How are food allergies treated?

Date: 6/15/2011     Category: Food Allergies How are food allergies treated?
Once the diagnosis of food allergy is confirmed, the most effective treatment is not eating the offending food in any form. Therefore, you must be vigilant in checking ingredient labels of food products and learning other names of identification of the responsible food or food additive to make sure it is not present. When you eat in a restaurant, you must be particularly careful and you should take emergency medicines with you if you have a history of severe reactions. Waiters (and sometimes the kitchen chef) are not always aware of the exact
ingredients of each item on the restaurant’s menu.

All patients with food allergies must make some changes in the foods they eat. Special food-allergy cookbooks, patient support groups and registered dietitians can provide valuable assistance regarding your diet. Your Atlanta Allergy & Asthma physician can direct you to these resources.

What if I accidentally eat a food I'm allergic to?
Individuals with food allergy should have a clearly defined plan of action for handling situations in which they accidentally ingest a food allergen. Have a list of symptoms and your doctor’s instructions for treatment posted in a prominent place in your kitchen. Oral antihistamines can be very useful in treating many of the early symptoms of a mild allergic reaction to a food.

People with histories of severe reactions need to be instructed in when and how to give themselves a shot of epinephrine (adrenaline) in the event of a severe allergic reaction. This medication is available in easy-to-use injectable devices and should be carried by people with histories of severe allergic reactions. You should be taken to the hospital or call 911 and arrange for follow-up medical care for a severe reaction. Bracelets or necklaces may be worn to quickly alert medical personnel or other caretakers about food allergies.

Will I ever be able to eat these foods again?
In some cases, particularly in children, strict adherence to an elimination diet appears to promote the process of outgrowing a food allergy. For example, the vast majority of patients with documented allergic reactions to eggs, cows’ milk and soy eventually become tolerant to these foods. Allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, however, typically last a lifetime and are not outgrown. Overall, approximately one-third of children and adults will eventually be free of their allergic reactions to foods after rigorously following appropriate diets free of the offending food allergens.

After you have eliminated foods responsible for allergic reactions for a period of at least six months, your allergist-immunologist may recommend that you undergo an oral food challenge under observation to reassess your symptoms. If you have no reaction and can ingest a normally prepared portion of the food, you will be able to safely reintroduce this food into your diet. If any symptoms of an allergic reaction do occur, the dietary restriction will need to be continued.

If you have had a severe immediate-type allergic reaction to a certain food, such as an anaphylactic reaction to peanut, your allergist may recommend that you never again eat this food and rarely would a food challenge be needed to confirm the history. Remember, in some very allergic persons a very small quantity of an allergenic food can produce a life-threatening reaction.

Patients who use caution and carefully follow an allergist’s advice can bring food allergy under control. Please contact your Atlanta Allergy & Asthma physician with further questions and concerns about food allergy.