Allergy from rice cereal is found mostly in infants. Rice is recommended as the first cereal for babies when they start their diet. In case your baby is allergic to rice then you must go for other options.
The cereal of rice is considered to be allergic because of the pollen in the rice. This pollen, when inhaled, triggers a reaction. As rice is a grass, the reaction triggered causes symptoms which are very much similar to those of hay fever.
Allergy from rice pollen is usually found in those who reside in the areas near rice fields. Allergy from rice can also make the person allergic to other cereals also like oat, wheat, barley, rye etc.
Symptoms Of Rice Cereal Allergy
The people who are allergic to rice will have the symptoms of hay fever. So the person will have congestion in the nose, throat and eyes. Runny nose, irritation in the skin, itching in eyes, watery eyes, fever, fatigue, dullness, nasal discharge, wheezing and asthma like symptoms will be there.
Tips on How To Start Your Baby on Rice Cereal
Here are a few simple tips which can be followed while starting your baby on a diet of rice cereal. These will help in preventing your baby from rice allergy.
- In order to avoid any kind of allergy, it is better that you breastfeed your baby till he or she is four months old. This is because by this time the digestive system of your baby will be strong enough to resist the cereal intake and hence the chances of allergy reduce.
- Once you begin with cereal intake, make sure that you give only one tablespoon at a time. This will ensure proper digestion and the digestive system will also slowly accustom itself for digesting it.
- Make the cereal a little consistent so that it can be easily digested by your baby.
- The intake of the quantity of rice must be increased slowly so that your baby gets used to taking cereals in good quantity.
Time Table for Introducing Rice Cereal to Infants
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be given cereal and solid foods only after they are at least four months old. Till then, they should exclusively be given only formula or breastmilk.
After four months, you can start giving rice cereal to the infant. Mix the cereal with formula or breastmilk. The familiar taste will help the infant like the new food. Also, rice cereal generally does not cause allergy as much as some other foods.
Initially, the baby might reject the rice cereal. But, try again after a few minutes. After the rice cereal, you can try to introduce barley or oat cereal. Wait for a few days before you introduce any new food. This would give you enough time to gauge if there is any allergic reaction to a particular food.
