Common food allergies in children?

Hi, can anyone help me with this question: What are the common food allergies in children and what are the symtoms? Also, safe handling of bodily waste, HIV and aids things? I have checked my textbook and my nursery's policies and can't seem to find anything. I have already written down for the food one nut and lactose intolerance, and for the waste I have written down how my nursery gets rid of the nappies and how they clean up sick, and how they clean up any animal poo they find in the garden. Obviously, I know that this isn't enough. Can anyone help?:reading:


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Visit this thread to find out more about the allergies a setting needs to be aware of - preschool allergy food triggers

[paula06]

I hope this helps you out.

Good hygiene is paramount in any settings that involve children, such as making sure you wash your hands thoroughly before handling food, wearing an apron and gloves. Making sure the children wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. The main culprit of cross contamination is not washing hands, so we must make sure we do it properly to avoid this, plus things like storing raw meats away from cooked meats, the raw meats being on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Keeping all foods covered.

The number, of people including children, who are infected with HIV virus or hepatitis, is rising. There are many reasons why a child maybe infected, but the important thing is to minimize the risk to you and to other children. If you follow basic good hygiene practice, you will not be at risk from HIV or hepatitis. These infections are carried in the blood or other bodily fluids. Another person can only be infected by direct contact with that fluid through an open wound. If you always wear gloves when changing nappies and carrying out first aid, and always keep cuts and grazes covered, you will not be at risk of infection.

Some children may have food allergies. This means that they cannot tolarate certain foods and can become very ill if they eat them. Common food intolarances are:

Lactose…. Found in milk and dairy products.
Histamine…. Found in strawberries and ripe tomatoes.
Tartrazine…. Found in yellow food colouring and some drinks and sweets.

You will need to be aware that some children can go into anaphylactic shock if they eat certain foods.

To follow with polocies and procedures of our setting, all parents must fill out a dietary form stating if their child has a medical dietary problem, or a food intolance of any sort. This is then recorded and put on the childs file for staff, in conjunction with that we have a confidentail space in the kitchen for staff who are preparing food to be able to quickly check and make sure that the food on the menu is edible by all children before snack time commences.

[janeb]

Great reply Paula - not much to add really!!

Just thought I'd say that there seem to be a lot of children around that have an allergy to eggs (not sure what the technical term is - sorry!). Apparently, it's the second most common allergy in children now - second to milk.

It's not just whole eggs which need to be avoided - cake mixtures will need to be altered, some vaccines cannot be given, pasta and food flavourings may contain egg... :muted:

One child I knew (who has recently grown out of the allergy now) reacted to egg 'fumes' in the house and would have anaphylactic shock if he even briefly touched any egg product. He was also allergic to milk - thankfully, his mum is a great cook and his nursery were VERY vigilant!! Allergies can be life threatening.