MUNCHAUSEN ALLERGY BY PROXY

Are food related allergies the latest danger to the mini-me’s of today or are they a ‘must have’ for modern trendy parents?

Research at the University of Portsmouth has recently shown that there are more parents craving for a food allergy diagnosis for their children than there are children with a food allergy.

In the project, over 800 babies (one year’s crop of babies on IoW) were involved, of which more than 250 were thought to have a food allergy by their parents; mainly the mothers.

The study, funded by the Food Standards Agency, found that parents jump to the conclusion of a food allergy far too quickly.

Within the IoW project, only a handful of babies actually were allergic to any food; between 5% and 6% of babies had an allergic reaction to some foods at some point in the three years, but just 27 were left with allergies at the age of three.

Dr Adam Fox, a consultant paediatric allergist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Whilst a large number of parents do worry about their children having food allergies, most children won't.

"But unfortunately for a significant minority, food allergies are a very real problem, and it has a huge impact on their lives”.