Everything About Allergy

image source: www.fisherwy.blogspot.com

Dust, cats, peanuts, cockroaches. An odd grouping, but one with a common thread: allergies — a major cause of illness in the United States. Up to 50 million Americans, including millions of kids, have some type of allergy. In fact, allergies account for the loss of an estimated 2 million schooldays per year.

What Are Allergies?
An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to a substance that’s harmless to most people. But in someone with an allergy, the body’s immune system treats the substance (called an allergen) as an invader and reacts inappropriately, resulting in symptoms that can be anywhere from annoying to possibly harmful to the person.

In an attempt to protect the body, the immune system of the allergic person produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). Those antibodies then cause mast cells (allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals, including histamine, into the bloodstream to defend against the allergen “invader.”

Food allergy may also cause swallowing to be difficult. The eyes, mouth and throat may also get itchy. Gastrointestinal hypersensitivity including diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and nausea may also occur. The most dangerous reaction to food allergen is called anaphylactic shock, which may result to loss of consciousness, low blood pressure or death. Peanuts, milk, seafood and egg are the most common allergens that caused anaphylactic shock.

Presently, there are still no cure for food allergies. Vaccines that contain allergens may cause harm to the patient because it will trigger allergic reactions even if the amount of allergen is very small.

(source)

Food allergy is different from food poisoning or food intolerance. It is the immune system’s reaction to certain food proteins. These proteins that trigger an allergic reaction is called food allergen. A person allergic to certain foods are advised to avoid eating these foods, and those who are sensitive to the allergens should also avoid touching the food or anything it has come into contact with, or inhaling the aroma of the food.

Symptoms of food allergy include swelling of the eyelids, face lips and tongue, also called angioedema. This may result to difficulty in breathing if the tongue, larynx and trachea are swollen.

(source)

After following the elimination diet, your doctor will ask you to gradually reintroduce the foods you were avoiding into your diet, one at a time. This process helps link symptoms to specific foods.

Again, you will be asked to record in your food journal any symptoms that arise with each food being re-introduced. This will enable the doctor to confirm the cause of allergy. As a final confirmatory step, you will be asked to eliminate those foods that caused symptoms upon re-introduction to check if the symptoms go away.

It is important and highly recommended to seek the expert advice of your doctor before starting the elimination diet. Removing certain foods may lead to an unbalanced diet and, consequently, other health problems.

Read Part 1 here.

One of the tried and tested methods of determining food allergies is the elimination diet.

The elimination diet involves removing specific foods or ingredients from your diet that are suspected to be causing your allergy symptoms. These are usually the common allergy-causing food such as milk, eggs, nuts, wheat and soy.

During this time, you will need a food diary for keeping track of the food you eat, and to read food labels carefully. If the symptoms are relieved once a certain food is removed, your doctor will be able to identify the cause of allergy.

It is important to make sure that you eat the equivalent substitute of the food you have eliminated from your diet. For example, drink tofu-based milk in place of cow’s milk.

Read Part 2.