Food allergies involves a reaction from the immune system to certain foods and can range from mildly irritating to fatal. Persons often confuse food intolerance with food allergies. Your immune system isn’t responsible for intolerance, it’s an issue with digesting the food. Having immediate life-threatening responses, allergies provide a much greater threat to a person’s health than intolerance do. If an individual experiences gastrointestinal issues whenever they consume a food such as milk, that person is lactose intolerant rather than having an allergy towards milk.
Symptoms include:
(1) fainting, light-headedness or fainting
(2) swelling of facial features and other parts of the body
(3) nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and pain in abdomen
(4) skin rash, hives or itching
(5) wheezing, trouble breathing and congestion in nose.
These usually develop within 60 minutes of consuming the food content causing the allergy.
When the reaction is severe, it is known as anaphylaxis and the individual experiences more intense versions of the symptoms such as:
(1) loss of consciousness
(2) swelling in throat making it difficult to breathe
(3) experiencing shock, with an extreme drop in blood pressure
(4) rapid, irregular pulse.
Persons with allergies or intolerance should always look for indication of the food component in items. They would usually include ingredients derived from one of the following groups:
· Fish
· Wheat
· Peanuts
· Milk
· Eggs
· Almonds, walnuts, pecans
· Soybeans
· Crab, shrimp or lobster
Guidelines for allergies
It is in the best interest of persons with allergies to adhere to the following:
(1) Carry around a medical bracelet or necklace letting others know that you have a food allergy and you experience extreme reactions
(2) Carry around an injecting device that’s automatic, containing adrenaline, to administer to yourself if you feel you are having an allergic
(3) Regardless if you’ve already given yourself adrenaline, seek medical attention if you’re having an allergic reaction
Gluten
Gluten is a storage protein mixture that occurs naturally in certain cereal grains such as rye, barley and wheat.
Symptoms of gluten intolerance include:
(1) Digestive issues: diarrhoea, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and inflammation of digestive tissue
(2) Skin problems: rash, eczema, skin inflammation
(3) Neurological issues: confusion, fatigue, anxiety, numbness, depression, lack of focus, difficulty speaking