If you have food allergies, it’s natural to wonder if your child will, too. After all, there’s definitely a genetic factor regarding who develops them and who doesn’t. When you’re concerned about food allergies in a baby, one of the things you can do is look for symptoms.

While many babies deal with a rash in the diaper area at some point, in certain circumstances, it can be a sign of food allergies. Here’s what you need to know about the connection between diaper rash and food allergies.

Food Allergies, Food Intolerances, and Diaper Rash

Diaper rash can be an indication of a food allergy, especially when it lasts for a month or longer. In some cases, the diaper rash will be the only sign that your child is allergic to a particular food. This makes sense because hives (an itchy, swelling skin rash) are the most common indication of a food allergy.

Although a diaper rash may be the only sign of a food allergy, that’s not common. Most of the time, food allergies will show up alongside other symptoms. In addition, hives can appear anywhere on the body, not just on your baby’s bottom.

Diaper rash may be a sign that your child is dealing with a food intolerance rather than a food allergy. With a food allergy, the body thinks a certain food is threatening and attacks it. You usually see symptoms of this response throughout the body. With a food intolerance, the digestive system can’t break down certain foods. Because this is a digestive issue, its symptoms only show up in the digestive system.

Food intolerances often cause diarrhea. These messy bowel movements mean more frequent diaper changes, which can cause irritation that results in diaper rash. Sitting in a dirty or wet diaper can also cause diaper rash.

In addition, diaper rash that occurs on its own can also be related to sensitive skin or a skin allergy. Detergents, baby wipes, and even certain disposable diapers themselves could cause an allergic reaction on your baby’s bottom.

All of this means that it may take some time to figure out what is causing a baby’s diaper rash.

Other causes of a diaper rash include:

• A bacterial infection
• A yeast infection
• Another skin condition

If the diaper rash persists, talk to your doctor. They can help you narrow down the possible causes. If they suspect food allergies could be the culprit, they can refer you to an allergist for testing.

If they suspect food intolerances are to blame, they may recommend testing this hypothesis by removing the food that’s causing the problem from your baby’s diet.

Breastfeeding and Food Allergies

If you’re breastfeeding, dealing with food intolerances or food allergies may be more complicated.

Your child can be exposed to food they’re allergic to or intolerant of through your breast milk. Thus, if your child has symptoms of either food allergy or food intolerance, you may need to change your diet to help them feel better.

If your child is starting to eat solid foods and isn’t breastfeeding as much, you’ll need to monitor their new foods as well as what you eat yourself.

What You Need To Know About Food Allergies and Diaper Rash

As mentioned above, diaper rash can be the only symptom of a food allergy, but it’s more likely to show up with additional symptoms. Those include:

• Discomfort in the mouth, like itching and swelling
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (which can also cause diaper rash)
• Coughing
• A runny nose
• Dizziness
• Wheezing, or other unusual sounds while breathing
• Hives all over the body
• Difficulty breathing or swallowing (anaphylaxis)

Anaphylaxis is extremely serious, and if it occurs, you need to get emergency medical care for your child immediately.

The most common food allergens for babies during their first year are:

• Soy milk
• Eggs
• Cow’s milk (dairy)

After that, children may also develop allergies to:

• Shellfish
• Tree nuts
• Peanuts
• Fish
• Wheat

If you’re concerned about food allergies for your child, talk to your pediatrician. They may recommend introducing these foods in their office or with an allergist. That way, emergency medical care is available if your child has a severe reaction.

Talking to a Doctor About Food Allergies

If you have any concerns about your child and food allergies, talk to your pediatrician. If you’re seeing multiple symptoms of food allergies, a diaper rash that lasts for a month, or severe allergic responses, seek medical help right away.

If you’re not sure what your child is allergic to, you’ll likely need to keep track of what both you and they are eating. You can also make note of when their allergy symptoms show up. This should help you and your doctor identify which foods your child is reacting to. You can also do this for food intolerances.

Your doctor may also order tests like a blood test or a skin prick test for your child. These can shed light on the cause of your child’s symptoms, but they’re not absolute. Your child may need to do a food challenge in the doctor’s office. This involves eating a food that is suspected to cause allergies to see if any symptoms appear.

If you suspect your child has food allergies, ask your pediatrician for a referral to an allergist. Allergists are doctors who specialize in allergies. They are trained to quickly and easily pinpoint the origin of your child’s allergies.

Once you know what your child is allergic to, your health care provider will come up with a plan for them. This usually involves completely avoiding the problematic food. You may have to take extra care when eating out, or you may have to provide your child with snacks and food in situations where you usually wouldn’t, like at another child’s birthday party.

You may also get an epinephrine auto-injector, which is a tool for giving your child emergency medication that may save their life if they have an anaphylactic reaction. The doctor will teach you how to use epinephrine. Once you have this device, it will need to go everywhere with your child.

This may sound daunting, but your allergy team will prepare you and your child to live with food allergies.

Talk With Others Who Understand

MyFoodAllergyTeam is the social network for people with food allergies and their loved ones. On MyFoodAllergyTeam, more than 41,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with food allergies.

Have you wondered if there’s a connection between food allergies and diaper rash? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.