Newborns amaze us with their delicacy. They are tiny little beings completely dependent on you to provide for them and keep them safe. One of the toughest areas some parents deal with in their child’s safety and comfort are infant allergies.

Skin Allergies

The first potential allergy parents might notice is a detergent allergy. Baby’s sensitive skin may react to the detergents you use in your washing machine or even to certain fabrics. The same can be said of soaps and lotions. Babies that tend to break out from some sort of skin allergy should be examined by their pediatrician and care must be given to avoid allergy producing products.

Cotton and water will keep baby clean enough for the first couple of weeks and bathing every two or three days after that may help as well. Change detergents to something mild with fewer chemicals or consider using less in a wash. Fabric softeners and any other chemicals should be completely avoided.

Food Allergies

The scariest kind of allergies in a baby is food allergies. Babies who legitimately suffer from a lactose intolerance or milk allergy can get very sick very fast as newborns. Fortunately, there are many soy milk products that are non dairy which can help give these babies the nutrition they need.

Other common culprits of food allergies are egg whites, peanuts, and wheat. Strawberries, chocolate, tomatoes, citrus fruits and shellfish can also be strong allergy triggers. The best way to detect an allergy, even if you can’t prevent it, is to wait until a baby is close to six months before introducing solid foods, and then introduce foods slowly. Wait four days between new foods to see if there is a reaction before trying a new one.

Also, items such as shellfish, chocolate and nuts should probably wait until baby is closer to a year old. The same is true for honey. Honey may not cause an allergy, but it contains Clostridium botulinum which can cause a kind of poisoning the baby’s intestinal tract is not mature enough to fight off.

Air Allergies

Babies can suffer from hay fever and airborne allergies the same way the rest of us do. A trip to the pediatrician can help find the treatment or medicine you need for baby’s seasonal allergies.