If you or your child have food allergies, the first step should always be avoiding allergens. Be sure to carefully review ingredient lists – foods containing common allergens like peanuts, milk or soy may have different names listed for them on ingredient labels.
Always inform key people in your life of any allergies you or your child may have – such as teachers, childcare providers and family.
Avoiding the Food
Avoidance is the cornerstone of treating food allergies. While this may seem impossible, the aim is to prevent exposure to foods that trigger reactions and could potentially result in severe symptoms (anaphylaxis), including severe reactions that could even prove fatal.
First step to managing food allergies effectively is education. Speak to an allergist to gain more information about the ingredients found in food you eat, particularly less popular varieties, while carefully reading labels as ingredients can change. Also look out for any advisory statements such as “may contain” and “produced on equipment that…”
If you suffer from food allergies, always carry an emergency kit containing medicines like epinephrine in case of severe reactions. Also plan ahead so you can avoid your trigger foods at restaurants and social gatherings where there may be surprises in what they serve up.
If you suspect you may have a food allergy, an elimination diet may be the most reliable way to test it, with help from your physician. Try cutting out a suspected food from your diet for some weeks and then gradually introducing it back in. If symptoms stop appearing after doing this test, that could be a telltale sign that it contains allergenic elements. For additional testing options that could involve potentially severe reactions such as food challenge centers can also provide services.
Preventing Cross-Contamination
Kitchens can be places of warmth and creativity, yet also pose serious hazards to those with food allergies. Cross-contamination — which involves physically moving harmful substances between foods — is one of the primary causes of food poisoning and may occur at home, restaurants, or manufacturing lines.
Cross-contamination often happens by accident. Take, for instance, Bob deboning raw chicken on a white cutting board then using the same knife to dice onions; his juices from deboning then contaminating onions making them unsafe to consume.
Food manufacturers can reduce the risk of cross-contamination by creating procedures designed to prevent product mixing or transfer between unrelated items at intersection points, as well as by installing mix proof valves which close off, open or change pipe paths accordingly in order to ensure no intermixing or cross-contamination at those points.
People with food allergies should carefully read all labels, avoiding foods containing known allergens. Foods may include warning statements such as “may contain traces of X.” It is also essential that they notify servers about your allergy when ordering from restaurants and cafeterias, asking them to keep your meal separate, clean the equipment used to cook the meals specifically designed for allergen-free meals, as well as keep everything sanitary.
Be wary when dining at establishments offering salad bars, buffet-style restaurants and ice cream parlors as these establishments can present risks of cross-contamination due to sharing spoons or scoops across dishes.
Preventing Reactions
Allergies develop when your immune system misidentifies proteins found in food as germs and reacts inappropriately, producing copies of an antibody known as IgE that recognizes it and attaches itself to two types of cells within your body to release chemicals causing allergy symptoms that affect skin, respiratory system, stomach & intestines and cardiovascular systems. Severe reactions may even result in drops in blood pressure or shock that require immediate medical treatment with adrenaline (also called epinephrine).
Most adults outgrow food allergies by adulthood; however, some continue to have them throughout their lives. Milk, eggs, wheat and soy allergies typically disappear by early childhood; while peanuts, tree nuts and seafood allergies typically persist into adulthood.
Food allergies can be prevented through practicing good hygiene and avoiding foods to which you’re sensitive, as well as keeping an emergency kit containing epinephrine for immediate treatment of severe reactions. Also consult your physician regarding a skin test or oral food challenge which could determine if certain foods trigger reactions; such tests typically take place either in their office or a specialist clinic with emergency medications on hand for use should symptoms arise.
Treating Reactions
Food allergies occur when your child’s immune system perceives food as being harmful to their health and produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E (or IgE), which bind to allergens and release chemicals that lead to symptoms like itching in the mouth, hives or stomach pain. Sometimes severe reactions occur leading to swelling throat or drop blood pressure (anaphylaxis), potentially fatal outcomes for some individuals with food allergies.
Food allergies can be treated using antihistamines and an autoinjector such as EpiPen or Auvi-Q to stop or slow the allergic response. They should also be kept handy at all times to use at the first sign of severe reactions.
Most children outgrow food allergies by the time they reach school age; with the exception of an allergy to peanuts or shellfish that typically persists into adulthood. If your child recurrs after outgrowing its allergy, speak to their healthcare provider who may suggest either food challenge tests involving giving small amounts of the allergenic food over three to six months or sublingual immunotherapy which entails giving doses daily under their tongue to build tolerance.
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