April 2024

How to Safely Introduce Common Allergenic Foods to Your Baby with Dr. Katie Joy

Exploring the introduction of common allergenic foods to babies can be a daunting task for parents, with safety being a top priority.

Navigating this crucial step in your child's development requires careful consideration and precautionary measures.

Check out our essential tips to help ease this transition with confidence. Remember, your provider is always there to address any concerns or queries during your next appointment.

1: Start Slow & Monitor

Start solids with a few foods that are of low allergy risk—for example, infant cereal, puréed bananas, or puréed prunes. Solids can be started between the age of 4-6 months - talk with your Altitude provider about readiness signs. Monitor for diarrhea, rash, or vomiting with introductions of new foods.

2: High Risk Infants: Talk with Your Provider

If your baby has or had severe, persistent eczema or an immediate allergic reaction to any food— especially if it is a highly allergenic food such as egg—he or she is considered "high risk for peanut allergy."

You should talk to your child's provider first to best determine how and when to introduce the highly allergenic complementary foods. It is strongly advised that these infants have an allergy evaluation or allergy testing prior to trying any peanut-containing product. Ideally peanut-containing products should be introduced to these babies as early as 4 to 6 months.

3: Low Risk Infants: Early Introduction

Babies without eczema or other food allergies, who are not at increased risk for developing an allergy, may start having peanut-containing products and other highly allergenic foods freely after a few solid foods have already been introduced and tolerated without any signs of allergy.

In 2015, an important study showed that early introduction and regular feeding of peanut prevented the development of peanut allergy in infants at "high risk" for peanut allergy (meaning infants who had severe eczema and/or an egg allergy).

If there is no special reason to be concerned that your baby is at increased risk for food allergies, after a few first foods have been tolerated, you can start to introduce the more highly allergenic foods (milk - form of yogurt, egg, soy, wheat, peanut, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish).