Food Allergies

Your child is not alone. It’s estimated that 4 out of every 100 children in the US have food allergies.1

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What are food allergies?

 A food allergy is a reaction of the body's immune system to proteins found in food. By eating certain foods, the body makes an antibody that triggers the allergic reaction. Repeated exposure to the particular food allergen can cause the allergic reaction to become more severe. There are children who may outgrow their food allergy after a period of time by completely avoiding the particular food allergen, or they may have the food allergy their entire lives.

Common food allergy symptoms may include:

  • Rash or hives
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Stomach pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Itchy skin or eyes
  • Shortness of breath
  • Runny nose
  • Swelling of the airways to the lungs
  • Anaphylaxis

If your child is exhibiting any of these symptoms, contact your child's healthcare provider. If severe symptoms occur, seek immediate medical attention.

How to manage food allergies

The dietary management of food allergies includes identifying the allergen that triggers a reaction and avoiding foods that contain that allergen.

Did You Know?

The most common food allergens in the US are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, and pecans), fish and shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame.

How EleCare® and EleCare® Jr may help

EleCare and EleCare Jr are nutritionally complete, hypoallergenic, amino acid-based formulas. Both support growth when used as the primary source of nutrition.2,3,* EleCare is clinically shown to significantly improve symptoms in infants and children with malabsorption issues and short bowel syndrome.4,*

For more information about food allergies and a resource for tube feeding, check out: 

Kids With Food Allergies (KFA)

Learn how to improve the day-to-day lives of children with food allergies and empower them to create a safe and healthy future.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

Get the facts on what food allergies are – and what they aren’t. And learn how to recognize the symptoms and seek testing from a healthcare professional.

Oley Foundation

The Oley Foundation gives people living with home intravenous nutrition and tube feeding the tools and confidence they need to achieve normalcy in their lives.

Peighton’s Story

As an infant, Peighton suffered from severe food allergies and relied on EleCare

for most of her nutrition.

Other Conditions

Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS)

Short bowel syndrome describes a group of problems affecting individuals who have lost the use of a major part of their small intestine.

Malabsorption and Other Conditions

Malabsorption means that a child's body has trouble absorbing nutrients from food.

Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders (EGIDs)

EGIDs are chronic digestive system disorders in which certain food proteins trigger an overproduction of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in different areas of the digestive tract.

Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES)

FPIES is a non-IgE-mediated food allergy. It's commonly characterized by profuse vomiting. 

* Studies conducted with a previous formulation of EleCare Unflavored without DHA/ARA.

References: 1. Branum AM, Lukacs SL. Food allergy among US children: Trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. NCHS data brief, No. 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2008. Centers for Disease Control and prevention, National Center for Health Statistics website. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.pdf. Accessed March 20, 2024. 2. Sicherer SH, et al. J Pediatr. 2001;138:688-693. 3. Borschel MW, et al. Clin Pediatr. 2013;52(10):910-917.  4. Borschel MW, et al. BMC Pediatrics. 2014;14:136.

Use under medical supervision.