Troubleshooting: When Food and Your Baby Don’t Agree
Introduce foods gradually to your baby’s diet. That way, you’ll find it easier to tell whether a particular food doesn’t agree with him. Signs that a food is a problem can include a whole series of symptoms, including abdominal swelling, diarrhoea, and agitated behaviour. Such symptoms can be an indication that your baby has a food allergy or intolerance.
A lot of confusion exists between the terms ‘intolerance’ and ‘allergy’. Many people assume that they’re different words for the same problem, but they actually refer to very different conditions. A food allergy is a reaction of the immune system to a substance it perceives, mistakenly, as harmful. A food intolerance usually involves a reaction within the digestive tract. Either way, both are problems for babies.
The foods that most commonly cause allergies and intolerances are eggs, cows’ milk, wheat, gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats), fish, shellfish, citrus fruits, tomatoes, sesame seeds, and soya.
If you baby vomits several times a day, gags, chokes, or refuses to feed, call a doctor. Reflux disease is caused by acid from the stomach refluxing back into the oesophagus (gullet). Symptoms include vomiting several times a day, pain when vomiting, irritability, inconsolable crying, gagging, choking, or refusal to feed.
