Snacks for babies with food allergies

Clarify the list of your baby's allergens in advance, give priority to hypoallergenic formula products that are clearly labeled without cross-contamination, and do a small allergy test for 2-3 days before eating any new snacks. There is no "safe snack list" that applies to all allergic babies, and all choices must match your child's allergies.

A while ago, my best friend’s 2-year-old child who is allergic to milk protein fell into the trap of an internet celebrity snack. While scrolling through a short video, I saw a blogger recommending "additive-free infant rice cakes", claiming to be specially made for Minbao. She placed the order without thinking, unwrapped the package and stuffed half a piece into the baby's mouth. Within ten minutes, the baby's mouth was red and there was a dense rash, so she hurriedly picked it up. In the emergency room, the doctor asked her about the situation and asked her to look through the package for instructions. Only then did she see a line of small print the size of a fingernail at the bottom of the ingredient list on the back: "The production equipment of this product also processes products containing milk and wheat." The co-author was an allergy caused by cross-contamination, and the baby suffered for nothing.

Speaking of which, the attitude towards snacks in the Minbao parent circle has always been divided into two groups. There is no absolute right or wrong, it all depends on the degree of allergies of the child. One group is the "strictly guard against death" group, adhering to the principle that they would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go. As long as the packaging is marked with any possible allergen warnings, even if it is just a cross-contamination warning such as "may contain trace amounts of nuts", children must never touch it. This is also the advice that many traditional pediatric allergists give to children with severe allergies, especially those with allergen testing levels of level 3 and above. Even if they are exposed to only a few milligrams of allergens, they may induce serious reactions such as laryngeal edema. It never hurts to be strict. The other school is the "tolerance school" that has become more and more recognized in recent years. If your child only has mild allergies, or is already taking oral desensitization treatment as prescribed by your doctor, you can try snacks with low risk of cross-contamination within a controllable range. You can't be insulated from all foods with a little allergen in them for the rest of your life, right? I have a child who is mildly allergic to wheat. His parents followed the doctor's advice and gave him a few snacks containing trace amounts of wheat every week. After half a year, he went for a review and found that the allergy level had dropped to level 1. Now he can eat half of an ordinary steamed bun.

When you really want to make a choice, don’t just rely on the slogans of the merchants. “Exclusive for Minbao” and “zero additions” are all marketing gimmicks. You have to look through the packaging to find the special allergen warning column. Regular prepackaged foods will clearly mark the eight major allergens (milk, eggs, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, nuts, fish, crustaceans) contained in the ingredients. Some will also specifically label “unprocessed dairy products in the production line” and “no cross-contamination”. These are Minbao-friendly products that truly correspond to allergens. Oh, by the way, don’t think it’s absolutely safe to make it at home. I used to know a mother who bought wheat-free brown rice flour in order to make steamed cakes for her child who is allergic to wheat. As a result, the chopping board used for kneading dough had just been made with ordinary bread before and was stained with some flour without being cleaned. The child got hives after taking one bite, and it took until midnight to get rid of it. If you really want to make your own, it is best to keep the cutting board, kneading mat, and knives separate from the ordinary utensils at home. Don’t be too troublesome.

In fact, none of the Internet celebrity Minbao snack lists are as reliable as the results of my own child’s allergy test. I have even seen children who are allergic to apples. They eat ordinary soluble beans with no problems, but eat two mouthfuls of steamed apples and get red rashes all over their bodies. Each child’s physical condition is very different. Don’t see people moving Minbao home just because they say they can eat it. For the first time, give a fingernail-sized amount of new snacks, and observe that there are no rashes, diarrhea or vomiting for two days, and then slowly increase the amount, and it will be stable.

Raising Minbao is a process of slowly figuring out the rules. You don’t have to be too anxious and think that your baby can’t eat this or that. Try it twice more and step on the little pits twice more. Gradually, you will understand the boundaries of your baby’s diet. There are many snacks that you can eat with confidence.