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Want to learn more about food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)? Discover the common signs and symptoms and who is affected most by FPIES.
Infants and children with FPIES may react differently. However, the most common symptoms are related to the gastrointestinal tract. The most prevalent symptom is vomiting, which is often mistaken for a stomach virus, making this food allergy hard to diagnose.
Since reactions are caused by a non-IgE-mediated food allergy but still triggered by the immune system, FPIES is hard to pin down. Contrary to more common food allergies, reactions are delayed by several hours, as the food needs to pass through the digestive system. Usually, vomiting begins two hours after consumption of a food allergen, occasionally followed by diarrhea 5 hours later.
While most children will only experience mild symptoms, 20% will have severe FPIES reactions, which can cause dehydration and potentially shock. These are the result of acute FPIES. However, some infants may have chronic FPIES – usually fed with formula, thus making their diagnosis even trickier.
Though most cases are mild, 20% of children with FPIES experience severe (acute) allergic reactions that can lead to an emergency visit to the hospital (The International FPIES Association)
Normally, FPIES first shows signs in infancy when a child starts feeding on formula or solid food. Infants that have breastfed successfully start to show symptoms once introduced to cow milk and/or soy. However, in rare situations, infants may show signs of FPIES during breastfeeding.
In many cases, infants with FPIES eventually outgrow the condition after a few years. Usually children stop showing signs of FPIES at around the age of 3. However, this varies based on how severe the condition is and on which foods cause the reaction. Reintroduction of food allergens must be done under the supervision of a medical professional.
Technically, FPIES can affect anyone at any age and there are adults with the condition, however it is rare and less well researched.
Neocate® is a family of hypoallergenic, amino acid-based specialized formulas for use under medical supervision and is indicated for cow milk allergy, multiple food allergies and related GI and allergic conditions. Talk to your healthcare provider about product recommendations.
Neocate Nutra is suitable for use in children and infants older than 6 months of age (not suitable as sole source of nutrition). Neocate Nutra is not intended for bottle or tube feeding.
Within days of his birth, Roland showed signs of dairy protein intolerance. He wasn’t able to nurse and was tube-fed his mom’s pumped breast milk. His mom eliminated dairy, then soy, and eventually all allergens from her diet, but his condition worsened over time. He was eventually diagnosed with FPIES. Neocate, an amino acid-based formula, recommended by his HCP helped to manage his FPIES symptoms, and Roland became a smiling, easy to care for baby.*
*Individual results may vary.
**A patient’s story from the US
Born completely healthy, Kennedy started having blood in her stool at around 2 weeks. Her condition started improving with Neocate® Infant*. However, at 6 months, almost every solid food caused a vomiting reaction. An allergist formally diagnosed Kennedy with FPIES. Kennedy was 100% tube fed for the following months. Her FPIES RD gave us Neocate Splash after the age of 1. For the 1st time, she drank half of it in one go!**
*Sold in Canada as Neocate® DHA & ARA infant formula
**Individual results may vary.
***A patient’s story from the US
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