How To Cope With Food Allergies
You just finished your seafood dinner and you feel bloated, short of breath and you are now coughing like your getting a cold. Most likely, you could be suffering from a food allergy. There are many symptoms of food allergies that go unnoticed daily, such as: hives, vomiting, difficulty breathing and swelling of the throat and tongue to name a few. Symptoms of food allergies usually occur within minutes up to two hours after eating the food that the person is allergic to.Food allergies are a result of the body’s immune system becoming hypersensitized. When this happens, the body believes the food entering the body is harmful and creates antibodies to attack the food. Food allergies can be mild with barely noticeable symptoms or they can be as severe as collapsing major organs with a condition known as anaphylaxis. Allergy testing can help determine what foods you are allergic to, making it easier to avoid episodes of food allergies.
Although there is no known cure for food allergies, doctors can treat some of the symptoms with medicine, helping to make the person more comfortable. Most people will outgrow the majority of their food allergies, although there are some that are considered lifelong allergies such as: peanuts, shellfish, nuts and fish. These lifelong allergies must be avoided to eliminate symptoms.
Food allergies can affect anyone. If you feel like you may be suffering from symptoms, seeking the help of an allergy doctor for testing would be beneficial. There are scratch tests as well as blood tests that can aid in finding out what you are allergic too. Allergy testing can show allergies to inhalants such as dust and plants to items such as foods and medications.
Scratch testing involves placing drops of serum of different items that people may be allergic to, on their forearms or backs. Once the drops are all placed on the person, the tester then takes a scratch stick and scratches the surface of the skin, allowing the serum to enter the scratch. Once the testing is complete, the person must wait 15-20 minutes to see what the results are.
If the person is allergic to certain items, the scratched test spots will be swollen with a hive and be really itchy. This testing can also be done with a blood test but studies have shown that the blood tests are not as accurate as the scratch tests, but work well for patients who are unable to do to the scratch tests.
