The number of American children with food allergies has increased by 18% in the past decade according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report shows that about 3 million kids and teens in the U.S. suffered from at least one type of food allergy in 2007, up from 2.3 million in 1997. Overall, nearly 4% of American children under the age of 18 (3.8 percent of boys and 4.1 percent of girls) had food allergies.

According to the CDC, eight types of foods account for 90% of these allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Allergic reactions to foods can cause a mild tingling sensation in the lips, hives and may even cause death in severe cases.

Children who have food allergies are also more likely to suffer from asthma and other types of allergies. According to the CDC report, in 2007, 29 percent of children with a food allergy also had asthma and 30 percent also had some type of respiratory allergy; comparatively, only 12 percent of children without food allergies have asthma and 9 percent have a respiratory allergy.

Researchers do not really understand how or why someone develops a food allergy. On the positive side, the majority of children tend to “outgrow” food allergies as the number of adults who suffer from them is far lower.

If you are concerned that your child may have a food allergy, contact your doctor right away. It is not a good idea to eliminate certain foods from your child’s diet without the supervision of a doctor.

Find out more about allergies from the Healia Health Guide: Allergies.

_{Photo: Gaetan Lee, Flickr, Creative Commons}