What is an Allergy?
An allergy or an allergic reaction is your immune systems way of telling you that a certain substance, whether it is food or an element of nature like pollen or weeds, does not agree with your body. The only times your immune system reacts this way is when your body’s defences are weak and cannot counteract the effect certain allergens might have on you. What substances cause you to have an allergic reaction is determined by factors like genetics and the environment you live in.
When these allergens come into contact with various elements of your immune system, your body releases certain inflammatory chemicals that cause you to have the allergic reaction in question.
Hay fever, for example, causes constant sneezing, a runny nose and an itchy sensation on the roof of your mouth, your throat and your eyes.
What are Food Allergies?
Food allergies are caused by the same reactions within your body as most allergies. Common food allergies affect both adults and children alike and occur upon ingestion of a certain food or ingredient that contains the allergen which your body revolts against.
Common food allergies that tend to effect children include food allergies related to the intake of milk, wheat, soy, peanuts and shellfish. Childhood food allergies to milk or eggs are relatively mild when it comes to the allergic reactions they bring about and tend to fade away as the child grows. Common food allergies that are related to substances like shellfish and peanuts on the other hand pose quite a significant health risk and tend to remain with the individual into adulthood.
What are the Common Food Allergies Symptoms?
Most food allergies cause reactions that occur within minutes. Your skin could begin to itch, or alternatively, your nose could begin to run and your throat could feel itchy. Other reactions that might not be as visible to the naked eye include gastrointestinal food allergies symptoms like cramping or nausea. Food allergies can also affect your blood pressure or your heart beat.
How is Food Allergies Testing Done?
As mentioned earlier, there are a number of elements that come into play when determining why you are experiencing an allergic reaction to something when most people experience no similar reaction to the same substance or element.
When it comes to food allergies testing as a process, the first thing that will need to be charted is your history with this particular allergen. Things like whether or not you have been having the same allergic reaction all your life, or if the reaction is more recent can go a long way in determining whether or not you are in fact allergic to the substance or whether other external and internal factors have recently come into play to create this allergic reaction.
Besides this, testing for the allergen is done via a skin test or a blood test depending on your preference and the preference of your doctor. At this point, it must be said that one should also be directed to not only see their doctor but also by visiting their local health products retailer to speak to an alternative medicine practitioner. After all, alternative medicine has also made a lot of progress in the various ways allergies can be treated and should be considered just as much as traditional methods of treatment.
Coming back to the various methods of testing for allergens, the option of taking a blood test is often the test of choice more to determine if one has outgrown an allergy rather than to determine the existence and cause of one.
While a skin or blood test usually works to pinpoint the existence or non-existence of the allergen, in some cases it may be necessary to perform an oral food test which involves the individual with the allergy ingesting the food which contains the allergen. The patient is then observed for any and all allergic reactions and treated accordingly. This test should be done in the presence of a qualified and experienced physician and should definitely not be tried at home.
