Monday 18 June 2007

Food allergies on the rise

Matilda suffers nut allergies, although (thank God) she is now free of her egg allergy.

This report in the Sydney Morning Herald says food allergies in preschoolers have increased fivefold in just ten years. That matches with my observation of the kids at school. Allergies are now well known, and the kids directly affected wear a gold band around their hat, which is a good reminder.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I often wonder if it is a result of a build up of chemicals (eg herbicides, pesticides) in the environment and/or the the consumption of more processed food.

Gordon Cheng said...

Yes, a bit of a mystery. I'm thinking that we are a bit too hygienic these days, and are probably killing good things as well as bad things, with bad health consequences.

Therese said...

Interesting article Gordo - thanks for sharing. I'm doing an inservice on food allergies and anaphylaxis on Wednesday night, no doubt we'll discuss this (well, I hope we do). I've only become anaphylactic as I've got older, so it might be said (though not sure) that its on the increase in adults too? If I get any interesting info, I'll pass it on!