Food allergies can cause symptoms including hives, difficulty breathing and vomiting in people of all ages and races.
Reactions to milk and eggs often fade with age, while peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish allergies tend to remain throughout life. People with food allergies should always carry an adrenaline injection pen such as Adrenaclick or EpiPen just in case there is a serious allergic reaction.
Symptoms
Food allergies occur when your child’s immune system, which should protect them against germs, misinterprets certain foods as harmful. This leads to their body overreacting and showing symptoms such as hives or wheezing breath; more serious reactions include swelling across multiple parts of their bodies, tightening of airways and drop in blood pressure (anaphylaxis), which require immediate emergency treatment with an injection of epinephrine.
Food allergies may also contribute to other health problems for children, including eczema or asthma. Being diagnosed with either condition increases your child’s risk for food allergies. Also keep an eye out for cross-reactivity; that is when their immune system responds similarly to related foods like peanuts and dairy.
Your healthcare provider can diagnose food allergies through a physical exam and a detailed history of your child’s symptoms, when and how often they occur, and any specific effects. Your healthcare provider may conduct skin tests by placing liquid extracts of suspected allergens onto the forearm or back and pricking them, looking out for wheals forming on either arm. They may also perform blood tests to detect antibodies against certain foods; in extreme cases they may ask you to consume some under supervision to confirm an allergic response.
Diagnosis
Food allergies typically manifest themselves quickly after indulging in offending food, often within minutes after consumption or later on, though sometimes even hours later. They can affect skin, respiratory tract or gastrointestinal systems and include symptoms like itching, swelling of lips tongue and throat; wheezy cough; belly pain, diarrhea; nausea ; vomiting as well as constriction tightening (causing trouble breathing) of airways tightening (causing difficulty breathing), drop in blood pressure or shock.
Food allergies occur when your immune system identifies a certain food as being dangerous and responds by sending immunoglobulin E or IgE antibodies against it, similar to what protects against infections and keeps you healthy. Your chance of food allergy increases if you already suffer from other allergies like pollen or dust mites; or someone in your family suffers from eczema or asthma.
Keep a food and symptoms diary to help your doctor identify potential allergens. Be sure to note the time, duration and severity of symptoms you experienced as well as food you consumed during that period and any medications such as antihistamines taken nonprescription if any helped ease them; anaphylaxis must be treated immediately with an injection of epinephrine.
Treatment
Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakes food for an invading invader and reacts accordingly, producing symptoms like hives, swelling and shortness of breath. In extreme cases, anaphylaxis (an extreme and life-threatening allergic response to certain substances) may result.
Avoiding allergens is the ideal treatment for food allergies, and doctors may prescribe medicines to relieve symptoms, including anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is a fast-acting antihistamine available as preloaded injectable devices (such as EpiPen and Auvi-Q) or tablets and should be given at any sign of severe allergic reaction – it should always be kept nearby in case any unexpected reactions arise.
Food intolerances, on the other hand, are digestive issues rather than immune system conditions. Lactose intolerance makes it hard for your body to digest lactase protein in milk resulting in symptoms like cramping diarrhea or IBS. A doctor can assist in diagnosing food intolerances by asking about your symptoms and conducting an elimination diet (wherein one suspected food item is eliminated for two to six weeks and then gradually introduced back in). Your provider may suggest keeping a food and symptom diary to aid diagnosis this diagnosis process.
Prevention
Immune systems are designed to defend people against germs; however, in those with food allergies it misidentifies certain foods or food substances as harmful and releases antibodies against it, producing chemicals which cause symptoms known as allergens. Common food allergens include milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat fish shellfish. While food allergies may run in families they can affect anyone.
Food allergies require individuals to avoid all foods which trigger reactions in them, even if other people can consume these items without adverse effects. Consultations with dieticians or nutritionists can assist in creating a balanced diet while excluding allergens; support groups specifically dedicated to food allergies are also an invaluable source of knowledge and assistance.
Experts continue to study ways to prevent food allergies. A recent study suggests that early introduction of some potentially allergenic foods may reduce their risk, though more research needs to be conducted. It is essential that children and their caregivers become educated about food allergies once they reach school age, particularly through well-child visits and early care and education staff trainings on how to both anticipate and react in case of allergic reactions.
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