WHO IS 'AT RISK' OF DEVELOPING AN ALLERGY?
- Many factors can influence susceptibility to allergy symptoms
When we say AT RISK, we refer to young Infants who are particularly susceptible to food allergies, possibly because of the immaturity of their digestive tract and/or immune system.
Genetic predisposition (10,11) inherited from the parents, plays a major role in the development of atopic disease, however, simple mathematical calculations demonstrate that comparable absolute numbers of those considered at high and low risk of allergies will develop symptoms during their life.
Statistics show that when neither parent is allergic, the risk for a child to develop an allergy is about 15%.
This doubles when one parent is allergic, is quadrupled if both parents are allergic and is even higher when both parents present the same allergy symptoms.
The first 6 months of life are the dangerous period for sensitisation to food allergens and small, repeated amounts of allergens will be more sensitising than a large, single dose.
Download the Allergy Risk chart (above) for more information.
