Life-threatening food allergies in children are booming. Now a doctor reveals there ARE steps parents can take to prevent them. Here's her five-point guide By Jo Macfarlane Published: 12:13 BST, 9 October 2024 | Updated: 12:13 BST, 9 October 2024 e-mail View comments Food allergies are a very modern - and escalating - epidemic.
The number of Britons allergic to everyday foods such as cow's milk, eggs, nuts and shellfish has more than doubled in ten years, the latest research shows. And it's particularly an issue for young children. While just 0.
5 per cent of over-45s are affected, around eight times as many preschoolers – four per cent – now have a serious allergy. These can cause significant stress to parents, and can even be life-threatening. Symptoms range from itchy skin, rashes and hives to vomiting, facial swelling, wheezing and chronic conditions such as asthma or eczema.
And for some, the reactions can lead to anaphylaxis – a serious over-reaction of the immune system in response to an allergen which causes the throat and mouth to swell up, restricting the ability to breathe This causes around ten deaths a year in the UK. In July 2016, 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who had several serious food allergies, died after eating a Pret a Manger baguette containing sesame seeds that weren't listed as an ingredient on the label. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, was on a dream trip to Nice with her best friend and her father when she suffered a severe reaction to sesam.