Food Allergies & Food Intolerance

Recently Answered

• QWhat lifestyle changes must I make if I have a child with wheat allergies?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  The most significant lifestyle change will be what foods you and your family eat and how you cook it. You will need to read food labels diligently as well as learn how to cook wheat-free meals. You may need to shop for wheat-free products and be especially vigilant when eating out.

  If you cook for someone with wheat allergies, carefully read food labels and be vigilant when preparing food—making sure that no wheat products touch the cooking surface or utensils. Buy wheat-free foods and follow wheat-free recipes. Use alternative grains like rice, oats and corn.

  You also will need to know how to respond in the case of a severe allergic reaction in your child. This could mean learning how to inject epinephrine (adrenaline). You will need to inform and educate family, friends and caregivers on how to protect your child and how to respond in an emergency.

• QHow do medications treat wheat allergies?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  As with any food allergies, the most effective treatment is complete avoidance of foods that contain wheat. This can be challenging, since many packaged foods contain wheat. Close reading of food labels is essential. Antihistamines treat wheat allergies by treating the symptoms only after exposure occurs. For those at risk of anaphylaxis, carrying emergency doses of epinephrine (adrenaline) at all times may be necessary. Anaphylaxis always requires immediate emergency care, even after taking an antihistamine or epinephrine.

• QWhat increases the risk for peanut allergy?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Researchers have yet to discover what causes a person to develop a peanut allergy. For some reason, your immune system decides that peanut proteins are a threat to your body and develops antibodies that will cause an allergic reaction when you next encounter peanut protein. When you come into contact with peanuts either by ingestion, skin contact or inhalation, those antibodies release chemicals that cause swelling in nearby tissue. In a severe allergic reaction, this can begin a domino effect that harms other body tissue.

  Children are most at risk for developing peanut allergy and any other food allergy. Peanut allergy symptoms usually start to appear within the first few years of childhood. Interestingly, about one in five children eventually outgrow peanut allergy. People whose parents have had any type of allergy-especially food allergy-are at a higher risk for developing a peanut allergy. Also, studies suggest that people who live in an urban area are more likely to develop allergies than people who live in more rural settings.

• QHow do I manage my peanut allergy on a daily basis?

  2 Answers

  A

  

  A Dr. Diana K. Blythe, MD , Pediatrics, answered on behalf of Pediatric Associates

  Make sure to avoid peanuts in what you eat and foods processed in places that also process peanuts.

  In addition, carry your injectable epinephrine with you at all times. Even though you do everything you can, someone else may eat peanuts and touch a door handle. For people with severe peanut allergies, this may be enough contact to cause anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.

  See All 2 Answers
• QHow does soy allergy affect the body?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  A soy allergy is the result of an immune system problem. The body of a person affected with a soy allergy targets soy as harmful by producing antibodies that produce chemicals creating allergy symptoms. Symptoms of a soy allergy can affect several parts of the body, including the skin, airways, lips and mouth, and abdomen. Those who are not very allergic to soy will generally experience skin irritations a few minutes to a few hours after eating a soy product. People with more severe allergies will experience airway constriction and other serious symptoms. Usually, these severe reactions happen quickly, sometimes within minutes of eating just a tiny bit of a soy product.

  If eating soy causes a severe reaction with serious symptoms, such as dropping blood pressure, weakened or rapid pulse, difficulty breathing or dizziness, you should go to the nearest emergency room. These are symptoms of anaphylactic shock, a serious reaction to soy that can be fatal. If you experience milder symptoms, you can schedule a doctor's appointment for diagnosis and treatment.

• QAre wheat allergies serious?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Wheat allergies can be very serious—but the severity of them varies from person to person. In a mild reaction-symptoms like rash and swelling are merely uncomfortable. But individuals with wheat allergies can suffer a very dangerous reaction called anaphylaxis.

  Anaphylaxis comes on quickly, within minutes of exposure to the allergen. Its symptoms include trouble breathing, dizziness, chest pain, loss of consciousness and change in skin color from lack of oxygen. People who know they suffer from this reaction typically carry doses of self-injecting epinephrine (adrenaline). Even after injecting themselves with epinephrine, individuals with anaphylaxis should seek immediate medical attention, for the condition can be fatal.

• QHow does peanut allergy affect the body?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  If you have a peanut allergy, your immune system has identified peanut protein as a threat to the body. This means that when you come into contact with peanuts, your immune system produces an antibody that clings to white blood cells. Those antibodies then release certain chemicals, such as histamine, that cause inflammation of tissue and lead to allergy symptoms. In most allergic reactions to peanuts, these symptoms may include an itchy throat, hives, indigestion, difficulty breathing and runny nose. In severe, sometimes life-threatening cases, peanut allergy can trigger an anaphylactic reaction where heart rate speeds up, blood pressure falls and the airway constricts.

  Anaphylactic reactions can be caused by foods, medications, insect stings, and latex, but the most common cause is peanuts. The symptoms of anaphylaxis can begin minutes after someone comes into contact with the peanuts. These symptoms may include difficulty breathing, a sudden blood pressure drop and weak or rapid heartbeat. For people who have severe peanut allergies, doctors usually prescribe an epinephrine auto-injector that should be carried at all times. Epinephrine will reopen airways and retighten blood vessels to increase blood pressure.

• QWhat is the difference between soy allergy and soy intolerance?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  If you become ill after eating soy, you may have a soy allergy. Soy allergies result in a negative reaction after eating soy, which produces symptoms that are generally mild, such as hives, rashes, nausea and wheezing. However, becoming ill after you eat a product made with soy may not be caused by a soy allergy but rather a soy intolerance. This may be a digestive problem that results in symptoms like upset stomach. This is different from a soy allergy since the problem originates in the digestive system, not the immune system. To determine whether you have a soy allergy or intolerance, talk to your doctor.

  Most of the time, a soy allergy is more annoying and uncomfortable than it is serious. However, soy allergies can occasionally be serious and even fatal. People who are strongly allergic to soy can experience anaphylaxis, which consists of severe airway constriction, loss of consciousness and a rapid but weak pulse.

• QCan wheat allergies be cured?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Usually, particularly in adults, wheat allergies cannot be cured and those with wheat allergies must handle their condition by avoiding wheat. However, children may outgrow major food allergies, including allergies to wheat. Wheat allergies are typically seen in infants or toddlers. Sometimes, by around the age of five, children may no longer have the allergy.

  There are some alternatives that have not been approved by most medical agencies or are still being researched. Desensitization involves first removing the food entirely from the diet and then ingesting small amounts of the allergen over time. A similar method is allergy shots which involve putting small amounts of the allergen into the body by injection. Another alternative includes holding a diluted version of the food under your tongue for one to two minutes then swallowing it in order to build up an immunity before eating a food containing wheat. While these techniques are showing some promise in laboratory testing for certain allergies, they are still unproven for food allergies.

• QWhat are wheat allergies?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Diana Meeks , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Wheat allergies are an adverse reaction of your body's immune system to wheat proteins. Someone with wheat allergies develops a particular antibody to fight against the wheat protein as if it were a disease. Those antibodies, which normally help us fight off illness, are the cause of the allergic reaction. Allergic reactions include rashes, breathing difficulty, queasiness and sometimes a very serious reaction called anaphylaxis.

  Some allergies can be brought on or made worse by exercise, especially in the case of wheat allergies. This will only be the case, however, if one exercises after eating a wheat product. As you begin exercising, you may become itchy, short of breath and develop anaphylaxis. The best way to prevent an exercise-induced allergic reaction is to avoid exercising a few hours after the food that caused your reaction.