Food Allergy Patterns in Children

Nose

Digestive Problems

Food Allergy

Milk Allergy

Learning Problems

The ear, nose, and throat are the most common target organs for food allergens. Congestion or inflammation of the nose (rhinitis), sinuses (sinusitis), and throat (pharyngitis) may be due to airborne irritants and allergens; however, food allergy may be the undiagnosed cause of these common problems. fertility tarzana

Food allergy is suggested by these respiratory symptoms often in combination:

nasal stuffiness
snoring
increased mucus flow in nose and throat
recurrent middle ear "infections"
recurrent sore throats.

Recurrent middle ear "infections" are very common in the first five years of life and may be eliminated by proper diet revision. Milk, wheat, and egg white allergy are the most common cause of respiratory symptoms, but many foods do this.

Food Allergy

Food allergy causes chronic rhinitis with middle ear involvement in children. In infants and young children, nose congestion may present as mouth-breathing, sniffing, snuffling, snorting or snoring, and nose rubbing (sometimes known as the "allergic salute" - pushing the nose up with the palm of the hand until a crease develops across the skin of the nose).

Increased mucus flow in nose and throat, ear-plugging with muffled hearing and ringing in the ears, recurrent middle ear "infection", recurrent sore throat, swelling of the neck lymph nodes (glands), chronic or recurrent cough, episodes of chest pain, "tightness", and/or wheezing with shortness of breath.

Food allergy is suggested by: nasal stuffiness, increased mucus flow in nose and throat and sore throats.

Hay fever (pollen allergy) tends to produce watery discharge from the nose and comes in seasonal attacks with long symptom-free periods.
Food allergy congestion tends to be yearlong and involves persisting nasal stuffiness and mucus in the throat more than watery discharges.

Otitis Media

Nsouli et al reported that of 104 children with chronic serous otitis media 78% had positive skin tests for food and an elimination diet led to a significant amelioration of symptoms in 86% .The most common allergenic foods were cow's milk (38%), wheat (33%), egg white (25%), peanut (20%) and soya (17%). Recurrent otitis media (ROM) costs $2 billion per year to treat and is responsible for an estimated 10 million office visits per year. The authors concluded that food allergy should be considered in all patients with ROM."

Nosebleeds

Nosebleeds are common in food allergy. The bleeding usually originates from the front of the nose and is controlled by pinching both nostrils together for several minutes.

Abstracts

Role of food allergy in serous otitis media

Author Nsouli TM; Nsouli SM; Linde RE; O'Mara F; Scanlon RT; Bellanti JA

Source Ann Allergy, 73: 3, 1994 Sep, 215-9

BACKGROUND. The relationship between IgE-mediated hypersensitivity and recurrent serous otitis media has not been completely established. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of food allergy in patients with recurrent serous otitis media. METHODS. A total of 104 unselected patients (age range 1.5 to 9 years, mean 4.6 years) with recurrent serous otitis media were evaluated for food allergy by means of skin prick testing, specific IgE tests, and food challenge. Patients who were allergic to food(s) underwent an exclusion diet of the specific offending food(s) for a period of 16 weeks. A non-double blinded food challenge was performed with the suspected offending food(s). Their middle ear effusion was monitored and assessed by tympanometry (Welch Allyn Model 23600) during the pre-elimination, elimination and challenge diet phases. RESULTS. There was a significant statistical association, by chi-square analysis, between food allergy and recurrent serous otitis media in 81/104 patients (78%). The elimination diet led to a significant amelioration of serous otitis media in 70/81 (86%) patients as assessed by clinical evaluation and tympanometry. The challenge diet with the suspected offending food(s) provoked a recurrence of serous otitis media in 66/70 patients (94%). CONCLUSIONS. The possibility of food allergy should be considered in all pediatric patients with recurrent serous otitis media and a diligent search for the putative food allergen made for proper diagnostic and therapeutic intervention.