Food allergies occur when our immune systems mistakenly identify certain proteins found in food as being harmful, leading to cells producing antibodies against it and, upon subsequent consumption, these antibodies trigger histamine release and other chemicals which result in symptoms.
Symptoms
Food allergies are caused when your immune system misidentifies certain foods as potentially hazardous and responds by sending out chemicals that protect you against them, leading to symptoms like hives, swelling or vomiting. More serious reactions, known as anaphylaxis, require medical assistance immediately.
Some foods, including milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat and fish tend to cause severe reactions in children and may persist throughout their lives as allergies. Children may outgrow these food allergies but may still remain allergic for life.
IgE-mediated food allergies typically manifest themselves in skin and respiratory reactions that occur soon after eating the food or may take several hours to manifest themselves. Other food allergies involve digestive system disorders like EoE (esophageal edema) or FPIES (food protein intolerance); symptoms can take longer to appear but usually involve stomach and intestine symptoms.
Family history plays an integral part in whether or not an individual develops food allergies, with people with other allergic conditions like hay fever or asthma being at an increased risk for food allergy development. Children may outgrow allergies to milk, egg and soy; in contrast peanut, tree nut and fish allergies tend to remain long term and severe reactions more likely if you already suffer from other sensitizing environmental allergens like pollen; this process is known as cross-reactivity.
Diagnosis
Food allergies are diagnosed by speaking to you or your child about symptoms, family medical history and medical history (including other allergies) as well as performing a physical exam. Additional allergy testing options could include skin or blood tests to test antibodies to specific foods as well as an elimination diet or oral food challenge test by your physician.
These tests involve administering liquid extracts of potential allergens to your child’s arm or back and pricking their skin, then monitoring for reddish-brown raised spots resembling mosquito bites to form on his/her forearm or back. A positive test could indicate food allergies; any food tested positive means they could potentially have issues digesting that particular item.
An anaphylactic reaction, more commonly known as anaphylaxis, can occur unexpectedly and quickly lead to swelling in multiple parts of the body as well as difficulty breathing or drops in blood pressure. Anaphylaxis should always be considered a medical emergency and treated immediately with injectable medicine such as epinephrine.
An oral food challenge takes place in either a doctor’s office or hospital with access to emergency medicine, during which your child slowly consumes increasing doses of a potential allergen while your doctor monitors for any signs of adverse reaction. While it is the best way to determine whether they are allergic to certain food items, the test itself can be costly, time consuming and has low success rates compared with alternative methods of testing.
Treatment
Food allergies are treated by avoiding foods that trigger them; this can be challenging for children. Therefore, it’s crucial that children are educated on food allergies and what symptoms to look out for, along with including caregivers (babysitters and teachers) in monitoring that no harmful foods enter the child’s system; caregivers should be familiar with ways to lower risk by hand-washing and cleaning surfaces that have come in contact with allergenic food; additionally they should know emergency treatments such as adrenaline autoinjectors (Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q and EpiPen).
Food allergies occur when individuals’ immune systems mistakenly identify certain food proteins as harmful. This triggers their production of antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE), which then produce histamine and other chemicals that trigger symptoms.
Allergy tests can assist in diagnosing food allergies. The most widely used allergy test is the skin test, in which providers prick the skin with small amounts of potential allergens to test for any reactions; blood tests may also reveal antibodies for specific foods; some doctors also utilize food challenge tests, where individuals eat increasing amounts of suspected allergens while being monitored for adverse reactions.
Prevention
Food allergies can be avoided by first consulting with a medical provider and then strictly avoiding foods to which you are allergic. You should learn to read ingredient labels as some food products may go by different names. Also, keep epinephrine with you at all times when out and about in case an allergic reaction arises.
Food allergies typically manifest within minutes after ingesting their trigger food and typically include itching of the mouth or throat and hives on the skin, with additional symptoms including itchy eyes or throat and itchy hives on skin surface. Over time these symptoms may progress into vomiting or diarrhea as well as constricted airways with reduced blood pressure (anaphylaxis), making breathing difficult or even shock likely.
Most children outgrow their milk, egg and wheat allergies by the age of 5, while peanuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts and soybeans tend to remain lifelong allergens. Food allergies may trigger severe or potentially life-threatening reactions called anaphylaxis that require immediate medical treatment because oral medication cannot do the trick – this type of severe allergic reaction often happens quickly and leads to fatality; an anaphylactic shock can be avoided with an immediate shot of epinephrine that reverses allergic reaction while simultaneously lowering blood pressure – either way it works to quickly reverse allergic reaction and stop potential anaphylactic shocks from happening fast and deadly quickly!
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