Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakingly interprets certain foods as threats and responds by producing antibodies to defend itself from it. Reactions range from mild to severe; anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening reaction requiring immediate treatment with epinephrine injection.
Milk, peanuts, eggs, wheat, shellfish and soy are the main culprits when it comes to food allergies; others include kiwi fruit and poppy seeds.
Symptoms
Food allergies vary from person to person and may affect different parts of your body in various ways, often appearing either shortly after eating a problematic food item or several hours later.
Food allergies occur when an individual’s immune system overreacts when certain foods enter their bodies, mistakingly believing they may be harmful and sending antibodies against it, leading to the release of chemicals such as histamine that cause allergic symptoms.
Histamine causes blood vessels to widen, leading to itching and runny nose symptoms as well as chemical releases that cause skin and GI tract swelling. People with food allergies can develop severe reactions called anaphylaxis that result in difficulty breathing and drop blood pressure (which could potentially lead to shock). Anaphylaxis should always be treated immediately with an injection of adrenaline.
Food intolerance symptoms tend to be milder, typically only impacting digestive or skin functions. Due to confusion with other health issues, it’s wise to consult your physician in order to receive an accurate diagnosis.
Diagnosis
Food allergies are diagnosed when someone exhibits symptoms directly related to certain food. Diagnosis may be confirmed via skin tests or blood tests.
Food allergies arise when an individual’s immune system overreacts to proteins found in certain foods and misinterprets them as dangerous substances, producing antibodies known as immunoglobulin E or IgE that bind with them and release chemicals which lead to allergic symptoms ranging from itching and mild difficulty breathing, all the way up to life-threatening difficulties breathing or blood pressure drops (anaphylaxis).
Skin prick tests are usually the initial method used to diagnose food allergies. This test involves pricking skin on either the back or forearm with drops containing suspected allergens and monitoring for signs of redness, swelling or itching after 20 minutes. If this test proves positive, an allergist may recommend an oral food challenge in which increasing amounts of suspected food is given under medical supervision until symptoms manifest themselves.
False positive tests, commonly found on skin and blood tests, can sometimes give false positive results when someone doesn’t actually have food allergies – known as false negative results. This can result in unnecessarily restricted diets, poor weight gain and malnutrition; to protect children against this, routine reevaluations including history review and serum food-specific IgE measurement is highly advised.
Treatment
Food allergies require careful avoidance of foods that trigger symptoms. This means reading labels closely, keeping an eye out for potential cross-contamination at restaurants and consulting dietitians on ways to ensure nutritional needs are met while also avoiding allergens. While adjusting to a restricted diet can be challenging and time may be needed for finding suitable replacements there are resources available that can assist.
Eaten even in small amounts, foods that cause allergic reactions can trigger severe and sometimes life-threatening responses – from hives and swelling, difficulty breathing or drops in blood pressure (anaphylaxis), requiring immediate medical treatment with epinephrine.
As science and awareness of food allergies continue to advance, effective treatments have emerged. Oral immunotherapy (OIT), for instance, involves gradually exposing your immune system to increasing amounts of the allergen to desensitize and build tolerance within the body.
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), another innovative treatment option, involves placing a liquid dose of an allergen under one’s tongue so it is absorbed directly into their bloodstream and can significantly decrease sensitivity and improve quality of life for food allergy sufferers.
There may not be an absolute cure for food allergies, but advancements in allergy treatment have the power to significantly lessen symptoms and make your allergy much less severe. At NY Food Allergy & Wellness we stay current on research and techniques related to allergy diagnosis and treatment in order to offer our patients cutting-edge, personalized care.
Prevention
Though promising prevention and therapeutic strategies are being explored, the only real way to prevent food allergy is avoiding foods to which you or your child is allergic. While medicines are available to treat some symptoms after they arise, only an emergency epinephrine auto-injector such as Adrenaclick or EpiPen can stop severe reactions such as anaphylaxis if necessary – always carry this medication when traveling since reactions to certain foods can happen anywhere at anytime.
If your child has food allergies, consult their healthcare provider about how best to manage them in schools, sports events and field trips. Teachers and coaches need to be made aware of your child’s allergy as soon as a severe reaction happens and understand what needs to be done immediately if something goes wrong. Furthermore, make sure his/her school has written emergency plans with two epinephrine auto-injectors designated by administrators should severe reactions occur on campus or during field trips.
Children often develop food allergies because their bodies overreact to foods that are non-harmful, such as dairy, eggs, wheat and soy. Peanut, tree nut and fish allergies often last a lifetime while tree nuts allergies often subside as children age; with regards to peanut milk egg allergies it may be beneficial to introduce these foods at a younger age than later on.
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