- Main Symptoms of Food Allergy
- What to do when the first symptoms appear
- Treatment of food allergy
- How to know if I have allergy
Food allergy is an allergy reaction, which can manifest itself in different parts of the body such as skin, hands, feet, mouth, eyes and nose, causing symptoms such as redness, itching and red blisters on the skin, swelling in the eyes, mouth and tongue, sometimes causing more severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing with wheezing. Symptoms can appear up to 2 hours after eating the food, and allergy treatment can be done with antihistamines such as Loratadine, for example.
Food allergy is an inflammatory reaction to a substance present in the food, drink to the food additive ingested, it is important to go to the emergency room or call SAMU as soon as the first symptoms appear, as the allergy can evolve into a severe allergic reaction, also known as anaphylactic shock. Learn more about how to identify anaphylactic shock.
Main Symptoms of Food Allergy
The main symptoms of food allergy can appear up to 2 hours after eating the food, drink with the food additive, and generally include:
- Itching and redness of the skin; Red and swollen plaques on the skin; Swelling of the lips, tongue, ears or eyes; Canker sores; Stuffy and runny nose; Feeling of discomfort in the throat; Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing; Abdominal pain and excess of gases; Vomiting, diarrhea or constipation; Burning and burning when evacuating.
Symptoms of food allergy can appear all over the body and the most serious symptoms start when a sensation of discomfort in the throat is present, which can lead to difficulties in breathing and shortness of breath. Learn more about the 8 foods that most cause allergies.
What to do when the first symptoms appear
As soon as the first symptoms of food allergy appear, it is important that you take action quickly, starting by taking an allergy medication prescribed by your doctor, such as Loratadine or Allegra, for example.
After that, it is important to be aware of the symptoms, it is important that you seek immediate medical help if you identify that the symptoms have worsened or if you notice any discomfort in your throat or difficulty breathing.
If the allergy first appeared or if you do not have allergy remedies at hand, it is important to be aware of the symptoms that arise, only needing to seek medical help only if there are signs of worsening.
Treatment of food allergy
The treatment for food allergy depends on the severity of the symptoms presented, which can vary from person to person, but this is usually done with antihistamine drugs such as Allegra or Loratadine or with corticosteroids such as Betamethasone, which serve to relieve and treat the symptoms of allergy. See more about how food allergy is treated.
In addition, in the most severe cases where anaphylactic shock and shortness of breath occurs, treatment is done with the injection of adrenaline, and it may also be necessary to use an oxygen mask to help with breathing.
How to know if I have allergy
The diagnosis of food allergy can be done through skin or blood allergy tests, which are requested by the doctor to identify the source of the allergy.
Generally, when there is no suspicion about what may be causing the allergy, the doctor starts by testing the most allergenic foods such as peanuts, strawberries or shrimp, with the diagnosis being made by excluding parts until the responsible food is arrived at.
The skin allergy test consists of observing the symptoms that appear on the skin after the application of different extracts of foods known to cause allergy, allowing them to act for about 24 to 48 hours. After that time, the doctor will then check whether the test is positive or negative, noting if redness, hives, itching or blisters have occurred on the skin. See more how the allergy test is done.
On the other hand, the blood test consists of collecting a little blood that is going to be analyzed in the laboratory, through which the presence of allergens in the blood is identified, which indicates whether or not there was an allergy reaction. This blood test is usually done after an oral provocation test, which consists of ingesting a small amount of the food that causes allergy, observing afterwards whether or not allergy symptoms appear.
