While severe food allergic reactions are fairly easy to detect due to the severity of symptoms, which include serious swelling and difficulty breathing, milder food allergies can be harder to recognize and diagnose. In many cases, people can have milder food allergies and not even know it. In some cases, the symptoms of mild food allergies can include stomach upset, diarrhea, nausea, itching skin or just a general sense of not feeling well. Here are some things you may need to do to determine if you have a food allergy.
Elimination Diet
One of the best ways to determine the presence of a food allergy on your own is to go on what is known as an elimination diet. Essentially, you will remove such foods that are common allergies, including:
You keep a diary of all of the foods you eat every day, and your reactions and physical health. Gradually add a food item in, and mark your physical well-being and symptoms. If no new symptoms arise, continue to add a new food until you do find what food is giving you the symptoms.
Visit A Specialist
An allergist can not only help diagnose and treat respiratory or skin allergies, they can also help diagnose food allergies. Many times they will recommend the food elimination diet as well, and they can also use blood testing and other diagnostic tools to help make a very accurate assessment of your food allergy.
You may also be advised to submit to a skin test, the oral food challenge, or a blood test as well as the elimination diet.
The treatment for your food allergy will depend upon how it manifests itself. It may be as simple as avoiding the food that is causing your allergy. However, if you are unable to completely eliminate the food from your diet (such as in the case of gluten, which is present in so many foods and by-products), you may simply need to take medication that will treat the symptoms. Some of these medications could include antihistamines or probiotics.
Why You Need To Take Food Allergies Seriously
While not all food allergies are serious enough to cause death, they can be extremely frustrating to deal with. Your overall health depends on the quality of your food and your body's ability to use it for nourishment.
If you even suspect you have a food allergy, it is crucial that you immediately take steps to find out so you can improve your health and overall quality of life. Contact a clinic like Allergy Asthma & Immunology Center to get started.
Share21 January 2015
Having a daughter comes with a number of challenges. One challenge that you will one day need to tackle is determining when to introduce your daughter to the gynecologist. Do you take your daughter to the same gynecologist that you see or take her somewhere else? Do you wait until she gets her first period or do you take her in to learn about the menstrual cycle from the doctor? There is a long list of questions you likely have about introducing your daughter to the world of gynecology. Having gone through this twice myself, I have learned quite a bit and have included a lot of helpful information in my site to help other parents get through this complicated time a little easier.
