What is a food allergy?

• A food allergy is when your immune system overreacts to a particular protein found in a particular food. Symptoms can occur when coming in contact with just a small amount of the food. Unlike other types of food disorders, such as intolerance, food allergies are “IgE mediated.” This means that your immune system produces abnormally large amounts of an antibody called immunoglobulin E, or IgE for short. IgE antibodies fight the “enemy” food allergens by releasing histamine and other chemicals, which trigger the symptoms of an allergic reaction.

• Although any food is capable of causing an allergic reaction, only nine foods account for 90% of all food allergy reactions in the United States. These nine foods are: cow’s milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, sesame, tree nuts and wheat.

• The foods most associated with a food allergy in children are cow’s milk, eggs and peanuts. Children may outgrow their allergic reactions to milk and eggs, but peanut and tree nut allergies are more likely to persist.

• The most common food allergens in adults are fruit and vegetable pollen (oral allergy syndrome), peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

• Though there is no cure for food allergies, there are new developing treatments. One such medication is Palforzia, the first oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy that can mitigate allergic reactions when exposed to peanuts. Xolair has also been approved as a therapy to mitigate allergic reactions to different food allergies.

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What are some symptoms? Allergic reactions to food normally occur within minutes of eating the trigger food, though they can sometimes appear a few hours later

• Hives or red, itchy skin

• Stuffy or itchy nose, sneezing, itchy/teary eyes

• Nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, or diarrhea

• Anaphylaxis

  • Angioedema or swelling​

  • Hoarseness, throat tightness or lump in the throat

  • Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, or trouble breathing

  • Tingling in hands, feet, lips, or scalp

  • Weak pulse, dizziness, loss of conciousness

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What is Oral Allergy Syndrome? 

• A condition where your body confuses proteins in certain fruits and vegetables to pollen found in trees, weeds, and grasses that you are allergic to. It is not a true food allergy, and are found in patients with high seasonal pollen allergies. It also occurs with fresh fruits and vegetables. Cooked forms of these foods do not cause symptoms.

• Symptoms of OAS include itchy lips, mouth, tongue and throat. It usually does not progress to life-threatening or anaphylactic reactions, but it is a possibility, so we normally advise avoiding fresh forms of foods that cause issues. Potential treatment options include eating canned/processed forms, peeling the skin, and taking allergy shots (immunotherapy).