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Our body’s immune system fights off harmful germs and protects us from infections and other dangers to keep us healthy. Sometimes it reacts to a food or a component in a food, identifying it as a threat to the body and triggers a protective response. This reaction of the immune system is known as food allergy.

Food allergy is found in children, though it can occur to anyone.

Food allergy symptoms vary from person to person and can be mild to severe or even life-threatening for some. It generally develops within a few minutes to two hours after eating the offensive food.

Some of the common food allergy symptoms are:

• Swelling of the lips, face or other parts of the body
• Hives, itching or eczema
• Wheezing, Nasal congestion, Shortness of breath
• Tingling or itching sensation in the mouth
• Pain in the abdomen, Diarrhoea, Nausea and vomiting
• Anaphylaxis

Kinds of allergies

While the trigger for allergic reactions may differ from one person, the common types of allergens are

• Eggs
• Milk and dairy products
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts like walnuts
• Fish
• Shellfish like shrimp, lobster, crab
• Wheat
• Soy
• Pollen-food allergy syndrome
• Exercise-induced

Food allergy treatment

Sometimes food intolerance is mistaken as food allergy as the signs and symptoms of both are similar. It is always better to visit to identify whether you need food allergy treatment or food intolerance treatment.

The best way to manage food allergies is to know and avoid the food that causes such reactions and follow these preventive measures:

• Avoid trigger foods
• Be sure about what you are eating and drinking.
• If you have a serious allergic reaction, be sure to let your host, companion or friends know about your symptoms and the remedial measures to be taken.
• Be particularly careful while eating out at restaurants.

If your child has a food allergy,

• Notify the key people at the school, creche or parents of your child’s close friends about the allergy.
• Teach your child to avoid the foods he is allergic to and ask for help if he feels he is having allergic reactions.
• Make your child wear a medical alert bracelet.

Food allergy medicines

Even though prevention is the only measure to avoid food allergies, sometimes you may come into contact with a food that triggers a reaction despite your best efforts at avoiding it.

The doctor prescribes some food allergy medicines to treat these symptoms.

• Antihistamines help to reduce symptoms in minor allergic reactions.
• An emergency epinephrine injection is given in case of severe allergic reactions.