What are food allergies?

By Arthur Marks

Many people downplay the effects of food allergies as mild ailments, but this is sadly not the case. Albeit some of their manifestations might be tolerable, there exist others that are thorns in the flesh for their sufferers. Thus, it is of paramount import that the public at large to appreciate the various forms which these ailments manifest themselves.

Food allergies often manifest their outward and inward manifestations due to ingesting of some types of food that can possibly be deemed as detrimental to the welfare of the human body. For the most part these disorders trigger the body's immune system to produce antibodies, which happen to be its natural guards against anything detrimental matter found in it. These antibodies react by stimulating the body to produce chemicals such as histamine to counteract the effects of food allergens (the substance of food in the food ingested, or even touched). Such chemicals are often the culprits behind every untoward manifestations of ingesting foods that cause allergies.

Food allergies are notably widespread among the younger generation, and according to statistics gathered by the US's food and drug administration (FDA) approximately 6% of children below the age of 3 in that specific country are struggling with food allergies. This same situation is significantly lower with grown ups.

There is, however, a silver lining to this cloud of shocking statistics in that most of these children usually outgrow these eating disorders. For instance it is noted that out of all children that are allergic to milk, 80% of them shake off this disorder when they grow up. While 2/3 of those who can't eat eggs, and 80% of those who can't partake of wheat or soy foods normally outgrow these allergies by the time they reach 5 years.

On the other hand, allergies to foodstuffs like some type of nuts such as peanuts, are remarkably hard to shake off, with only 20% of such children being able to outgrow them. Additionally, allergies from fish or other marine food are notably known to manifest themselves at later years of these kid's lives.

One important thing to remember is that food allergies develop with a wide range of symptoms, which often vary from one person to the other. Some of these are notably mild; affecting on part of the body, while others extremely severe, and affect more than one part.

Should such persons continue to partake of the allergy-causing meals, the body moves a step further, and starts to produce detrimental chemicals such as histamine to cope with seemingly untoward intrusion. This in effect makes the body exhibit the symptoms that are often attributed to such ailments. These include skin rashes, running noses, body swellings, abdominal discomforts, and a host of many others.

On the other hand, most people confuse such kinds of allergies to the milder food intolerance, as they often manifest similar symptoms, which include indigestion, migraines, burping or even loose stools. This, however, is not the case as food intolerance doesn't have any effect on the immune system, and is consequently, seldom as perilous as food allergies, which can actually cause death.

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Why Children and Adults Experience Food Allergy Symptoms

By Kate Richards

Although most allergic reactions are mild, there are cases where these can be severe. Both children and adults experience allergic conditions but there are those foods that tend to cause allergies in children such as eggs and milk. On the other hand, there are certain foods that are known to cause allergies in adults like vegetables, tree nuts, and vegetables.

The allergic reactions cause symptoms that can manifest in different parts of the body. Common allergy symptoms may include itching in mouth, ears, and throat as well as skin rash that is itchy and causes redness, a condition known as hives, asurticaria, or nettle rash. Other symptoms may appear as swollen face, eyes, tongue, lips, and mouth roof, a condition known as angioedema.

If the allergy reactions are very serious, they can trigger life-threatening symptoms like anaphylaxis. Allergies occur when the immune system in the body mistakenly attacks proteins found in the food. The immunity function acts abnormally and invades the proteins in food after it perceives them as foreign substances. The body releases chemicals to fight the otherwise harmless proteins and it is from these chemicals that allergic reactions occur.

Although any food can trigger an allergy, there are particular foods that are associated with most of the allergies. Children tend to suffer allergies from foods such as tree nuts, peanuts, fish, eggs, milk, and shellfish. Children who have a history of suffering eczema during infancy are more likely to experience allergies from foods. In addition, if the eczema occurs early and is more serious, it increases the likelihood of suffering food allergy.

Adults on the other hand are likely to experience allergic reactions from certain foods like vegetables, crustaceans, and fruits. Vegetables like carrots, potatoes, celery, and parsnip are some of the common triggers of allergy conditions in adults. Crabs, prawns, lobsters, shellfish, and fish are other triggers of the condition. Tree nuts including peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and brazil nuts are other allergy-inducing foods.

It is not clearly understood why allergic reaction occur in people but it has been established that people who suffer food allergies also experience other allergic conditions like eczema, hay fever, and asthma. No treatment has been found for allergy, and one effective way of managing the condition is by identifying the foods causing the symptoms and avoiding them.

Certain medications can help in relieving the symptoms of allergy and they include antihistamine, which helps in treating mild and moderate allergy conditions. Adrenaline is an effective medication for treatment of serious food allergy conditions like anaphylaxis. Besides these treatments, people experiencing food allergies can get help from auto-injector pens, which have prescribed dosages for emergency relieve of allergy symptoms.

In children that are less than 3 years, allergic reactions tend to be common. About one in 14 children aged less than 3 years will have one or more allergic responses to foods. Fortunately, many children tend to overcome the allergies triggered by foods like wheat, eggs, soya, and mild before they reach school age because of changes in their immune system.

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