Food Allergy

Inhalant allergy is well known and appreciated. Food allergy on the other hand, gets little respect - perhaps because we are addicted to eating and outside meddling is tolerated poorly.

Allergy under the age of three is almost always due to foods alone. Milk and other dairy products together with chocolate are the chief culprits. Corn is probably next and is not confined to the cob: cornstarch, corn flour, and corn syrup suggests elimination of most bakery items, candies, and other sweets, and fruit syrups.

Rounding out the ten most troublesome foods are: wheat, beans, eggs, cinnamon and other condiments, coloring agents and other additives, citrus, and pork. There are no safe foods. Not soybean, not rice, not lamb, not even breast milk.

We are well aware of the life threatening “anaphylactic” food allergies seen most often to peanuts, shell fish, and occasionally to eggs. Here the diagnosis is readily apparent. Within seconds or minutes, the reaction explodes – shortness of breath, constriction of the throat, swellings, and hives are likely. Less common are seizures, fainting, and cardiac difficulties.

Most food allergy however, is delayed, less serious, and the incriminating agent a mystery. A chronic stuffy nose, pallor, diarrhea, headaches, joint pain, and stomach aches, loss of energy are most common.

Working with food allergy is tough and frustrating. There are no short cuts. Skin testing and laboratory tests tend to be of no great help. A full history, physical examination, and elimination diets combined with challenge tests are our best aids.

When a food is eliminated from the diet for three weeks and symptoms decrease, there is a strong likelihood the eliminated food is the culprit. If the food is added and symptoms recur, this is proof to avoid it thereafter.

Food allergy is seldom outgrown. It is best not to tempt the fates, lest the next reaction be more devastating.

Bill Ziering

Rx365  A Year of Tips for the Successful Medical Practice