The habits that help prevent allergies

As a child, Isabelle Gerretsen suffered from a wide range of food allergies. Could scientific advances save others from having to endure the same fear and stress?

When I was four years old, I drank my first glass of milk in a hospital, with an IV drip in my hand to ister emergency medication in case I had a severe allergic reaction.

The doctors were carrying out a food challenge to see if I could tolerate cow's milk, which I'd been allergic to since I was tiny. I was first given a drop of milk on my tongue, followed by a few sips, and eventually a full glass. These challenges happened regularly and often resulted in vomiting and a rash, but luckily nothing more serious.

I outgrew my dairy allergy at the age of 7. But to this day, I can't drink a glass of dairy milk as it makes me feel nauseous, presumably because my mind still associates the taste with feeling sick.

I was a highly allergic child, suffering from dairy, egg and nut allergies. Looking back, all the warning signs that I would develop food allergies were there. Not only did I have a history of allergies in my family, I also suffered from severe eczema as a baby, which doctors now say is a red flag.

I was lucky, I never suffered from anaphylaxis, when allergens cause the immune system to go into a state of shock and trigger severe and potentially life-threatening symptoms which can include breathing problems, vomiting and a weak pulse. Instead I would suffer from hives, stomach cramps and an itchy throat if I ate any dairy or eggs. I have only accidentally once had a tiny amount of peanut, which caused severe vomiting and stomach cramps, but luckily no hospitalisation.

My food allergies meant my diet was severely restricted during childhood. There weren't a wide range of dairy-free alternatives available during the 1990s, so I spent the first eight years of my life missing out on cake, chocolate and cheese. This may seem like a small sacrifice – after all, many people voluntarily skip such treats, be it to cut their sugar intake or avoid animal products. But food allergies are different. They mean constantly having to be alert to potential threats in every meal. Those living with them probably won't be surprised to hear that food allergies are known to impact the quality of life and mental health of children and adolescents, as well as their families. And while in the UK, deaths from allergic reactions to food have declined over the past 20 years, there are still cases of fatal anaphylaxis.

I was lucky to outgrow two of my three allergies (dairy and eggs) and today they don't impact my daily life. But allergies are becoming a daily worry for more and more children and parents, often causing severe anxiety and stress.

The medical advice has changed hugely since I suffered from food allergies as a child. Rather than practicing strict avoidance, doctors are encouraging parents of children at risk of allergies to introduce them to peanuts, eggs, milk and other potential allergens as soon as they start having solid foods. Could these scientific advances help us save future generations from the stress and danger of food allergies – and perhaps even make existing cases less severe?

Tide of allergies

Child allergies are rising at an alarming rate, particularly in industrialised countries. "We see that the incidence and prevalence of food allergies is increasing throughout the world," says Kari Nadeau, professor of paediatric medicine and director of the Sean N Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research at Stanford University. She calls the rise an "epidemic" in her book, The End of Food Allergy.

Allergy is the most common chronic disorder in children in the UK, affecting 40% of children – among the highest rates in the world. However, as researchers have pointed out, a lack of accurate data around allergy prevalence and increased use of the term "allergy" can make it difficult to directly compare rates in different countries.

In the US, studies suggest that between 3.9% and 8% of children and adolescents are affected by food allergy. In Australia, researchers conducted a study of the 2,848 one-year-olds, based on results from food challenges – a method that is thought to yield particularly precise data. They found that more than 10% of them had a challenge-proven food allergy to one of the common allergenic foods, such as raw egg and peanuts.

The idea that allergies are increasing is backed by many different sources, from surveys to hospital issions. Between 1997 and 2011, the prevalence of food allergies in children in the US increased by 50%. Between 2013 and 2019, England saw a 72% rise in the number of hospital issions for children caused by anaphylaxis.

"The other big change in epidemiology is that more and more people have multiple food allergies," says Nadeau. "They're not just allergic to milk or egg or peanut, they now also have wheat, sesame or tree nut allergies."

How do children become allergic?

"Children aren't born allergic," says George Du Toit, professor of paediatric allergy at King's College London. However, genetics can make it more likely for a baby to develop an allergy at some point. If both parents have allergies, children have a 60-80% risk of also developing one, compared to a 5-15% risk among children without allergic parents.

But while some babies may have a higher risk of developing allergies later, due to these inherited traits, they don't develop them while still in the womb."There's nothing in pregnancy that we've seen that can induce food allergy," says Nadeau. It is important that mothers realise this, she says. Many have asked her "What did I do wrong">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });