The most common food allergy is to milk, followed by egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. Food allergy reactions lead to 30,000 emergency room visits in the United States per year. Two hundred of these reactions are fatal. Peanuts or tree nuts are the cause for 80% of these reactions.
Food allergy is seen in 4% of Americans, but 6% of children under age 3 suffer from food allergies. By age 5, most children outgrow the milk and egg allergy. If your child is allergic to peanut or tree nuts, only 20% will lose that allergy. 35% of children with a milk allergy will develop an allergy to another food. Food allergies are more common in people that have other allergic diseases. 35% percent of children that have significant atopic dermatitis will have a food allergy, 6% to 8% of children with asthma will have an asthma flare-up due to a food allergy. For great information on food allergies: visit the Food Allergy Network at FoodAllergy.org.
Milk allergy is the most common food allergy. Approximately 1% to 7.5% of the population has a milk allergy. Milk allergy generally develops in the first year of life. At the same time, most children will outgrow their allergy to milk by 3 years of age.
Peanut allergy generally develops at 22 months of age. The majority of children will react with their first exposure to a peanut containing product. Peanut allergy has doubled in the last 5 years. Tree nut and peanut allergy appears in 1.2% of the population, and peanut allergy is 0.8% of the population. One third of children in the United States with significant atopic dermatitis and a food allergy are allergic to peanuts.
An allergist will see a patient for one allergic problem, such as asthma or atopic dermatitis, and find that the patient has a food allergy. It is interesting that peanut allergy appears to be more frequently diagnosed in the United States, compared to other countries like China. Peanuts are dry roasted in the U.S., whereas in China, peanuts are usually boiled or fried.
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