Food allergies occur when your immune system misidentifies certain foods as potentially hazardous substances and reacts by producing antibodies to fight it, leading to symptoms like hives or wheezing – potentially life-threatening reactions such as anaphylaxis which could prove fatal without immediate epinephrine treatment.
Food allergies can be managed effectively by avoiding foods which trigger them and notifying key individuals such as school or daycare staff and friends about your allergies and the symptoms to look out for.
What is an Allergy?
Many people tend to view allergies as minor nuisances, such as sneezing during allergy season or itchy eyes around pets, but untreated allergies can severely diminish one’s quality of life. Allergies result from your immune system overreacting to normally harmless substances like pollen, medications, bee venom or food that trigger an immune reaction; examples include pollen, medication or food (an allergen) when consumed; when you eat something to which you’re allergic your immune system overreacts by producing antibodies against its protein constituent (an allergen); when these antibodies bind with mast cells which line mucus membranes of nose, eyes lungs et al they release chemicals which trigger symptoms like swelling and itchiness resulting in symptoms like swelling and itchiness or swelling with itchy sensations in other parts of the body such as nose, eyes lungs et al.
Milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, crustacean shellfish and sesame seeds contain proteins which often provoke allergic reactions in people. Reactions can range from mild to severe and typically appear minutes or even hours after eating an offending food.
Allergies can be a serious health condition that could even prove fatal in rare instances, so it is vital that you collaborate with your health care team to identify foods to which you are allergic and remove them from your diet. Furthermore, discuss carrying an epinephrine autoinjector such as Adrenaclick or EpiPen should any severe allergic reactions occur.
Symptoms
Allergies occur when your immune system misidentifies a food as being harmful, mistaking its appearance for something harmful, sending out antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (or IgE) against it and producing chemicals which lead to symptoms like hives, swelling, an itchy throat or tongue and difficulty breathing, difficulty with breathing or stomach discomfort – in extreme cases life-threatening reactions known as anaphylaxis may even ensue; should this happen immediately seek medical assistance by calling 911 or going directly to an emergency room.
Most food allergies arise during early childhood. Most children who initially develop reactions to milk, eggs, wheat and peanuts typically outgrow them by school age; however, allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and fish tend to persist into adulthood.
Food allergies can cause life-threatening reactions. Therefore, it’s essential that you get tested for food allergies so you can identify and avoid those foods which cause difficulty.
Make sure that other close to you – including family, friends, classmates and coworkers – know about your food allergy. Be ready to inform them which foods can and cannot be eaten and provide explanation for each food choice that cannot be consumed. Carry an emergency autoinjector such as Adrenaclick or EpiPen with you at all times just in case there’s a severe reaction; this is particularly useful when dining at restaurants where menu items might not always be clearly labeled.
Diagnosis
First step to diagnosing food allergies: talk with your physician. They’ll ask about family history of allergies or asthma and conduct a physical exam, before prescribing tests to find out what triggers your allergy.
Skin tests are one of the quickest and most accurate ways to identify what allergens you’re allergic to. Your doctor will clean a small patch of your arm or back before pricking you with a device containing allergen extracts; if an allergen triggers an allergy response in you, an itchy bump (wheal) should form within 15-20 minutes indicating this fact.
Blood tests can also assist in diagnosing food allergies. They measure levels of IgE antibody in your blood when exposed to certain foods; positive test results indicate you possess IgE antibodies against them. Your doctor may order a radioallergosorbent test (RAST), which analyzes samples of your blood for potential IgE antibodies against specific foods.
Your doctor might conduct what’s known as an oral food challenge in their office, which is considered one of the most accurate ways of diagnosing food allergies. Your doctor will give you small doses of suspected food and watch closely for signs of reactions such as hives, flushing or difficulty breathing.
Treatment
Food allergies should be managed through careful food selection, label reading and meal planning to eliminate potential allergens such as peanuts in cooking or preparation processes. Nonprescription antihistamines may provide relief; for more severe reactions epinephrine auto-injectors (Adrenaclick/EpiPen) should always be kept nearby so as to be administered instantly upon an anaphylactic reaction occurring.
Skin prick tests can be very reliable for foods containing stable proteins, like peanuts, milk, eggs, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. However, they’re less reliable when applied to fruits, vegetables and other fast-decomposing food sources like fruits. A blood test for IgE antibodies to these items may also be performed.
Food challenges can help us determine whether you have an allergy to certain foods. We administer small doses of the offending item over multiple months in order to monitor for signs of an allergic response and potentially desensitization of that specific item.
New innovations include oral immunotherapy and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), which expose you to increasing amounts of food you’re allergic to in order to desensitize your immune system. There are also biologic drugs approved for other conditions that are being tested as allergy treatments; IgE lowering therapies or inhibitors which block key steps leading to allergic responses are being researched; we actively keep abreast of such developments and incorporate them where appropriate into patient care.
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