Common Reactions And Allergies

Find information on common reactions and allergies from feeding your baby. Learn about baby care and caring for your newborn at Huggies Singapore.

Food allergies and intolerance – Common reactions in children

What sort of reactions can my child experience?

If you have ever wondered why your local GP seems perplexed by a reaction your little one has had, this will help you will see why. Take a look at the symptoms for intolerance and compare them to allergy; they can be very difficult to tell apart without proper testing.

Symptoms of food intolerance

• Jittery behaviour, shaking, sweaty skin
• Heart flutters or palpitations, rapid breathing
• Tummy upsets, diarrhoea
• Burning or itchy feeling on the skin
• Headache
• Breathing difficulties
• Allergy-like reactions

Symptoms of food allergy

• Difficulty with breathing (e.g. wheezing and asthma)
• Diarrhoea, tummy upsets and cramps
• Sudden swelling, itching and burning in the body part that came in contact with the food
• Runny nose and hay fever
• Skin rash (e.g. eczema)
• Hives (urticaria – small red itchy lumps on the skin)
• Nausea and possibly vomiting

What do I do if I think my child may be reacting to a food?

The best thing to do is visit your GP, nutritionist or dietitian to confirm your suspicion. Then, if needed, your doctor will organize a referral for testing. Diagnosing a food allergy will generally involve a thorough case history (family history, life history, diet and so on), physical examination and in many cases diagnostic testing as well dietary trialing.

Be careful with the advice of well-meaning friends and family or even professionals who don’t specialise in child health. Your child’s growth and development depends on accurate diagnosis and comprehensive dietary and lifestyle advice. Most specialists will ensure you go home with a bundle of recipes, fact sheets, helpful hints and lists of books and supportive groups and websites. Be cautious where someone has recommended restricting your little one’s eating without compensating with other foods to ensure adequate nutrition.

Never be tempted to amend a child’s diet without professional advice as restricting a child’s diet can have serious health implications for fast-growing bodies.

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The information published herein is intended and strictly only for informational, educational, purposes and the same shall not be misconstrued as medical advice. If you are worried about your own health, or your child’s well being, seek immediate medical advice. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website. Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries assumes no liability for the interpretation and/or use of the information contained in this article. Further, while due care and caution has been taken to ensure that the content here is free from mistakes or omissions, Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information here, and to the extent permitted by law, Kimberly-Clark and/ or its subsidiaries do not accept any liability or responsibility for claims, errors or omissions.