Food allergies affect millions of Americans. Although they’re more prevalent among infants and children, food allergies can affect any age group.
Food allergies happen when your immune system misidentifies proteins in food as being potentially dangerous, triggering symptoms like hives and swelling. A severe reaction, known as anaphylaxis, is life-threatening; always carry an epinephrine auto-injector with you in case anaphylaxis occurs.
Symptoms
Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakes a protein in food as a threat, producing antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). IgE responds by producing chemicals which release in response, leading to symptoms like hives, swelling and shortness of breath or wheezing within minutes after ingestion even of small quantities of allergen. While intolerances such as lactose intolerance or heartburn (gastroesophageal reflux disease) may not cause life-threatening reactions like food allergies do; instead some sufferers develop systemic reactions like vomiting or diarrhea which require treatment with injectable epinephrine injection.
Some foods that cause allergic reactions most frequently include fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, peanuts, soybeans and tree nuts. Children usually exhibit more severe reactions than adults when it comes to these allergenic products.
Mild allergic reactions might include just itchy hives or minor stomach distress; however, more serious and life-threatening symptoms like anaphylaxis may develop. Some people only show localized signs like itching of their lips (oral allergy syndrome).
Your healthcare provider will use a combination of tests – skin or blood – and history review to identify a food allergy. One common method involves pricking the skin with small amounts of different food to see how your body reacts; those who already suffer from other allergies like hay fever or eczema may have an increased risk of food allergy development.
Diagnosis
Food allergies occur when our immune systems misidentify certain foods as threats and overreact. When this happens, antibodies called immunoglobulin E (or IgE) antibodies attack both proteins in the food as well as its ingredients; this causes chemicals that produce symptoms like hives, asthma attacks, itchy mouth or throat area itching, difficulty breathing or stomach pains – often with only trace amounts needed to cause reactions in someone who is allergic. By contrast, food intolerance differs in that those experiencing it will experience discomfort or even GI symptoms when foods enter their systems; therefore allergic individuals usually only need trace amounts to trigger their response.
Food intolerances are diagnosed by taking into account a patient’s medical history and symptoms as well as any diagnostic testing (for instance skin-prick tests or allergy blood tests that measure IgE levels related to specific food/protein).
Determine whether your child has food allergies or intolerances is essential to their overall health, so a visit to their healthcare provider for an exam and food history analysis, skin-prick or blood tests should help determine if one exists. Common allergens for children include eggs, dairy products, wheat products and soy; these allergies tend to outgrow themselves with age; however peanuts nuts and seafood require closer monitoring from healthcare providers as these tend to persist longer.
Treatment
If you or your child exhibit symptoms of food allergy, seek medical advice immediately. Be sure to describe when and how frequently symptoms appear as well as discuss family histories of allergies or related medical problems such as eczema or asthma.
Your doctor may order a skin test. Liquid extracts of suspected foods will be swabbed onto the top layer of skin (typically your arm or back). If a food reacts negatively with you, a small pinprick in your skin may sting and turn red; these test results indicate whether IgE-mediated food allergy exists in you.
In some instances, doctors will order an oral food challenge test under medical supervision to confirm food allergy diagnoses when skin and blood tests prove inconclusive or to assess if a food allergy has outgrown itself.
After being diagnosed with a food allergy, the most effective course of treatment should be avoiding foods containing allergens. Consult your physician about creating a food allergy action plan and carrying an adrenalin autoinjector such as EpiPen just in case anaphylactic shock should arise.
Prevention
Once diagnosed with a food allergy, the only effective way to prevent reactions is avoiding foods which cause symptoms. This may prove challenging in social settings like school, work or restaurants; therefore it’s essential that all members of your life – such as teachers, caregivers and friends – understand your allergy and which foods need to be avoided. It is also wise to always carry an adrenalin autoinjector (Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q or EpiPen) with you and understand its use in case of severe reactions.
Benadryl may provide relief from mild allergic reactions. For moderate or severe reactions, however, consult your healthcare provider about food challenge tests – this involves giving small amounts of your allergen under medical supervision in order to see if you experience a reaction.
Research is ongoing into finding effective strategies to prevent food allergies in children, with those from families with histories of food allergies, asthma or eczema at increased risk for them to become allergic themselves. If this describes your child, starting an elimination diet early could help stop it in its tracks; siblings and parents should keep an eye out for symptoms within themselves or in any children they care for as these problems tend to run in families.
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