Food Allergies Can be DeadlyFood allergies can be deadly to the unsuspecting person who suddenly develops an allergy to a specific food or food group. Food allergies are probably the most difficult type of allergy to identify and are almost impossible to treat to treat with allergen immunotherapy. It is difficult to determine why relatively healthy active people suddenly develop a food allergy. You may spend the majority of your life cruising along without a worry, eating anything and everything you want. You might be thinking it's strange when you are at a party and someone says ‘no’ to a specific food item being passed around, "I’m allergic to xxx" is all they can say. What is so bad about a food allergy? Just eat the item and take an over-the-counter antihistamine and you will be fine. Well, no—that is not how it works. When you have food allergies, you must be on constant guard to ensure that you do not eat the offending item. This might sound easy, but it is a very difficult area to maneuver. Testing for food allergies is difficult because bloods tests can be inconclusive and skin tests are not very reliable. If you have an idea what you are eating that your body is allergic to, the simple solution is to stop eating the item and all of its derivatives. If you do not know what food allergy you have, it is a process of hit and miss. People with severe food allergies may be placed on an extremely restrictive diet. Once the physician determines that you are not having any food allergies with your current diet, one new food item at a time can be added to determine whether or not there is a reaction. This process is long and tedious, but very effective. If we use the example of corn as the food that you are allergic to, you would immediately think, okay, no corn. A food allergy is not that simple. You cannot have corn, popcorn, corn starch, corn syrup, corn meal, and the list goes on. Then, depending upon how severe your food allergy is, you may also have to watch for corn derivatives in nonfood items such as soaps and gels—anything that comes into contact with your body may cause an allergic reaction. Think you are out of the woods with your food allergy just because it has been identified? Well, you probably are not. If a food item (such as corn) is used as part of the ingredients or packaging of a product, it may be exempt from the legal requirement to be listed on the package. Therefore, the item is hidden from the consumer. One such example would be breads, rolls or bagels that might have a light dusting of cornmeal baked into their crusts. A food allergy can appear at any time during your life. If the reaction is severe, get immediate medical attention and then always avoid that particular food in the future. |
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