Back in the 1960s and 1970s, there were few people who experienced extreme symptoms from food allergies. Some people were lactose intolerant and would get runny noses or nausea from milk, but they would not have problems so severe that they would be in danger of dying. This is simply not the case today.
Allergy treatment centers, such as Premier Allergy and Asthma, believe that education is the best means of helping everyone understand and be sensitive to the plight of those suffering from food allergies.
The Percentage of People With Severe Food Allergies is On the Rise –
According to the U.S. National Institutes for Health (NIH), the incidence of peanut allergies in children doubled from 1997 to 2002. The NIH stated that there is a difference between food intolerance or sensitivity, such as lactose intolerance, and food allergies. In the latter, the body generates an immune response in reaction to the food. EatingWell Magazine states that 6 percent of all children have food allergies and that the incidence of anaphylactic food reactions, in which the airways constrict, has increased 377 percent across the U.S. from 2007 to 2016.
What Happens to Someone With Food Allergies? –
When someone eats a food they are allergic to, Salon Magazine states that their system’s antibody called immunoglobulin E, or IgE, recognizes the substance and sends a message to other immune cells, which respond by producing histamine in one’s body.
According to the NIH, in the case of a food allergen, the body over-reacts. Even eating a tiny amount of the offending food can cause difficulties in breathing, swelling in the lips and throat, rashes, cramping and vomiting. In the case of an anaphylactic reaction, the airways can constrict and the person can die.
As you can imagine, people with such severe food allergies are very, and rightfully, fearful of eating the offending food. As you can see from the list in the next section, though, the offending foods are often very common and can be found in many pre-packaged foods.
What Are the Major Food Allergens? –
According to the Federal Drug Administration, eight foods are identified by law as potentially allergenic:
- Eggs
- Milk
- Shell fish
- Tree nuts
- Fish
- Wheat
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
Why Are Food Allergies on the Rise? –
According to EatingWell, there was an over-reliance upon one small study about allergies in children on the part of pediatricians. Advice that should have only be given to parents of children who were exhibiting allergies was given to most all parents. Parents were being told to wait to expose their children to some of these allergens. This advice proved to be faulty. Instead of protecting children from allergies, more children developed allergies because of their late exposure to the potential allergens.
What Can Be Done? –
There are two major approaches to treating food allergies today:
Traditional approach: According to EatingWell, the traditional approach to treating allergies was to determine the allergens and consult with patients on how to avoid the food. The idea was to prevent any exposure. The problem is that these foods are prevalent and are very hard to avoid. Sometimes label-reading alone is not enough. If a patient is exposed to the offending food, and they have an anaphylactic reaction, they will need to get epinephrine quickly, or they might die.
Oral Immunotherapy (OIT): A new and promising approach called oral immunotherapy, or OIT, is similar to allergy therapy for other allergens that are not life-threatening, like pollen. The patient is exposed to trace doses of the allergen. The dosage is increased in small measures. Eventually, the goal is for the patient to be able to eat the allergen without having any reaction.
According to EatingWell, a research study in 2014 found that researchers could use OIT therapy to help 84 percent of children with a peanut allergy eat 20 peanuts. Researchers have developed capsules with small dosages of offending foods that are slated for an FDA approval decision at the beginning of 2020.
OIT and Asthma Medication: According to EatingWell, even quicker results were found when researchers combined OIT therapy with an asthma drug called omalizumab.
Allergy treatment centers, like Premier Allergy and Asthma, are providing both the conventional consultation about avoidance of food allergens as well as the new OIT treatments.
Food allergies in the United States are a very serious issue today, with life-threatening potential consequences. It is hoped that, through education, more of the public is sensitive to the issues of patients who may have had anaphylactic reactions and have compassion and understanding for allergy-sufferers quite reasonable requests for information about the foods they wish to purchase and consume
