Common Food Allergies and How To Get Tested

At one time or another in a person’s life, they will have some kind of adverse reaction to foods. Some foods are naturally gassy, such as broccoli, onions, beans and such, but that doesn’t mean you are allergic. People who don’t eat spicy foods on a regular basis, and then go out and have a really spicy Mexican dinner, for an example, may have an adverse effect later on, maybe some stomach cramping or diarrhea, etc. This too doesn’t necessarily mean you are allergic to spicy food, it just means that your body isn’t used to the peppers and seasonings.

Some of the most common food allergies, especially in children, are allergies to the proteins in milk. This is different than being lactose intolerant, because lactose intolerance means that you lack an enzyme in your intestinal track that has problems breaking down lactose. Milk allergies usually start in infancy, and include hives, skin irritations, and trouble breathing. Some of these can be so severe they are life threatening.

There are other allergies to food as well. They can include allergies to peanuts, and nut products, shell fish, fish in general, soy, wheat, just to name a few. While many of these are outgrown, some of them remain allergies throughout your life, like shellfish and peanuts.

Some of the different symptoms of food allergies are flushing, hives, swelling of the area around the mouth. Others include wheezing and coughing, having a hard time breathing, and even vomiting. Some of these symptoms occur immediately after ingestion, others can take up to an hour to appear.

In severe cases, people can go into anaphylactic shock, a life threatening reaction. The symptoms for this are a swelling and constriction of the throat, flushing of the face, and swelling of the tongue. If this happens, you need to call 911 right away, and get medical attention immediately.

While there are five different kinds of diagnostic tests that can be done, one of them is really a look at your family history. No matter how small of a reaction, you should go to the doctors as quickly as possible, the best time is when the reaction is happening. It will begin with an examination, as well as talking about any history of food allergies in the family. It is also about knowing what kinds of foods were eaten, when the symptoms began, and what environmental changes may have been experienced.

There is the prick or scratch test, which is used to test a number of different allergens at one time. An area of the back or forearm skin is isolated, and subjected to different pricks or scratches, then marked for each different kind of allergen. If the area reacts, it will show up as a wheal or hive. If the test is inconclusive, the next step is performed.

RAST or radioallergosorbent test is a blood test that looks for IqE antibodies in the blood, these are given when the skin test is inconclusive, or when the patient is really young or has an already existing skin condition. It is also used when there is a high risk, like a severe reaction.

There is also the elimination diet, which is effective because you are giving a specific diet of the foods that are believed to cause the allergen, and different foods are added until the reaction takes place. This also goes along with the oral food challenge, which is riskier, and needs to be done under close doctor supervision.