Food allergies are some of the common type of allergies and if precautions are not taken then it can lead to severe consequences. Many people with food allergies suffer from severe reactions. One such reaction is anaphylaxis which is life threatening.
Food allergy is caused by a substance called an “allergen”. People with a food allergy have an immune system which reacts to certain proteins found in food. Their immune system attacks the specific protein which is a harmful pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus.
Food allergy mostly affects the children. There is high percentage of children suffering from food allergies than the adults because their immune systems are not fully developed.
Signs and symptoms of Food Allergy
The signs and symptoms of food allergies are tingling in the mouth, severe rashes, swelling on lips and face, streaming eyes, diarrhea and serious breathing problems. It can also cause rapid fall in blood pressure, abrupt fear, nausea etc.
Why certain people have allergic reactions?
Family history: people who have parent or sibling with a peanut allergy have a 7 times more risk of having food allergy themselves, compared to those with no family history.
Food allergy prevalence is higher in those countries which are far from the equator due to which there is low sunlight and sunlight is a big source of vitamin-D. The suggestion is that low vitamin-D intake may result in higher risk of food allergy.
Tests and diagnosis
It is important for the patient to always tell the symptoms, when the reaction started occurring, what food they had and where, whether the food was properly cooked or not and the most important the family background if anybody in the family was suffering from this food allergy.
If the person tells all these symptoms to the doctor then it will make it easy for the doctor to diagnose the problem. Doctors first recommend skin tests which is called skin prick test. This skin prick testing can sometimes produce false-negative or false-positive results. To make sure doctors also recommend other tests also.
Doctors also recommend having blood test because in blood the tiny particles of food will tell the allergic reaction.
Treatment options
Elimination diet: Patients need to see a dietician or you may also consult a Food Allergy Doctor, after being diagnosed with food allergy. It is important for them to eliminate those foods from their diet which causes food allergy.
If the problem have arises from the family background then they should specially avoid eating that food. While eating you need to be little careful.