Peanut allergies are becoming more increasingly prevalent among children. As a way to combat the rising number of allergy to peanuts, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recommends introducing peanuts in the form of blended solids or powder before the age of 6 months or earlier if the child is allergy-prone.
The hope for the new guidelines is that they will be widely implemented and lower the rate of children affected by this increasingly common allergy. Dr. Fauci, the institute’s director said, “If we put this into practice over a period of several years, I would be surprised if we would not see a dramatic decrease in the incidence of peanut allergies.”
In 2010, 2 percent of children in the U.S. had he allergy which was up from less than one percent in 1999. Previous to this increase, the former regulation of not giving allergy-sensitive children peanuts until the age of 3 was given.
Peanut products or foods containing peanuts should not be the very first food a child is give. It is important, though, to make sure peanuts are introduced three times a week when in childhood.
