One of the most loved and used vegetables is the potato. Most people love fluffy mashed potatoes and not-so-he althy but delicious fried potatoes. And what a good baked potato!..
This vegetable is recommended for allergy sufferers as part of a hypoallergenic diet. It is hard to imagine that this product causes a negative reaction in some people. Not surprisingly, many parents wonder if their child is allergic to potatoes. Unfortunately, experts answer this question in the affirmative, although this happens quite rarely.
Useful properties of potatoes
It is no coincidence that this culture is introduced into complementary foods for an infant in the first year of life. This is a very useful product. It contains many minerals, vitamins, as well as amino acids, carbohydrates, magnesium and calcium, fiber and phosphorus. The composition of the potato includes proteins that are necessary for the construction of cells in our body. However, they do not contain cholesterol.they are more useful than animal proteins.
B vitamins are also rich in potatoes. Among them are B, B9, B6, B3, B2. No body system can function properly without them. The body cannot accumulate them - they must constantly come from outside. Potatoes are perfect for this.
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is an active participant in the metabolism and formation of red blood cells. With a lack of vitamin B3, a person suffers from insomnia and irritability. It is indispensable in energy metabolism. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of calcium for a growing body. It contributes to the proper formation of the skeleton and teeth of the baby. Phosphorus, which is part of the root crop, is necessary for the functioning of the kidneys and the central nervous system. And finally, an indispensable assistant in the work of the intestines is fiber. It prevents the development of diabetes. So why does such a useful product cause allergies in some, albeit rare cases?
Why does pathology occur?
The causes of potato allergy in a child are:
- potato starch;
- protein tuberin;
- penton protein.
Tuberine and pentone are dangerous proteins that provoke allergies. With a predisposition to this disease, a negative reaction can occur even from a very small amount of the product. Chips, for example, are also potentially dangerous.
It is necessary to be attentive not only to dishes prepared from potatoes, but also to those thatcontain vegetables from the nightshade family - eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, etc. They can also provoke negative reactions.
Quite often, babies up to a year old are affected by this pathology. This is due to their physiological characteristics, which we discussed above. Often, an allergic reaction is caused by milk mixtures containing starch in their composition. In the body of a child, it accumulates, it is difficult to digest.
It is not uncommon for parents to first learn how an allergy to potatoes manifests itself in children when the baby is 4, 5-5 months old. During this period, this product is introduced into the baby's diet as complementary foods. Potatoes should be dosed, starting with 1/2 teaspoon. In this case, it is necessary to carefully monitor the reaction of the baby's body.
It is important to know that the allergy manifests itself without eating potatoes. This can happen while peeling a raw vegetable when a child is nearby.
Potato allergy symptoms
They practically do not differ from the manifestations of pathology in adults, although there are some peculiarities. Allergists distinguish between immediate reactions, which develop within the first 20 minutes after contact with the product, and delayed reactions, when allergy symptoms appear on the second or third day after contact. Such a reaction of the organism is typical only for children whose organisms are not quite adapted to external factors.
From the gastrointestinal tract are noted:
- flatulence;
- regurgitation;
- diarrhea, constipation;
- nausea, vomiting.
From the side of the skin:
- eczema;
- urticaria.
Respiratory:
- shortness of breath;
- asthma;
- sneeze;
- cough;
- runny nose.
How to detect allergies?
If a food allergy is suspected, parents should keep a food diary and add food to it after each feeding of the child, as well as the reaction of the child's body. If we are talking about a breastfed baby, then the foods that the mother eats are entered in the diary. This is necessary in order to identify and eliminate the product that causes allergies.
If a child is allergic to potatoes before the age of three, doctors believe that the disease will recede with age. This is due to the fact that babies have not yet fully formed the immune system and gastrointestinal tract. To determine the allergen and make a diagnosis, doctors sometimes recommend the method of food provocation. First, potatoes are excluded from the diet for several weeks, and then they are returned to the menu again. All this time the child is under the supervision of a doctor who fixes the absence or presence of allergic reactions. Parents should be aware that this method is quite dangerous as it can cause anaphylactic shock.
If a child develops symptoms of a potato allergy (in the photo below you can see one of them - a rash on the baby's body) after taking a minimum amount of this product, you should contact your pediatrician and describe in detail the reaction of the body.
Diagnosispathology
An allergist will prescribe a blood allergy screening for a child older than five years - diagnosing specific lgE, for which the following tests are done:
- skin allergy test;
- blood test ELISA or CAP-RAST.
Cross allergens
The overwhelming majority of parents are worried when a child, against the background of an exacerbation of an allergy to potatoes, begins to detect food reactions to other vegetables. Therefore, you should be aware of such a thing as "cross-reactions". If a child has symptoms of an allergy to potatoes, parents should be careful to use foods that, along with this culture, cause a negative reaction in the diet of children. These include:
- tomatoes;
- eggplant;
- pears;
- apples.
Birch allergens are also cross with potatoes. Prevention of further exposure to the irritant and the weakening of signs of pathology can be achieved with the help of antihistamines, the dosage and timing of which are prescribed by a pediatrician or an allergist. We will talk about this later.
Treating a child with potato allergy
Any type of allergy in the treatment involves the exclusion of contact with the allergen in the first place. Therefore, when the diagnosis is confirmed, dishes based on or even with a small content of potatoes are excluded from the child's diet. Despite the fact that many drugs used to treat negative reactions of the body are used in therapy and adult patients, andchildren, self-medication is strictly prohibited.
We mentioned that potato allergy in a child is quite rare. That is why the medicines should be selected by an experienced doctor who will control the course of treatment.
In an acute form of pathology, it is necessary to remove the remnants of the allergen from the body as quickly as possible. For this, enterosorbents are used, for example, activated carbon. Further therapy depends on the condition of the patient and the intensity of the manifestations of the disease.
Antihistamines for babies
The smallest patient can be assigned:
"Fenistil" in drops. A baby up to a year old, as a rule, is prescribed 3-10 drops three times a day. With mild symptoms, the number of doses is reduced to two per day
- "Zirtek" (drops). The baby is given 5 drops per day once a day.
- "Suprastin" (tablets). This drug is effective in quickly relieving allergy symptoms. Infants are prescribed !/4 tablets 2 times a day.
Drugs for children over one year old
Until the age of six, antihistamines are prescribed in drops or syrup. Medicines in this form are perfectly absorbed by the children's body, they have a sweetish or neutral taste, so children usually take them without problems. In addition to the listed antihistamines, to eliminate the signs of the disease in children after a year, the following can be prescribed:
- "Parlazin" (drops). Recommended for children over two years old. The drug is prescribed to be taken twice a day, 5 drops.
- Ghismanal (syrup). Appointed upon reaching the age of two. In accordance with the body weight, the child calculates the dosage - 2 mg per kilogram of weight. The drug is taken once a day for a week.
- "Claritin" (syrup). It is also prescribed after the age of two. If your child weighs less than 30 kg, the syrup intake is limited to 5 ml once a day. If its mass exceeds the indicated weight, then the dosage is increased to 10 ml.
If an anaphylactic shock occurs, call an ambulance immediately.
Disease prevention
If a child is allergic to potatoes (you can see a photo of the symptoms in this article), the best prevention may be to exclude the root crop from the diet. If symptoms of pathology are detected at the age of 4.5 months, it is necessary to abandon the use of this vegetable as complementary foods. Once again, you can try to introduce potatoes into the baby's diet only after a year. At the same time, tubers grown without pesticides should be used for cooking. If the symptoms of the pathology reappear, the use of this culture should be abandoned until the age of three. In this case, it is necessary to consult with a pediatrician, conduct an examination with an allergist.
Traditional preventive measures that preventoccurrence of allergy to food allergies:
- Breastfeed your baby for as long as possible.
- Strictly follow your pediatrician's guidelines for introducing complementary foods to your baby.
- Treat your child for infectious diseases in a timely manner.
- Strengthen your baby's immunity.
It is very important not to miss the first symptoms of the disease and start the treatment of the pathology in time, preventing its further development.
