Is It Safe to Introduce Peanuts to Babies During COVID-19?
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. This post does contain affiliate links and the author is an affiliate for Puffworks, the baby peanut butter puff brand mentioned in this post.
Is It Safe to Introduce Peanuts to Babies During COVID-19?
Allergenic Food Introduction During COVID-19
There is a lot of uncertainty as we endure the coronavirus quarantine. The parents and caregivers I work with are wondering about many things related to keeping their babies safe, including what foods to feed.
For the past few weeks I have been fielding an increased number of questions related to offering baby’s allergenic foods. Most parents are aware of the updated guidelines and newer research that supports earlier introduction of certain allergenic foods to help prevent food allergy.
Mainly, parents are asking, “Is it safe to introduce allergenic foods during COVID-19?”
What Dr. Ron Has to Say on the Subject
For many of my allergy-related questions, I am fortunate to have Dr. Ron Sunog to turn to for answers. Dr. Sunog is a pediatrician specializing in food allergies and he is also the author of the book “EAT THE EIGHT: Preventing Food Allergy with Food and the Imperfect Art of Science” (linking to his book on Amazon).
Dr. Sunog is also a medical advisor to PUFFWORKS, the company that makes the organic, non-GMO peanut butter puffs I recommend for introducing peanut protein to babies. Those are called PUFFWORKS BABY & Dr. Sunog also helped develop the product which is softer and lower in sodium than other commercial baby PB puffs.
You can get 15% off Puffworks Baby from their website (plus free shipping) with the code BABYLED.
Dr. Sunog joined me on my podcast to discuss introducing potential allergens during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can listen to the Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy podcast episode below or on your preferred listening platform.
Dr. Sunog was also kind enough to spend an hour with me on Instagram Live on my page @babyledweanteam last week to talk all about Safe Baby Feeding Strategies During Covid 19 and you can click link above to see that livestream interview.
Q&A with Dr. Ron Sunog
Dr. Sunog sent a follow-up after our livestream just to outline a few common questions about introducing allergenic foods during these uncertain times and I’ve pasted his Q&A with responses in his words below.
Is it safe to introduce allergens to my baby during the Coronavirus outbreak - given it would be riskier to go to the ER in case of a reaction?
The risk of an allergic reaction for low-risk infants—no eczema or egg allergy—is very low, and parents should not hesitate to introduce any food. The benefits of eating the most common food allergens are much higher than the risks.
Corona needs to be taken seriously, but risks and benefits must always be weighed. Doctors office visits are limited these days in order to maintain proper social distancing, but there remain good reasons to go to the doctors office, such as having infants get their vaccines. (No point in avoiding Corona, only to get Whooping Cough.) The likelihood of a reaction to food is low, but should it occur, give Benadryl and either go to the ER if there is difficulty breathing (rare), or call your child's pediatrician's office to arrange a safe urgent visit.
High risk infants—with eczema and/or egg allergy—are at significant risk of peanut allergy. With severe eczema, the risk of peanut allergy is over 20%. I would not ignore the risk of a "lifetime sentence" of peanut avoidance, even in the age of Corona. Call your doctor to arrange a peanut allergy test to make sure that your infant is not already allergic. This can be a blood test at the lab or skin test at the allergist's office. With proper planning—minimizing contact with others—these visits can be very low risk. If the tests are negative, have them eat Puffworks baby!
What if my baby has a reaction? Can I do anything at home to lessen the severity of possible symptoms?
It's a good idea to have Benadryl on hand - for all families. The dosage is about 1 mg/kg, but it's a good idea to check with your doctor on what is safe to administer based on your baby's weight before you attempt to introduce allergenic foods, if you're unsure.
For more dialogue around this topic, check out @babyledweanteam's IGTV episode where Katie Ferraro, a dietitian and infant feeding specialist, and mother of seven chats with Dr. Sunog on this topic.
If you have more specific questions for Dr. Ron we might have missed, feel free to reach out to info@puffworks.com and Puffworks will put you in-touch with him directly!
Stay safe and healthy everyone - and don't forget to wash everyone's hands before eating anything!
PODCAST EPISODE WITH DR. SUNOG
