Food allergies occur when your immune system mistakesnly interprets certain foods as harmful and reacts accordingly, typically within minutes after consumption and sometimes spreading throughout your body. Symptoms usually start appearing shortly afterwards and could progress rapidly over time.
Food allergies can range from mild to severe and even life threatening, such as anaphylaxis which involves multiple organ swelling. This may result in difficulty breathing or shock-like reactions if consumed; commonly allergenic food items include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts wheat and soybeans.
Symptoms
People with food allergies may suffer symptoms in their skin, respiratory tract and/or gastrointestinal system. A severe reaction known as anaphylaxis can occur as well, with blood pressure dropping precipitously and blockages of airways leading to difficulty breathing or death. Common food allergens include milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish (crab), peanuts and tree nuts. People are more likely to have food allergies if someone in their family already has other allergies such as eczema, asthma or an environmental hypersensitivity known as Atopy; that means being oversensitive to pollen and environmental elements in environments like urban settings.
Reactions that require immediate medical treatment, including severe allergic reactions, are life-threatening and must be managed immediately. If you or your child experiences an anaphylactic reaction, call 911 immediately and administer an injection of epinephrine (also known as Epi-pens). Always carry this medicine with you wherever you go because sudden reactions can happen at any time and be fatal.
Some foods can produce symptoms similar to food allergy, but aren’t true allergens. This includes bloating and stomach discomfort from lacking enzymes that digest certain types of lactose-containing products such as milk. Furthermore, eating raw fruits and vegetables often results in itchy mouth and throat from oral allergy syndrome; but this doesn’t constitute a life-threatening allergic response.
Diagnosis
If you think that you might have a food allergy, the first step should be visiting your physician. They will ask questions about your symptoms and length of time they’ve existed; additionally they may perform tests to detect an allergy such as skin-prick or blood tests that measure IgE antibody against specific foods; these may help rule out an allergy while being less than accurate; many people with atopic dermatitis also have elevated total IgE levels that produce positive skin-prick tests for food allergens without being allergic.
Food allergies may range in severity from mild itching and throat irritation (oral allergy syndrome) to anaphylaxis reactions with hives, swelling in multiple body areas and difficulty breathing (anaphylaxis). Untreated severe reactions may even cause shock with sudden drops in blood pressure.
Food allergies can have unpredictable reactions from time to time, with symptoms manifesting differently depending on which part of their body they affect. Your allergist will diagnose you after learning your history and running tests; they may prescribe an epinephrine auto-injector and teach you how to use it; they may refer you to gastroenterologists for tests to uncover the source of your allergy; you can reduce your risk by avoiding foods you are sensitive to and keeping a food and symptoms diary as well as being prepared with emergency medicine like epinephrine in case an extreme reaction occurs.
Treatment
Food allergies cannot be cured, but treatments exist to control symptoms. The first and most important step should be identifying and avoiding foods which cause you to react; if you suspect something might be bothersome to your system, speak with an allergist immediately.
Allergists can assist with reading food labels and identifying hidden ingredients, providing alternatives for certain foods to avoid and providing nutritional support. In case of severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis – which can occur within minutes and be life-threatening – an autoinjector (Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q or EpiPen) should also be carried in case any sudden severe reactions arise, they can suggest carrying an Adrenaclick auto-injector (Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q or EpiPen) just in case they come – which might just saves your life!
Food allergies can range in severity from mild to severe reactions, depending on who’s being affected. Common symptoms may include itchy lips or throat, facial and throat swelling, stomach cramps, hives, difficulty breathing or even drops in blood pressure that lead to shock – any or all of these effects could arise after just consuming one bite of an allergenic food, or may appear hours after exposure.
Food allergies have two primary treatments available to them, oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). With OIT, gradually increasing doses of the food you’re allergic to are exposed to your immune system in order to “desensitize” it; with SLIT drops are placed under your tongue to build tolerance to it over time.
Prevention
Food allergies occur when your immune system misidentifies certain foods as harmful and creates antibodies to attack it, prompting cells to release chemicals into your bloodstream that trigger allergy symptoms ranging from hives and mouth, throat and airway swelling to potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis with low blood pressure, constricting airways and shock.
Avoidance of foods to which one is allergic is the easiest and most reliable way to combat food allergy, though this can become challenging when dining out or attending social events where food may be served. You should insist that restaurants read ingredients and prepare dishes carefully when serving food to you; request to speak with either a manager or chef and bring along an allergy card detailing their child’s allergy. You should also educate their school and other adults involved with them about his or her allergy, including how they might respond if a reaction arises; make sure an anaphylaxis action plan and autoinjectors remain close by at all times when participating in school activities and field trips.
Children may outgrow food allergies over time; however, allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish are usually lifelong conditions that will require further investigation in order to discover effective prevention and treatment solutions for these allergies. Research continues in hopes of creating better preventive and treatment solutions.
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