It is actually a common thing for different people to have different reactions to food. These are typically sorted into two categories: the first one is food allergy, while the rest are considered other reactions. It is crucial to understand how food allergies as well as other symptoms and illnesses manifest as a response to food, so that you will be able to manage whatever symptoms you are facing.
Food allergies typically come up when the immune system of an individual reacts abnormally to one or several proteins in a given food. Although food allergy reactions can be mild, sometimes they may get serious and turn out to be life-threatening.
Meanwhile, other food reactions that are not triggered by the immune system may also come with unpleasant symptoms. These are actually more common, and include things like heartburn, lactose intolerance, bacterial food poisoning, and caffeine sensitivity.
So how do you differentiate food allergy from these other reactions? An allergic reaction typically comes about fairly quickly, usually within minutes to about two hours after the consumption of the food in question. The following symptoms are common and typically considered mild for food allergy:
1. Skin – The skin may itch, flush, or erupt in hives. These hives are also known as urticaria, and resemble mosquito bites. The skin may also swell, known as angioedema.
2. Eyes – The eyes may itch, tear up, turn red, or have the skin around them swell up.
3. Mouth and nose – Food allergies may cause sneezing, a runny nose, swelling of the person’s tongue, nasal congestion, or a strange metallic taste.
4. Throat and lungs – The person may have trouble breathing. He may also experience chest tightness, repeated coughing, wheezing, increased production of mucus, itching or swelling of the throat, change in voice, a choking sensation, or hoarseness.
5. Circulatory system and heart – The person may suddenly feel dizzy or weak, or even faint. The heart rate may turn slow or rapid, or widely irregular, and blood pressure may go low.
6. Digestive system – Food allergies may cause nausea and vomiting. Some cases result in diarrhea or abdominal cramps.
7. Nervous system – The person may feel anxious, confused, or have a feeling of impending doom.
In addition to these common food allergy symptoms, a severe reaction may come in the form of anaphylaxis. This is the most serious of all allergic reactions, as it comes with life-threatening symptoms, such as trouble breathing, a highly irregular or rapid heartbeat, a swelling of the tongue or the upper throat, low blood pressure, or in rare cases, cardiac arrest. Generalized anaphylaxis typically comes on within 5 minutes to one hour of consumption of the trigger; in rare cases, the symptoms appear a few hours later. When a person shows signs of anaphylaxis, he should be injected with epinephrine as soon as possible.
While there are many foods that can be potential triggers of anaphylaxis, adults are typically prone to reacting to peanuts, fish, shellfish, and tree nuts such as walnuts. For children, the most common triggers are tree nuts and peanuts.
If you have had symptoms of a food allergy, you should consult your doctor. An estimated 20 to 30% of individuals report themselves or their children having a food allergy. Interestingly, though, only 6 to 8% of kids below five years old and 3 to 4% of adults truly have a food allergy! Typically, food allergy is confirmed by skin testing or laboratory testing, and it is after that process wherein the doctor determines if it is necessary to avoid a particular food.
When you go to see your doctor, he will typically check your medical history. Questions he may ask will revolve around your past experiences with food allergy. For example, he will ask what symptoms you had, and which food you believe triggered the reaction. He will also check whether you have reacted to the same food in a different time, as well as the quantity of the food you took in. He will also ask you to remember all other food you ate at the time when you had a reaction, as he needs to rule out other possibilities. He will also ask you to confirm if you ate any of the most common triggers of food allergy; in addition to nuts, he may ask you about eggs, milk, soy, or wheat.
With the right testing and analysis, your doctor will be able to guide you as to which foods to avoid in the future, without being unnecessarily anxious about watching all your food intake.
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