18 percent of Americans including 4% children and teens are affected by allergies caused by food according to a recent federal report. The year 2007 saw a whopping 3 million children who are below eighteen years of age suffering from allergies in their digestive tract for at least twelve months continuously as compared to 2.3 million in the year 1997 according to a report published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Food allergies predominantly occur due to eight major foods. These include eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, milk, fish, wheat, soy and shellfish. Symptoms of allergy include a sensation of tingling experienced around the lips and mouth and hives which in extreme cases even results in death in cases of severe reactions according to the authors of the report.
Children suffering from food allergies contract diseases and conditions like asthma and other types of allergies more than those who are not affected by any food allergies. Allergies resulting from food are found more in children and as they grow older they outgrow them. A few of them however are saddled with allergies throughout their lives according to the report.
There are a few other points highlighted in this report which includes –
Similar rate of food allergy in girls and boys
Children below 5 years affected more by food allergies compared to older children and teens.
At least 30 percent of children with food allergies complained of respiratory problems.
Hispanic children affected by allergies related to food more than non Hispanic children.
Findings in this report are compiled from statistics taken from a couple of surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the CDC.
