Health Brief
Food and Digestive Allergies Rise
Jeremy King, D.O.
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The number of youths with reported food or digestive allergies has risen 18 percent in a decade, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 3 million people younger than 18 years old — nearly 4 percent of that group — were reported to have such an allergy in 2007. The total in 1997: 2.3 million youths (3.3 percent). According to Kapi‘olani pediatric gastroenterologist Jeremy King, D.O., eight types of food account for 90 percent of food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. “Reactions to these foods can range from a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips to hives and even death,” says Dr. King. Children with food allergies are two to four times more likely to have related conditions, such as asthma and other allergies, than children with no food allergies. Dr. King reassures parents that most children will outgrow food allergies with age.
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