What can parents do to minimise the occurrence of an allergic reaction in their infant? Prevention is key and several actions and/or behaviours (precautions taken by parents) can help to minimize the risk of your child suffering from an allergic reaction.

A 'prevention' progream which also considers remedies for food allergies has been developed and looks at grouping the steps of prevention into three main categories:

• Primary prevention - steps and actions taken to avoid the occurrence of allergies;
  
  
• Secondary prevention - actions which should be adopted once the allergy/allergic reaction has started to take effect. It is important to avoid contact with the allergenic substance as to not trigger an allergic reaction.
  
  
• Tertiary prevention - actions which consider the medical treatment of the disease and/or reduce the severity of symptoms.

Thus, primary prevention is the key in reducing the eventual development of the allergy.
Scientific associations agree that primary prevention should only be recommended if the baby is considered "at risk". Who is consifered a “baby at risk"? A ‘baby at risk' has a hereditary inclination to develop allergies – found in the genetic make-up of the family or directly inherited from their own parents.
A proven fact - the likelihood of developing allergies is higher when there is someone in the family, such as a parent or a brother, who already suffers from some kind of allergy. These children “at risk” should start primary prevention early, even soon after birth.

The first important step in primary prevention is breastfeeding. As the first prevention method, it is strongly recommended that for at least the first 4-6 months of life mothers should breastfeed their babies. Breast milk is a natural form of food and is the least allergenic. Breast milk provides babies with all the nutritional requirements they require and guarantees optimal growth to help strengthen their immune system. Weaning can be gradually introduced at about 6 months by slowly introducing simple foods one at a time that are considered ‘less allergenic'.

A mother breastfeeding her baby “at risk” should follow a strict diet regime by avoiding high allergice foods which could pass through her milk and trigger an allergic reaction for her baby. The mother should consult with her doctor on an appropriate dietary plan as to plan her diet with the proper amounts of essential nutrients – ensuring a balanced diet.

If breastfeeding is not an option for a baby "at risk" for e.g. because there is not enough breast milk, the baby “at risk” should be fed with an hypoallergenic formula which is made up of simple and non allergenic elements that do not trigger an allergic reaction. Soy milk is never recommended because it is highly allergenic.

Scientific associations do state that a diet excluding food allergens is not recommended during pregnancy. This is a because a pregnant woman should not eliminate essential foods from her diet as it can damage her health and the growth of her baby. An exception is peanut butter. This food is widely used in some countries and is an exception - peanuts are highly allergenic and are not an essential food therefore, it is not recommended in diets of pregnant women and/or breastfeeding mothers.