Allergies Health Center

Food Allergies Linked to Asthma Risk

Food Allergy-Asthma Link continued...

Carla Davis, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics-allergy and immunology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, says that it is impossible to tell if food allergies are on the rise based on this study.

What we can tell, she says, is that "being a child is a risk factor for having food allergy and the prevalence in children is higher than in adults." This could be because children tend to grow out of certain food allergies.

For example, "milk and egg allergy can be transient, but peanut and shrimp allergy persist through adulthood," she says.

"Parents should be aware that if a child has symptoms such as hives, lip swelling, cough, difficulty breathing, feeling faint, or severe, repetitive diarrhea and/or vomiting that occur within 15 to 20 minutes of eating a food, they could be symptoms of food allergy and should be evaluated by a physician," she says.

Additionally, "people with food allergy and asthma should make sure asthma is under control because asthma is likely to be more severe in the face of food allergy," she says.