One of the great controversies in pediatric allergy during the past 2 decades has been and remains the potential to prevent the development of allergy and asthma. The controversy stems largely from the lack of quality studies and conflicting data from the few studies that have been done; some studies have demonstrated significant protection and most others have shown little or no effect.
Possible approaches to allergy prevention include maternal dietary restrictions during pregnancy, breastfeeding, dietary restrictions while breastfeeding, the use of hypoallergenic infant formulas, and delays in the introduction of foods into the infant's diet, both in general and specifically in regard to more allergenic foods.1 In addition, the use of probiotics or other immunomodulatory agents and the avoidance of environmental allergens and irritants, such as tobacco smoke, have been suggested as possible approaches to allergy prevention.