Suffering from food allergies means that your own body overreacts to certain substances contained in a kind of food. The circumstance is also termed as food hypersensitivity. Among the usual symptoms are the burning and itching around the mouth, vomiting, eczema, and asthma. Researches reveal that almost 90% of the allergies are being caused by soy, milk, nuts, or eggs.
For children, the allergic response normally occurs when they are below five years old. Some of those can be resolved while there are others which are carried on towards the adult stage. It is said that children who have two allergic parents are most likely to acquire allergies too as compared to those who only have one allergic parent.
Allergy to Food as Related to the Symptoms
By and large, an allergic reaction to food can trigger breathing difficulties. As the immune system responds, the symptoms include fatal anaphylaxis, asthma, wheezing, burning, itching, or swelling in the mouth, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, generalized urticaria or the time when the skin gets raised and turns reds.
Different Types of Food Allergy
Food allergies are classified into four types. They have their own descriptions too.
Type I. It often leads to anaphylaxis right within the 60 minutes span of time after having ingested the food. The blood vessels begin to dilate while the nose runs. Many a times anaphylaxis can be life-threatening.
Type II. This leads to the same causes as with the first type.
Type III. This occurs after some hours of eating. The normal reaction of the skin is to get irritated and the bronchi to be somehow blocked.
Type IV. This is the delayed reaction which may take place between 24 up to 48 hours after the food has been ingested. The more food has been eaten, the worse the symptoms can get. Normally, people who are allergic to food succumb to this type.
The common food allergens are contained in the soy, egg, milk, shellfish, nuts, fish, legumes, tomato, berries, some fruits, mustard, white potato, and cucumber.
Diagnosing the Allergy
The first thing to look into when diagnosing an allergic reaction is the person’s medical history and diet. The doctor is likely to investigate if there are any other types of allergies that run in the family.
The diagnostic tests are also helpful. They are medical procedures which are administered to further investigate the case. The tests often include blood and skin tests as well as oral food challenges. These are conducted to unearth the certain types of food that trigger the allergy symptoms.
Food allergies are best handled by the health care professionals. They are the very persons who can administer the right treatment after some careful sets of diagnosis. It is relatively important that one who suffers should be given the proper medical attention to further stop getting to the worst side of the coin.
As you clearly know, the signs and symptoms vary from one person to another. At the same time, the diagnosis is likewise a complex structure. Thanks to the modern breakthrough in the medical field because today’s society is actually embraced by the concept “for every ill is a corresponding pill” thing.
You may reach your doctor as soon as the symptoms persist and of course be very careful with the food that you take.