Tomato allergy treatment | Tomato Allergy

Tomato allergy treatment

The most effective therapy for allergies is to completely avoid the food that causes the allergy. So if you suffer from an allergy to tomatoes, you can do without tomatoes for life and thus avoid any allergic symptoms caused by tomatoes. It is important that the allergen is diagnosed correctly and unambiguously so that this food avoidance can be carried out correctly.

Since the allergic reaction to tomatoes is mainly due to the substance histamine, so-called antihistamines are frequently used drugs. These tablets block the additional release of histamine in the body, which can help to alleviate the symptoms. However, the antihistamines cannot cure the disease, as they cannot fight the actual cause.

As with any other allergy, every allergy sufferer should be prepared for the emergency, i.e. a life-threatening allergic shock.The emergency set is used for this purpose and consists of an epi-pen containing the active ingredient epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and possibly additional sprays containing cortisone. An allergic shock leads within a few seconds to minutes to severe shortness of breath and a circulatory collapse. The adrenaline from the epi-pen can usually still be applied by the affected person himself and counteracts the allergic shock within a very short time.

Causes of tomato allergy

The exact cause of the tomato allergy is not yet known. However, it is certain that there is a genetic component. Parents with food allergies have a higher risk of developing food allergies themselves.

There is also the theory that a particularly clean environment leads to increased susceptibility to allergies. In a clean environment the body does not come into contact with many substances. This means that it cannot get used to the substances and judges them to be dangerous if they come into contact later. This leads to the strong immune reaction to actually harmless foods like tomatoes.

Cross-allergy to tomatoes

Cross-allergies arise due to the chemical similarity of allergens (allergenic substances) of different foods. Thus the immune system does not only recognize the actual food to which someone is allergic. Other foods or pollen are also interpreted as dangerous and therefore attacked by the body.

Cross-allergies with tomatoes are mainly caused by birch. Other foods can also cause cross allergies, including cherry, pear, apple, hazelnut and almond. Banana, orange and mango are rarer.