[Malveaux:] A study published in "Pediatrics" suggests more children suffer food allergies than previously believed. And as parents know, sometimes these reactions can be pretty severe. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us. And Elizabeth, I love the display here. I mean, I always love these displays. We learn so much. How widespread is this problem?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] You know, previously studies a lot of studies pointed to maybe two to five percent of kids had food allergies. And this study, which was a really big, well done study, eight percent. So, a tad higher than what we thought. And what's interesting is that a third of these kids with allergies had allergies to multiple foods.
[Malveaux:] Really?
[Cohen:] It wasn't just one food, it was multiple food. And about 40 percent of them had severe reactions. You know, they didn't get just a little itchy, they had problems breathing. Things like that.
[Malveaux:] So what kind of foods actually trigger these allergic reactions?
[Cohen:] You know, it's only sort of a relatively short list of food trigger reactions in most of these kids. And here three biggies. So we have peanuts, which were responsible for about 25 percent of the allergies. So peanuts as we all know are big. And 21 percent of the kids with allergies were allergic to milk. And about 17 percent were allergic to shellfish. So, peanuts, milk, shellfish, those were the three biggies.
[Malveaux:] And why do we suppose it's increasing, it's on the rise now? Why is that happening?
[Cohen:] Lots of theories out there. And one of them is the parents are too clean.
[Malveaux:] You're kidding, really?
[Cohen:] Really. It's really true. You probably know parents who are always worried that little Jimmy or little Susie is going to get dirty, and if something falls on the floor, they wash it right away whereas in the old days, you know, if something fell on the floor, you might give it to your kid
[Malveaux:] Ten second rule.
[Cohen:] Ten second rule. Exactly. Or for some people the 10 minute rule or 10 hour rule. And so when kids the theory is, is that when kids don't get all those germs because their parents are so fastidious, their immune systems aren't able to sort of give a good defense. You know, their bodies don't learn how to deal with germs. That's one theory.
[Malveaux:] What with should parents do?
[Cohen:] Parents need to be on the lookout for these things. And a lot of parents ask, well, how would I know if my kid has a food allergy, because sometimes a kid will eat something and will feel a little sick.
[Malveaux:] Sure.
[Cohen:] Or will eat something and the next day will be itchy. And so one thing that's important to remember that if your child has a food allergy, you're going to know it probably within minutes, maybe an hour, but usually within minutes. So, it happens quickly. Once you think there's an allergy, get to a doctor. And if your child really does have an allergy, you're going to have to become a really good label reader, you know, looking for those things. Things like peanuts and milk are in so many different things. It's tough.
[Malveaux:] Right. Right. A lot of things, yes.
[Cohen:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Elizabeth, thank you so much.
[Cohen:] OK, thanks.
[Malveaux:] Appreciate it, as always. Well, an Obama impersonator's act is cut short. Find out why he thinks he got escorted off the stage at a Republican conference.