Managing A Severe Food Reaction With Epinephrine
A wheat allergy reaction can cause symptoms that range from mild to life-threatening; the severity of each reaction is unpredictable. People who have previously experienced only mild symptoms may suddenly experience a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis. In the U.S., food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis outside the hospital setting.
Epinephrine; is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, which can occur within seconds or minutes, can worsen quickly and can be deadly. In this;type of allergic reaction, exposure to the allergen causes the whole-body release of a flood of chemicals that can lead to lowered blood pressure and narrowed airways, among other serious symptoms.
Once youre diagnosed with a food allergy, your allergist will likely prescribe an epinephrine auto-injector and teach you how to use it. Check the expiration date of your auto-injector, note the expiration date on your calendar and ask your pharmacy about reminder services for prescription renewals.
If you are uncertain whether a reaction warrants epinephrine, use it right away, because the benefits of epinephrine far outweigh the risk that a dose may not have been necessary.
Your allergist will provide you with a written emergency treatment plan that outlines which medications should be administered and when . Be sure that you understand how to properly and promptly use an epinephrine auto-injector.
What Are Food Allergies And Why Are They Becoming More Common
Last time on Pop Sci, I talked about seasonal allergiesyou know, the kind of allergies that make you sneezy and itchy and just generally miserable in the spring and summer. But what about food allergies, which can cause swelling, shortness of breath, hives, and even anaphylactic shock?
Although they were all-but-unheard of until recently, food allergies now seem to be sweeping the world. The number of people worldwide with allergies is increasing, and the steepest increase in allergiesparticularly food allergieshas been observed in children. Researchers estimate that some 15 million Americans and 17 million Europeans have food allergies, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that food allergies among children increased approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011.
So what’s going on here? Why the sudden uptick in food allergies? Are intolerances the same thing as allergies? What about sensitivities?
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Reference
Gupta, R.S., Warren, C.M., & Smith, B.M., et al. . Prevalence and severity of food allergies among U.S. adults. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2. Retrieved from
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What Is A Food Allergy
A food allergy is an immune system response. It is caused when the body mistakes an ingredient in food usually a protein as harmful and creates a defense system to fight it. An allergic reaction occurs when the antibodies are battling an “invading” food protein. The most common food allergies are shellfish, nuts, fish, eggs, peanuts, and milk.
How Careful Do People With Food Allergies Need To Be Isnt It Good Enough To Be Careful When They Buy Food Or Do They Need To Do More
People with food allergies need to be aware of everything they eat. They need to read all food labels and know the ingredients in foods that other people make. Foods that seem safe can have hidden allergens and cause a reaction. They also need to be prepared to treat an allergic reaction with a medicine called epinephrine, which comes in a device called an autoinjector. After using their epinephrine auto-injector, they need to call 911 and go to the hospital.
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Wondering If You Have One Find Out Here
Because a food intolerance lasts for just a few days at a time, you may not be questioning your nausea or your headaches. But with the increasing prevalence of food allergies and food sensitivities, these issues can be very serious.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if you have a food sensitivity:
- Do you feel abdominal pain within 2 hours after eating any of the foods on this list?
- Do you feel nauseous after eating?
- Have you ever had a severe headache or a migraine after eating or drinking a specific thing?
- Do you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, but notice it really flares up after eating certain foods?
- Do you have frequent headaches accompanied by nasal congestion?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a food intolerance. Start taking note of the foods you consume that trigger your symptoms. Again, be sure to set an appointment with your healthcare professional to discuss further steps to manage your condition.
Unproven Ways To Diagnose Food Allergies
Some techniques can’t effectively identify food allergies. These include:
Cytotoxicity testing. A food allergen is added to your blood sample. A technician then checks the sample under the microscope to see if white cells in the blood “die.”
Sublingual or subcutaneous provocative challenge. It’s similar to a skin test, but the sample of food allergen goes under your tongue or gets injected under your skin.
Immune complex assay. This blood test looks for groups of certain antibodies bound to the food allergen. But these clusters normally form as part of food digestion, and everyone, if tested with a sensitive enough measurement, has them.
IgG subclass assay. This blood test looks specifically for certain kinds of IgG antibody, but they’re part of a normal immune response.
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Can Allergies Go Away With Time
The short answer is yes.
Even if you develop allergies as an adult, you may notice they start to fade again when you reach your 50s and beyond.
This is because your immune function is reduced as you get older, so the immune response to allergens also becomes less severe.
Some allergies you have as a child may also go away when youre a teen and well into your adulthood, perhaps making only a few appearances throughout your life until they disappear permanently.
Vera 87 Years Old And Never Had An Allergy In Her Life
Vera grew up in the countryside, raised a family and enjoyed dancing, cooking, baking and being outdoors. She sadly lost her husband just over a year ago. This was very painful for her as they were incredibly close, did everything together, and his illness and passing were both sudden and shocking. She has now developed quite wide spread psoriasis on her arms, elbows, hands and scalp. It looks unsightly, itches a great deal and leaves huge flakes of dry skin when she has a good scratch. She is finding it hard to manage but doesnt complain. None of the creams and emollients the doctors have been giving her are making very much difference. She uses olive oil to reduce the dry patches around her hair line and after trying Shea butter has found some relief as it reduces the dryness and redness. Her psoriasis isnt going away though, it keeps coming back. Vera is learning to manage this condition but doesnt like to bother the doctors. She now lives on her own and whilst she is mobile she cant walk far so doesnt really leave her house much. She hates to complain and doesnt like to bother her doctor, so why has a woman who has enjoyed what could probably be described as rude good health all her life suddenly develop dermatitis? She has also discovered that she can no longer tolerate carrots. They make her quite ill, so this means that she is worried about whether she will be able to order meals-on-wheels, as most of the dishes contain carrots.
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The Alarming Reason Why So Many People Have Food Allergies Says Yale
Today, some 32 million Americans have food allergies, a number that’s higher than ever before. The CDC reports that 1 in 13 childrenor about two students per classroomhas a food allergy.;The question is, what’s causing this epidemic?
In a paper published today in the journal Cell,;four Yale immunobiologists propose that an exaggerated activation of our food quality control system is largely to blame for the heightened prevalence of food allergies.
Prior to this research, a prevailing theory suggested an absence of natural pathogenssuch as parasites in the modern environmentmay be causing our bodies to become hypersensitive to certain foods. After all, our immune system evolved over time to deal with such natural threats, and now that we don’t encounter them, it reacts to something we do encounter every dayfood.
Now, the immunobiologists say our current food quality control system, which is designed to protect us from eating harmful foods, may be the culprit for why so many Americans are developing allergies to common foods. Between the unnatural substances in heavily processed foods and environmental chemicals in dishwashing detergent, for examplein addition to the absence of natural microbial exposureall disrupt the food quality control program.
So, how does this affect you or your loved ones? Think about it this way: how are we supposed to treat these allergies without knowledge of why;it’s happening?
How Common Are Food Allergies And Intolerances
Food allergies affect about 1 percent of adults and 7 percent of children, although some children outgrow their allergies. Food intolerances are much more common. In fact, nearly everyone at one time has had an unpleasant reaction to something they ate. Some people have specific food intolerances. Lactose intolerance, the most common specific food intolerance, affects about 10 percent of Americans.
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Should I Feed My Baby Common Allergens
The short answer is yes. Now this goes against everything that was dictated at the time when my babies were infants . At that time, doctors advocated against introduction of common allergens for the FIRST THREE YEARS of life! Unfortunately, this was not the best advice for our children and could have unnecessarily caused the development of food allergies in many children.
What Can I Do If I Know Someone With A Food Allergy
You can help by learning how people with food allergies avoid allergic reactions. They need to be extra careful because an allergic reaction can be life-threatening. People with food allergies must avoid allergens that may be passed from one food to another. They need to wash their hands before and after they eat.
So, they may ask you questions about food youre serving and if the utensils have been used for other foods. Or they may ask you to wash your hands after youve prepared a food or eaten a food that may contain allergens.
They must read food labels. A child with food allergies may need your help reading labels to eat safely. Find out what to do in case of an allergic reaction. Be prepared to help someone use their epinephrine auto-injector and call 911. If you are caring for a child, the parents can teach you how to give this medicine
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Tips To Avoid Foods That May Cause Allergies
To avoid foods to which you have an allergy, learn the terms used to describe these foods on food labels, for example:;
- milk protein milk, non-fat milk solids, cheese, yoghurt, caseinates, whey, lactose
- lactose milk, lactose
- Nutrition Australia.;Tel. 9650 5165
- ASCIA Guidelines for prevention of food anaphylactic reactions in schools, preschools and childcare centres, 2015 update, Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. More information here.
- Osborne NJ, Koplin JJ, Martin PE, et al 2011, Prevalence of challenge-proven IgE-mediated food allergy using population-based sampling and predetermined challenge criteria in infants, J Allergy Clin Immunol, vol. 127, no. 3, pp. 668-676. More information here.
- About food allergies, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. More information here.
- Anaphylaxis, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victorian Government. More information here.
- ASCIA Guidelines infant feeding and allergy prevention, 2016, Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. More information here.
- Allergens, Food Allergy Research and Education. More information here.
Barbara 93 Years Old And Never Had An Allergy In Her Life
Barbara also recently lost her husband and moved from a large house to sheltered accommodation some way from the town where she lived most of her married life. She is now closer to her daughter and is enjoying her life but suddenly, out of the blue, she has developed a serious allergy to eggs. She cant even touch an egg now, a food she used to enjoy as a quick, healthy meal. She now fears that she is beginning to have problems with dairy too and is experimenting with soya milk to see if this brings her some relief. One of her simple pleasures was a cappuccino every day and she is really missing them and finds black coffee takes some getting used to. She has developed quite painful eczema and thinks that certain foods are contributing to its severity. She has never had any allergies before, so why is this happening? Her doctor told her he has never seen someone in their 90s who suddenly got food allergies. Not the most helpful comment but probably true, though Barbara is clearly not alone. She has been refereed to an immunologist but the long wait for a local appointment meant that going private has secured an earlier appointment. Hopefully she will find some answers.
People of this generation may also be the first to say, They didnt have allergies in my day! despite the fact that there certainly have been incidences of allergies going back hundreds of years. They were still rare and certainly on the rise and sadly still very little understood.
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Food Intolerance Or Food Allergy
Many people mistake a food intolerance for an allergy. One study estimated that 25 to 30 percent of adults self-diagnose themselves with allergies, said dietitian Larissa Brophy in an article on Todays Dietitian. A food intolerance causes a digestive reaction to food, such as cramping, diarrhea, gas or bloating. Food intolerances are very common, but not life-threatening. Thirty- to 50 million adults in the U.S. have some level of lactose intolerance, for example.
Questions That Still Need To Be Answered
There’s still a lot that we don’t know about food allergies. Why do some people seem to inherit food allergies genetically, whereas others develop them without a genetic component? Why do some people outgrow allergies and some don’t? Why is it that some people can be fine eating something all their lives, and one day suddenly find themselves going into anaphylactic shock when eating the same food? Why are peanut allergies so terrifyingly extreme? And why are food allergies exponentially more prominent today than they were a generation ago?
Hopefully science will have some answers for these questions soon.
Posted byJennifer Levine Jennifer is the Managing Editor of Developmental Cell, Cancer Cell, and iScience. She graduated from Brandeis University with degrees in Creative Writing and English Literature, and her parents were shocked when her BA in English helped her get a job. In her spare time , Jennifer writes and edits fiction, bakes far too many cupcakes, and snuggles her two dogs, who are almost as big as she is.
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What Are Adult Onset Allergies
Adult-onset allergies are those allergy symptoms that manifest later in life. This could be anywhere from younger adulthood, such as in a persons 20s, to a persons senior years, when they are 70 or 80 years old. Typically, if you lived through your 20s and your 30s without any new allergies, the chances of getting adult-onset allergies diminishes.
The strangest part about adult-onset allergies is that you can wake up today irritated by an allergen that didnt bother you yesterday. You could have been in contact with said allergen every single day for years with no adverse effects. Now, you have a runny nose, itching eyes and uncontrollable sneezing around that allergen.
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What Causes An Allergy
An allergy is caused by the immune system fighting substances in the environment that it should see as harmless, known as allergens.
These innocent substances become targets, leading to allergic reactions.
Symptoms range from skin redness, hives and swelling to – in the most severe cases – vomiting, diarrhoea, difficulty breathing and anaphylactic shock.
Some of the most common foods for children to be allergic to are:
- milk
- tree nuts
- sesame
- shellfish
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