Food allergies can cause life-threatening reactions such as swelling of the face, throat and chest (anaphylaxis) or an abrupt drop in blood pressure. Common allergens include milk, eggs, peanuts, fish and shellfish products.
Your allergy doctor will discuss your family medical history, evaluate you personally, and suggest any necessary tests, which could include skin and blood testing for allergies.
Symptoms
Food allergy symptoms typically include hives (red itchy bumps on the skin), hoarse voice, difficulty breathing, wheezing and low blood pressure (anaphylaxis). Sometimes more than one part of your body may be affected. If this applies to you or your child, seek emergency care immediately.
People with food allergies may also experience stomach-related symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, though these typically don’t progress into anything serious. But in rare cases a reaction can become life-threatening; an injectable form of epinephrine such as Adrenaclick or EpiPen may help stop such reactions from becoming deadly. If you suspect you have food allergies, speak to your healthcare provider to obtain a prescription for such medication.
Children often outgrow some food allergies as they age, yet those allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish tend to remain lifelong allergies. Even those who outgrow milk and egg allergies as children may regress later as adults.
Be sure to inform childcare providers, school personnel, and parents of your child’s friends of his/her food allergy in order for them to plan snacks and parties accordingly, including safe treats. When dining out, talk with wait staff, carefully read food labels, and request that the restaurant provide an ingredient list for each dish served. In severe or whole-body symptoms such as trouble breathing use an epinephrine autoinjector immediately and contact 911.
Diagnosis
Food allergies are reactions to proteins found in certain foods. When you eat one that triggers your allergies, your immune system responds with antibodies designed to combat it – this causes symptoms that range from mild to severe – with life-threatening responses requiring immediate medical intervention.
Food allergy symptoms usually manifest themselves within two hours after ingesting an allergenic food; in rare instances, however, reactions may take several hours longer than expected to appear.
Your child’s doctor will make a diagnosis based on both his/her health history and physical exam. They may ask when symptoms began and whether or not they have worsened over time. Furthermore, the doctor may inquire as to which foods may trigger reactions as well as whether nonprescription allergy medicines like antihistamines help manage symptoms.
To diagnose food allergies, your child’s doctor will conduct both a skin test and blood test. For the skin test, drops of suspected allergens are applied directly onto their back or forearm; any reaction would show as reddening and swelling in that area. Meanwhile, in terms of antibodies specific foods.
Your doctor might perform an oral food challenge to confirm a food allergy in your child. Under medical supervision, they’ll consume small doses of the suspected allergenic food at increasingly higher amounts until a reaction occurs; when that does happen, your physician will know it’s an allergic response and administer an emergency dose of an Epinephrine autoinjector such as Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q or EpiPen for emergency treatment.
Treatment
Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakenly misidentifies certain proteins present in certain food as threats and overreacts by producing antibodies which trigger symptoms like hives and swelling – even tiny amounts can trigger these effects! In more extreme cases, anaphylaxis – which requires immediate medical treatment with an epinephrine auto-injector – may arise and requires immediate administration of antihistamine medication such as EpiPen.
Treating food allergies requires eliminating the cause. Reading ingredient labels is also critical as cross-reactivity between dishes may occur and waiters or kitchen staff may not always know exactly which ingredients make up a dish.
Antihistamines, corticosteroids and bronchodilators may help manage some of the unpleasant symptoms associated with food allergies; however, avoiding what triggers your allergy is the best way to eliminate symptoms altogether.
Given that food allergies can be deadly, your doctor should prescribe and instruct you or your child in how to use an epinephrine auto-injector in case of severe allergic reaction. Your allergist may suggest performing an oral food challenge; this must only be conducted under supervision by an expert and only within an approved clinic with emergency medications available – its purpose being introducing small amounts of food into the body to decrease sensitivity and potentially result in permanent cure.
Prevention
One way to prevent food allergies is avoiding those items you are allergic to. Unfortunately, this may be difficult in restaurants where ingredients may not be clearly listed or food preparation takes place on surfaces contaminated by allergens (eg, utensils and counters). Therefore, people with food allergies need to educate themselves and others on their condition so that they can communicate their needs more confidently.
Early exposure to common allergens — beginning at four to six months old with small amounts of the food — may help lower their risk. But it is still essential for infants to receive a well-balanced diet.
Food allergies can have mild to severe symptoms that range from mild irritations to life-threatening reactions like anaphylaxis (a severe reaction that impacts respiratory, stomach, intestines, skin or cardiovascular systems) that could require emergency medical assistance if symptoms like swelling of face or throat swelling, trouble breathing low blood pressure or shock present themselves. Seek emergency care immediately if these signs develop for any reason whatsoever.
Consult with your physician regarding obtaining a food allergy card that includes information on allergens and safe meal preparation in your home. Also ask if it would be prudent for you to carry an adrenalin clicker (Adrenaclick or EpiPen) in case severe allergic reactions develop unexpectedly. If your child has food allergies, make sure they know about them and their school and teachers are aware of them; ensure meal plans or snacks take their needs into consideration accordingly.
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