by the time the child enters public school. Many food-related symptoms mimic reflux with spitting up or vomiting, fussiness and gassiness. Symptoms can also include a rash, difficulty breathing, constipation, diarrhea, or blood in baby's stools (sometimes this is visible to the naked eye, and other times a simple test is needed).
A food allergy is when the immune system reacts to the offending food. A food intolerance is the body's adverse reaction to the food. A "colicky" baby may really be a baby who just feels miserable because his tummy hurts. Talk to your pediatrician, lactose consultant or nutritionist about this and determine together if food may be the culprit.
Allergies can sometimes be determined by a blood test or a simple and painless prick skin test. Some food intolerances won't be reflected in these tests. In these circumstances good old trial and error is necessary. This is not difficult, but does require some tracking on your part. Work with your health care professional to develop a plan. Here are some guidelines:
The top eight food allergens are milk, soy, nuts, eggs, tree nuts, wheat, shellfish, and fish. Milk and soy are the most common among young babies.
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Keep a log of baby's behavior and eating habits. Things to include are time and amount fed, post-reaction to feeding, fussiness, stool frequency and consistency.
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Remove one food at a time and follow this pattern for three weeks. For instance, typically you would begin with milk. Remove all cows' milk from baby's diet. If you are nursing that means that you need to eliminate it from your diet too. Sources of cow's milk, besides the obvious, include cheese, yogurt, and many processed foods. Milk goes by many aliases, the most common include casein and whey. Read food labels carefully and ask a nutritionist for help.
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With your pediatrician, review baby's progress to determine if you have identified a culprit. If baby has improved, but is still not completely better, maybe he is still taking in some of the eliminated food, or maybe a second food needs to be eliminated.
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If you are nursing, other types of food may be the problem. Gassy foods like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage pass along the same gas to baby through breast milk. Keeping your diet simple and void of these foods may be all your baby needs.
Celiac Disease
Celiac Disease is a common (one percent of the population) gastrointestinal ailment. People who have it cannot digest gluten, the protein in wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats. Symptoms of celiac vary, and range from gastrointestinal symptoms that have already been listed above, to neurological symptoms such as developmental delays in children. It is another way that food intolerance may manifest intself in a young child.
Remember, "Knowledge is Power." Your awareness will help you work with your child's physician to identify the cause of your child's trouble. Working together is the best way to keep baby healthy and strong.