Allergens | Food allergy – symptoms, allergens and therapy

Allergens

Basically almost all foods can cause allergies. There are only a few exceptions for which no allergies have been described so far (e.g. rice). Food allergies are particularly frequent against: It is noticeable that food allergens are mainly contained in high-fat food, such as nuts or eggs.

There are already theories and studies that mechanisms of fat transport could be responsible for the development of these allergies. The contact with the allergen is almost always via the food, but there are also cases where, for example, a milk bath could trigger a food allergy. Food allergies can also occur as a so-called cross-reaction in hay fever. This means that the food allergens are so similar to the pollen that the body reacts against both.

  • Chicken egg white,
  • Cow’s milk and
  • Nuts.

Symptoms

Food allergies occur mainly in infancy and toddlers. It is therefore usually the task and duty of parents to interpret the signs and correctly assess their danger. A hives, i.e. diffuse distributed slightly reddened raised areas, which remind of the contact with a stinging nettle and disappear for a short period of time when they are spread, can be a first indication of a previously undiscovered food allergy.

But also gastro-intestinal complaints, which are by no means unusual even in healthy children of this age, are among the symptoms. It can lead to With longer existence the children with food allergy are noticeable also by failure to thrive, i.e. one can determine a delay in the course after formerly normal weight and size development.Such a failure to thrive is always an important warning sign for potentially dangerous diseases and should always be clarified by a pediatrician. The above-mentioned intolerances (food intolerances) can also lead to a similar picture and should therefore also be examined.

A food allergy can manifest itself like other allergies. The skin may show rashes, redness, wheals, itching, tingling of the mucous membranes or swelling of the lips, for example. Allergic symptoms in the gastrointestinal tract are nausea, vomiting and above all diarrhoea.

Weight loss can also be a symptom of a pronounced food allergy. Diarrhoea is a symptom that often occurs in the context of a food allergy. Usually, the diarrhoea stops a few hours after ingestion of the triggering food.

As described above, symptoms that occur in the context of a food allergy often manifest themselves on the skin. For example, through itchy skin rash or wheals. An allergic reaction can also occur in the area of the mucous membranes with itching. The symptoms usually subside when a few hours have passed since the ingestion of the triggering food.