How do I know if I have a Food Allergy
According to data provided by the Mayo Clinic, there are somewhere in the region of 2% of adults that suffered some form of food allergy at some time in their life. Additionally, food allergies in children account for approximately another 6 percent of the population. When you take into account that the combined adult and child population of America is over 3 hundred million, these seemingly low percentages correspond to around six million adults and eighteen million minors.
As with other allergic reactions, a food allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to an allergen. Common food allergens include, but are not limited to, dairy based items such as yoghurt, seafood, shellfish, peanuts and eggs.
Because the body views the ingestion of any of these foods as a foreign invader rather than nutrition, it releases an antibody called Immunoglobulin E or IgE for short ready to fight the perceived invader. The antibodies cause the release of histamine, prostaglandins and several other compounds that produce the symptoms.
When compared with other allergic reactions, common food allergy symptoms are typically much more comprehensive. Sinus congestion together with watery eyes are possible. Nevertheless, they are typically accompanied with or overtaken by allergic skin hives (itchy red welts that form on the skin), swelling up of the lips, tongue or throat, wheezing, sickness and abdominal pain.
In severe cases, anaphylactic shock can happen. This is a whole body or systemic allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. It involves a dramatic decrease in blood pressure, contracted respiratory tracts leading to breathing difficulty, dizziness and some other serious symptoms. It comes on very quickly and if left untreated, can sometimes result in the death of the person. In the U.S, some two hundred people a year die as a result of anaphylactic shock.
Allergic reactions to food are on occasions localized in some folks. Fresh fruits and vegetables cause some to experience a kind of tingling feeling in the mouth. It is believed that this type of reaction happens because of particular proteins, much the same as those that are found in ragweed pollen.
Differentiating between a food intolerance and a food allergy necessitates a professional diagnosis by an allergist.
An allergy skin test can frequently determine whether or not an individual really has an allergy to certain foods. This procedure involves taking a small extract of the suspected substance and inserting it just under the surface of the patients skin. The skin is watched for approximately thirty minutes to observe any swelling or itchiness in response to the extract.
In order to guage the quantity of IgE produced by the body as a result of ingesting a certain food, it may be necessary for a blood test to be taken although this does not always give a definitive answer.
Lactose intolerance, for instance, is stimulated by the genetically induced lack of the digestive enzyme necessary to safely process cow’s milk. The symptoms may be alike, but this is not an allergy.
Getting rid of the problematic food from the diet and environment is the optimum and best line of defense. Even though it is maybe a simplistic response, an individual who has an allergy to egg based products should avoid eating such foods. The same applies to anybody that is allergic to peanuts or products that contain traces of them.
Because there is no known cure for food allergies, avoidance is the best medication. However, it is not so easy to avoid some substances, in spite of your best efforts and in that situation, symptom relief is available in the form of antihistamines. It’s also good to have on hand an EpiPen or similar device that lets allergy sufferers to inject a small quantity of ephinephrine in an energency situation. A serious attack of anaphylaxis can be fended off until professional medical assistance can be given.
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