Source: The West Australian | Date: 2009-10-07
Doctors are testing a theory that the most common food allergy in children could be prevented by feeding egg to babies by the age of six months.
In a move that goes against recent advice to delay giving babies potentially allergy-causing foods, researchers from Princess Margaret Hospital's Childhood Allergy and Immunology Research centre believe exposure to egg early in life could help develop immune tolerance.
They are recruiting 125 babies with eczema who are at higher risk of developing food allergies, half of whom will be given egg powder each day while continuing their regular feeding. The rest will be given a non-egg substitute.
Susan Prescott, from the University of WA's school of paediatrics and child health, said allergy to egg was the most common susceptibility in Australian children.
There was no treatment for the condition and avoiding the food often put a burden on families.
"We think the immune system probably learns these foods are harmless by being exposed to them regularly from an early age," Professor Prescott said.
Find Dr Susan Prescott's book "The Allergy Epidemic - A Mystery of Modern Life" on your Healthy Shelf today.
In a move that goes against recent advice to delay giving babies potentially allergy-causing foods, researchers from Princess Margaret Hospital's Childhood Allergy and Immunology Research centre believe exposure to egg early in life could help develop immune tolerance.
They are recruiting 125 babies with eczema who are at higher risk of developing food allergies, half of whom will be given egg powder each day while continuing their regular feeding. The rest will be given a non-egg substitute.
Susan Prescott, from the University of WA's school of paediatrics and child health, said allergy to egg was the most common susceptibility in Australian children.
There was no treatment for the condition and avoiding the food often put a burden on families.
"We think the immune system probably learns these foods are harmless by being exposed to them regularly from an early age," Professor Prescott said.
Find Dr Susan Prescott's book "The Allergy Epidemic - A Mystery of Modern Life" on your Healthy Shelf today.
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