An allergy will happen when the body has an abnormal overreaction of its immune system to a normally harmless substance. It is stated in the medical journals that one in four Americans will suffer from one type of allergy or another. Of those, food allergies will make up the smallest percentage, about 2%. That statistic surprised me as four out of seven of my children suffer from a food allergy of some sort.

Of the 2% of the adult who suffer from food allergies and 8% of the children who have these know allergies-will be sensitive to one or more foods. This is far less common that the reaction to lets say pollen or other inhaled substances, medications, or things that can be absorbed through the skin.

One positive aspect of a food allergy is that when they are found in infants and young children, there is a good chance that they will outgrow them and that they will disappear by adulthood.

An allergy will usually develop in stages. When the immune system first encounters the allergen, it will try to manufacture antibodies against it. Thus, the person will probably not experience an allergic reaction at first time exposures. By the second or third exposure, these antibodies may not be able to ward off a reaction. The more times that a person is exposed the greater amount of histamines will be released and the greater the reaction will be. Reactions can then range from something as mild as a runny nose or a rash to the extreme of sudden death.

This gradual increase happened in my son with peanut butter. At first he would only experience a mild rash and now cannot even be in the same room with it or his airway shuts down. He has to eat his school lunches in the office in case anyone in the lunch room has anything with even peanut oil in it. This all took place in only a matter of months.

Most times the allergic reactions will happen quickly. Usually within a few minutes to sometime a couple of hours after whatever you are allergic to has entered the body. There are, however, rare cases when it has taken up to forty-eight hours. This, then, makes it more difficult to identify what has caused the reaction.

Some allergens will be easy to identify because of the characteristics of the symptoms. They will most often appear right after eating certain foods. However, in other cases some investigative work will need to be done. In the case of my son, we journalized everything he ate for a period of six months. We then kept tract of exactly everything that happened over the next two days. (after eating the foods). This journal was then handed over to an allergist who then determined what foods that he was allergic to. They were able to narrow it down to certain dyes even.

Common Food Allergen and Their Symptoms:

Milk and Milk Products: Constipation, diarrhea and vomiting are the most common. Some less common symptoms would be, rashes, hives, or breathing problems.

Fish: Rashes or hives, and sometimes red and itchy eyes. This particular allergen could trigger and asthma attack.

Wheat and wheat products: Diarrhea and other intestinal upsets. Has been known to cause migraine headaches.

Nuts and peanuts: Intestinal upset and breathing problems. Can cause anaphylaxis.

Fruits: Facial rash or hives.

*These are just a few allergens and their symptoms, if you have any questions or concerns, you should speak with your doctor about them.*

Learn more about this author, Debbie Roeser.
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