2022 Volume 36 Issue 2 Pages 133-140
In recent years, the approach to pediatric food allergies (FA) has changed because of a paradigm shift wherein earlier exposure to allergens is deemed more beneficial. Guidelines have been developed and nursery schools are required to respond to FA in a directed and more cautious manner.
While dealing with pediatric FA, it is important for local medical specialists to understand the current practices and response measures, establish an efficient and coordinated system with the frontliners, and explore areas of improvement.
A questionnaire was distributed prior to the workshop, and a survey was conducted to know the status of dealing with FA among nursery school children and the incidence of accidental ingestion of food allergens. The results of the survey and the effectiveness of the workshop will be discussed.
Most accidental ingestion of food allergens occurred during snack time. However, the number of children with FA has decreased over the past three years, especially among those ≤ 1 year. The number of incidents of accidental ingestion of food allergens decreased from an average of 20.6 incidents/year to 7 incidents/year and 8 incidents/year in the 5 years before and after the start of the workshop.
These results suggest that by incorporating food allergy workshops for all nursery schools in Kasugai City, it was possible to reduce the incidence of accidental ingestion.
