Do You Have A Food Allergy?

Last night you felt awful after dinner. Are you not wondering if it was a food allergy, or if it was merely food poisoning? Food allergies and food poisoning are very different. Food poisoning occurs when you eat food that’s either contaminated or not properly cooked. When you’re allergic to a specific food, you can’t consume that food no matter how it’s prepared.

The symptoms of a food allergy are no different than any other allergic reaction to some other agent. You could begin to feel the symptoms from 15 minutes to an hour or more after eating the food. Very normal symptoms of food allergies are difficulty breathing, swelling of the mouth and the throat, itching and swelling, and even stomach issues. It is also possible to develop hives, eczema, and even asthma.

If your mouth or throat are swelling, you need to get immediate medical attention. If you have the feeling of being unable to breathe as well as a feeling of tightness in your chest, you could be suffering from a severe food allergy, which needs to be treated right away. A delay could be fatal.

Among the foods that trigger allergies, you can often find soy, corn, gluten, dairy, eggs, tomatoes, shellfish and peanuts. When preparing foods for a group of people where someone has a food allergy, keep all forms of nuts out of the meals that you’re creating. Make vegetarian as well as gluten-free versions of everything you create.

You can easily find out what you are allergic to by taking an allergy test. When testing for allergies, there is an intricate process that you must endure, but it doesn’t hurt. Your doctor can conduct two types of tests, one where the skin is pricked and exposed to allergens, and the other where your blood is evaluated. The skin test provides more accurate results.

Skin testing is the test of choice internationally, and it has been around for a long time. When the test starts, your skin gets pricked with a small needle, and the wound is exposed to different types of allergens. The wound is minimal, and it is only there to allow the allergen to enter the body.

A formula of chemicals mixed with the allergen are allowed to enter the wound. You wait anywhere from 10-15 minutes in order for your skin to react. A positive allergy test can be spotted by a red bump that’s itchy – sort of like a bug bite.

If you are diagnosed with a food allergy, you need to make sure you avoid that food at all costs, and that you ask if it is contained in anything that you eat when you go out. Check the labels on any and all products at the grocery store and read the ingredients.

Make sure that if you have children they get tested as well, since food allergies seem to pass down genetically. Your child’s teacher should be aware not only of the child’s food allergies, but also of your own, just to play safe.

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