<p>BCEagle, asthma is linked to allergies, as is eczema. The allergist was very surprised that S1 did not develop asthma, given the severity of his allergies.</p>
<p>"From your other article:</p>
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<p>You can get asthma from food?"</p>
<p>No, of course not. I think it is a correct statement if the allergy-related visits to specialists are indeed on the rise. The the same doctors who treat asthmatics are also allergy specialists. The two populations of patients compete for the same pool of specialists, so to speak. My personal anectodal experience - it was impossible to make an appointment for my D’s annual asthma check during hay fever season.</p>
<p>If the incidence of food allergies is going up, I wonder why the number of new doctors going into the allergy specialty is going down. Maybe somebody should pass that info on to medical students.</p>
<p>NYMomof2 - I also nursed both my daughters for much longer than the ‘norm’ (which isn’t saying much as the rates of breastfeeding are way too low). When D1 developed intestinal issues around three weeks, it was suggested to me that I eliminate dairy. I did, and within a few days, she was much better. I always called it a lactose intolerance, and not an allergy, but that was our experience. For several months, whenever I’d have even a small amount of dairy, she’d react, so back to elimination I’d go. After a year, we finally introduced yogurt to her diet, and she could handle it, so then over the next year, we slowly introduced other dairy, and she was fine. She’s now 23 years old, and I don’t think I’ve drank a full glass of milk since before she was a baby; I just never got back my taste for milk, although I still love my cheese!</p>
<p>It boggles my mind that the medical community does such a poor job educating new parents that the longer you breastfeed a baby, the less occurrence of allergies there are later in their lives (among many other kinds of health benefits throughout their lives… both mother and baby). It doesn’t mean that they never get allergies, as both mine have them, but I suspect if I had not nursed them as long as I did, their allergies would be much worse. Given that, it would make sense that the delayed introduction of anything not breast milk, has to be preferable. I don’t think the answer is that, had I exposed them to all this food at an earlier age, they’d not have allergies today. It’s bunk.</p>
<p>BC, actually I had better things to do than look for articles for you like take my old car out in the sunshine for a nice drive. I can do basic math. More people with allergies or thinking they have them=more healthcare costs. I don’t need no stinking charts to tell me that. But the total cost is around $44 BILLION so any increase will be over a $Billion a year even at just 3%. </p>
<p>[Climate</a> change could raise cost of US allergies | HEALTH News](<a href=“Error 404”>Error 404)</p>
<p>teriwtt–what sort of scientist are you? Do you think any science that does not fit your beliefs is bunk? Most would say introducing a food at Year 1 or so is pretty early so I don’t see how that counteracts the early treatment claims but rather support it.</p>
<p>barrons:</p>
<p>i) What sort of scientist are you?
ii) How many kids did you personally breastfeed?</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>Yeah, nice day for a drive - I’m going to burn some rubber driving my Corolla on the &%#@ bridge :)</p>
<p>I’m a real estate scientist. I have a license that says so.
No breast-feeding but at my Starbucks today I think the local moms were having some sort of breastfeed-in. Most have had six going at once. Miss a lot of stuff during workdays I guess.</p>
<p>Good. What do real estate and allergies have in common? 
Mold!</p>
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<p>Are you kidding… do you know how many parents introduce cereal at 3-4 months? What do you think this cereal is made of?</p>
<p>I don’t know what you are responding to. Early introduction for foods that kids are “allergic” to is considered anytime before age 5 in order to build tolerance. So 1 is early in that regard. I don’t know what you are even talking about.</p>
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<p>Well, you could have just said that instead of the attempted snow job.</p>
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<p>Just asking for a little science here. You felt the need to throw something out there
earlier.</p>
<p>If I don’t know, I just admit that I don’t know or have evidence to back up my claims.</p>
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<p>But what about the millions of kids who develop allergies prior to five? Is it all in their imagination? It’s kind of hard to build tolerance when ingesting a certain substance causes repeated visits to the ER. I guess those toddlers need to feel special, so they break out in hives. But it’s all good because it builds tolerance. </p>
<p>You’re saying that if we ‘build tolerance’ in kids (it must be a tolerance issue because all those reported allergies are only attempts to feel special), we wouldn’t have increased health care costs. Maybe if parents were more aware of allergies and sought treatment for them (and weren’t poo-pooed by the pediatricians), prophylactically, there would be less trips to the ER. Ever see the movie As Good As It Gets?</p>
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<p>Let me spell it out - extended breastfeeding correlates to less allergies, because you don’t need to introduce solid foods or formula (whether it’s cow-based or soy-based… it’s not breastmilk) as soon. Which means that the longer you prolong introducing foods, it provides a protective environment against allergies to that food. </p>
<p>If building tolerance is so great, why not start giving peanut butter at four months? Or berries? Or shellfish? By age 18 months, most parents have introduced foods that are part of their normal eating habits. Parents aren’t waiting until five to give their kid berries or peanut butter. And many of them discover that their kid is allergic to it years before five.</p>
<p>50 years ago I was the canary in the coalmine. It was the “good old days” - no electronics, internet, or cable TV - also no decent medical care.</p>
<p>I played outside (in the dirt) for hours, no A/C, plenty of exposure to germs, cats, dogs, nature, etc. I had the mumps, and chickenpox - never had the measles though. I was the kid with the constant cough and runny nose. I don’t think the term upper respiratory infection was in use yet. I also had incredibly severe asthma. Theophylline or Marax daily, nebulizer treatments, steroids, epinephrine injections 2 - 3 times per day, hospitalizations, etc. The doctors said, repeatedly and often, that it was all psychosomatic - b/c that was the medical wisdom of the day. When I was sick I was not allowed to watch TV (not that there was much on) - the theory was that providing me with a comfortable environment and special treatment caused me to subconsciously have asthma symptoms. By the time I was a teen I was coughing up blood every morning because my lungs were so irritated. Unfortunately, the damage to my lungs is permanent, but it doesn’t impact me to much. All these years later, I’m still taking daily meds, but mostly it’s not as bad now.</p>
<p>I have a lot of sympathy for the food intolerant/food allergic people - I didn’t feel special when I was sick, and near-death experiences are not fun. And having nobody take me seriously was really frustrating. I couldn’t understand why the doctors thought that I wanted to be sick all the time.</p>
<p>“The doctors said, repeatedly and often, that it was all psychosomatic - b/c that was the medical wisdom of the day. When I was sick I was not allowed to watch TV (not that there was much on) - the theory was that providing me with a comfortable environment and special treatment caused me to subconsciously have asthma symptoms.”</p>
<p>Not hard to imagine a time when it was felt to be ALL “psychosomatic”, but by the time I was in pediatric training (80’s), most chronic illnesses where believed to have both “organic” AND situational or psychological components (NOT the same as “wanting to be sick” or “special”). A “holistic” approach, at least in theory, but not always in training. I believe that’s why I switched from Pediatrics to (Child) Psychiatry; To be able to, and trained to pay attention to the more shadowy, gray, “edges” of medicine.</p>
<p>@ teriwtt ~ Breastfeeding is fine and this has nothing to do with it although taking it our past a year might delay or contribute to some food sensitivities. Nevertheless the early childhood adding in of even allergy inducing foods under careful care can actually reduce the future sensitivity/reaction to near zero. That’s what they are studying. </p>
<p>"The theory has gained enough traction that the National Institutes of Health is funding a seven-year study, also led by Lack, involving 640 children at high risk of allergy. Half of the study participants will avoid peanuts, while the other half will consume them regularly from 11 months to 3 years of age. Researchers will measure the rate of allergy in both groups by age 5.</p>
<p>The findings, which are expected by 2014, could mark a significant change in the way doctors handle food allergies. The conventional treatment has long been no treatment at all essentially, patients are simply advised to avoid problem foods altogether. But a growing number of studies indicate that such an approach may someday be a thing of the pas</p>
<p>Read more: [Peanut</a> Allergy in Kids: British Study on Early Food Exposure - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1968474-1,00.html#ixzz0o2lQJ0WD]Peanut”>http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1968474-1,00.html#ixzz0o2lQJ0WD)</p>
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<p>I don’t think a baby thriving on breastmilk could be lactose intolerant, because human milk is just loaded with lactose. Lactose is a sugar. It’s what makes human milk so sweet.</p>
<p>I’m mixing things up right now… it’s the protein in the cow’s milk that can cause distress.</p>
<p>yes the molecule in cow milk is huge- goat milk is better tolerated.
What is really interesting about breast milk ( to me) is that for example the milk of a mother who has given birth prematurely- is different than the milk for a full term infant.</p>
<p>I nursed both my kids for a really long time ( years)- although I didn’t actually start with the oldest till she was 4 months old ( she wasn’t big enough).
I was a premie as well- however since my parents weren’t allowed to hold me till I was discharged, I obviously wasn’t allowed to nurse either and they had trouble finding a milk I could tolerate.</p>
<p>My kids nursed well- although D2 was very sensitive to cruciferous veggies- which it took me a long time to figure out.
:(</p>
<p>I haven’t read all the referenced articles, but this seems like just another extension of the general knowledge now about all allergies in kids. In connection to inhaled or contact allergens, the experts used to say that kids who “had allergies in the family” should avoid all exposure for at least the first 3 years. We kept our kids away from pets, pollen, dust, etc. Huge effort in cleaning. All 3 have asthma. Now the experts say to let 3 or more dogs lick the babies so the develop antibodies to the allergenic proteins.
Gee, I could have saved a lot of cleaning and a lot of meds if we had just lived in a medieval farmhouse…</p>