Food Allergies - Why the Wrong Diagnosis Can Be the Difference Between Life and Death

Many people will tell you that they have a food allergy; in fact in today’s society it is considered to be trendy, with celebrities announcing their food allergies on the front covers of magazines. However, true food allergies aren’t as common as you might think and they usually only affect as few as two percent of children.

Do you have a food allergy?

Food allergies have many different symptoms including wheezing or difficulty breathing, itchy skin, hives, stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and swelling around the throat and mouth. These symptoms often develop very quickly after eating the food that causes the allergy, though sometimes the effects can take hours to materialise, making it difficult to determine the cause. Food allergies can also cause sinus problems that are often mistaken as a cold symptom. The severity of the reaction can range from mild discomfort to anaphylactic shock and even death so it is very important to determine the cause of the allergy and avoid it.

Maybe it’s a food intolerance?

More commonly a person’s negative reaction to a food is due to a food intolerance rather than an allergy. The symptoms can be very similar including vomiting, diarrhea and skin rashes but it the reaction does not involve the immune system then it is not a real food allergy problem. The most common type of food intolerance is a lactose intolerance, caused by the deficiency of the lactase enzyme which makes it difficult to digest food containing dairy products such as cow’s milk. The reaction is most common in children, though most of them grow out of it eventually.

If you suffer a negative reaction after eating certain foods then it is very important that you seek medical advice. While food intolerances can be tolerated, foods that you are genuinely allergic to should not be eaten to ensure you don’t cause permanent damage to your body, or even put yourself in a life-threatening situation.