Food allergy: Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors, Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment

WHAT IS Food Allergy?

Allergies are an immune system reaction to certain substances in the absence of this "sensitivity" special, they are harmless.
These reactions may be innate or acquired.
Food allergies are those caused by ingestion of substances to which they are allergic (allergens).
Symptoms can occur within minutes or even two hours after the intake of food.
In some cases, symptoms may not appear until one or two days later.

CAUSES

The allergic reaction can be caused by eating food or substance.

The foods most commonly involved in allergies are:
cow's milk,
egg whites,
wheat,
the soybean or sesame
nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, ...
fish and shellfish,
or melons
chocolate



SYMPTOMS
Diarrhea (common).
Abdominal pain (common).
Bloating and swelling (common).
Skin rashes.
Urticaria.
Itching.
Swelling of the face (especially lips), hands and feet.
Pollen allergy, asthma, cough.
Nausea and vomiting.
Headache, migraine.
Dizziness or fainting.

RISK FACTORS
Other Issues Allergy, family heritage or allergy to some type of food.

PREVENTION
Identification and elimination of food responsible for the allergy.
Infants who are started on solid foods at an older age tend to have fewer allergies.

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

General Measures

Eliminate suspected foods from your diet for two weeks (or until the symptoms disappear) and then re-eating them one by one again to see if symptoms reappear.
Analysis of skin may be useful in identifying foods that cause allergy, but often give false positives (ie, you may be positive in the analysis of certain foods while not actually allergic to it).
Patients with severe allergies to certain foods should be extremely careful to prevent such food.
Bring with you a set with a syringe containing epinephrine in case of accidental ingestion of food by harmful if an allergic reaction.
Consider carrying a medical alert bracelet or a medal around his neck indicating his allergy problem.

Medication

There is no medication for the treatment of food allergies, but your doctor may prescribe a particular medication to relieve some symptoms.

Activity

There are no restrictions.

Diet

Avoid foods that cause allergy. Carefully read food labels.

With this disease are advised to follow the following diet:
Diet to study and control of food allergy

Possible complications
Anaphylactic reactions (difficulty in breathing, heart irregularities, sudden drop in blood pressure and collapse).
Reaction with hives or eczema.
Bronchial asthma.
Intestinal inflammation (gastrointestinal symptoms).

PROGNOSIS
Children often develop a hypersensitivity to certain foods at the age of two to four years.
Adults with hypersensitivity to certain foods (especially milk, fish, shellfish and tree nuts) are less likely to develop allergies.