Often Unrecognized, Often Undiagnosed, Delayed Food Allergy in Children

How Can Food Allergy Reactions Be Delayed?

When you eat food, the food molecules get absorbed when it passes through the mouth and digestive track; as the food moves through the body it starts getting broken down. The allergens found in food can cause reactions only when the food is broken down into smaller particles by processing; this means that the allergens reach an intolerable level only after certain amount of processing takes place.

This processing takes a long time which varies from a few hours to few days. Hence, the delayed food allergy in children may occur between 12 hours to three days after ingestion of food.

So Many Symptoms, So Easily Mistaken

In case the symptoms of child food allergy occur immediately after the child takes food it is relatively easy to identify; however if the food allergic reactions are delayed it is quite difficult to recognize it.

If the child food allergic reaction is immediate or sudden the child will have the allergic symptoms such as itching of the face, throat, or mouth; sometimes it can also cause hives and swelling. 

The above symptoms are also likely to be present in case the food allergies in children are delayed; the delay could be from few hours to few days. Many of the symptoms of delayed food allergy can easily be misunderstood as something other than child allergy because of which the child food allergy is not diagnosed on time. The following symptoms of child food allergy are left undiagnosed.

	Stomach upset
	Nausea
	Vomiting
	Diarrhea
	Abdominal pain and cramps
	Constipation
	Congestion
	Headache
	Hyperactivity
	Mood changes
	Muscle or joint pain
	Gastrointestinal disease or condition

The above symptoms can appear either as food allergy or as illness; hence people might mistake the allergy symptoms as sickness and vice versa. In case the symptoms appear after taking certain foods which cause allergy it is advisable to look at the possibility of the child having delayed food allergy.

Truly speaking, many of these food allergies in children are only food intolerances because these allergies do not have any connection to the allergy immune immunoglobulin E or IgE which is the antibody that is necessary for allergic reactions. This difference is useful for immunotherapy and selecting appropriate medicines. This sort of analysis is required in certain children’s cases.

Normally the treatment for both food allergies and food intolerances commence with the process of avoidance of allergic/ offensive foods; under these circumstances it is often sufficient to identify the trigger for delayed food allergy in a child for appropriate treatment.

Symptoms So Easily Missed, Why Do They Matter?

In case the delayed food allergy does not cause any serious problems there is not much to worry about; however in reality this is not the case as regards to delayed food allergy in children. . As indicated earlier it is essential that the existence of food allergy reactions and the sources for such allergies are clearly understood which will go a long way in managing delayed food allergy.

It is absolutely essential that we manage delayed food allergy in children well so that the child is relieved from pain or discomfort. Further, the delayed food allergy in children can cause chronic and secondary conditions such as asthma; hence it is advisable to find out the possibility of the child getting affected by delayed food allergy.