Health Issue of the Month

Coping with Food Allergies

For someone with a food allergy, consuming the problem food triggers an abnormal response from the body's immune system. The most common foods that cause an allergic reaction in adults are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, fruits and soy and wheat products. Children with a food allergy tend to react to eggs, milk or peanuts.

Although many people believe they have a food allergy, true food allergies aren't common. Only about 6 to 8 percent of children and 2 percent of adults have proven allergies to food, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Allergy Symptoms may include:

Hives and swelling
Itchy, scaly, red skin
Stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, watering eyes
Rash

Call 911 if a person with an allergy has any of these symptoms:

Severe coughing, wheezing, lump in the throat, hoarseness or trouble breathing
Severe abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting
Swelling of the tongue or throat
Tingling of the hands, feet or scalp

Take these steps to keep adverse reactions to food from impacting your life:

See your doctor - To diagnose a food allergy, your doctor will take a detailed history that will include your symptoms, when they occur and the foods eaten beforehand.

Keep a food diary - Keep a record of each time you have an adverse reaction, including the date and time, type and severity of symptoms, and what you remember doing and eating in the previous six hours. Review the diary with your doctor.

Learn the various names of the foods to which you're allergic - This will allow you to identify the foods on food labels. For example, milk products can also be called caseinates, eggs, albumin; peanuts can be called ground nuts.

Be prepared for emergencies - If you or your child is at risk for a life-threatening allergic reaction, ask your physician how to respond in case of emergency. Explain to family members or school staffers how to recongize and deal with severe reactions.

No medications exist to cure a food allergy. But, in some cases, if you avoid an offending food for several years or more, your body may lose its sensitivity to it.