If you’re confused about the reactions your child has to various foods, you may wonder what’s a food allergy and what’s a food sensitivity. While symptoms may sometimes overlap, these are two different problems.
It’s important to identify the difference so you can protect your child’s health. Dr 2 Kids, Smita Tandon MD in Fountain Valley, California, specializes in allergy testing and treatment. We can help you pinpoint allergies and sensitivities as well as developing condition management plans and treatments for your young children.
Let’s look at the factors that distinguish allergies and sensitivities to food.
By definition, allergies are a reaction of the immune system to otherwise harmless substances. Even small amounts of an allergen can cause symptoms of an allergic response. The most common food allergens affecting children include:
The symptoms that accompany food allergies are usually:
Food allergy reactions tend to happen immediately after eating an allergen.
When your child has a food sensitivity, the reaction and symptoms don’t involve the immune system. Usually, problems start during digestion, not immediately after eating. Common examples of sensitivities are things like gluten or lactose intolerance or sensitivity to food additives.
Symptoms of food sensitivities include:
Symptoms of sensitivities are slower to emerge and can sometimes depend on how big a portion of the offending food they ate.
Food sensitivities are generally milder and they won’t cause life-threatening reactions. Food allergies, on the other hand, can be quite serious. Allergies are a dysfunction of the immune system while sensitivities cause digestive issues.
You can often spot clues based on timing and symptom severity. Allergies are faster and generally more intense. However, avoid the temptation to diagnose your child yourself. If you suspect a problem, contact us for a medical investigation of your child’s symptoms.
We use your child’s medical history as a starting point, so any food allergies or sensitivities that run in the family are of interest. We’re also interested in the symptoms and timings that you’ve noticed about your child’s reactions.
Common diagnostic tools for uncovering your child’s food reactions include skin scratch testing, blood tests, and elimination diets. Since food reactions can be hard to connect, we don’t recommend that you restrict normally healthy foods from your child’s diet until we complete systematic testing.
Contact Dr 2 Kids, Smita Tandon MD to learn more about your child’s allergies and/or sensitivities. Call or click to request an appointment today.
