Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its development. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention programme for the primary prevention of asthma in high-risk infants at 7 years of age. Five hundred and forty-five high-risk infants with an immediate family history of asthma and allergies were prospectively randomized into intervention and control groups pre-natally. (more…)

By definition, allergy is a condition where a person has hypersensitivity to an environmental, drug, or food antigen (allergen) caused by an altered or unusual immune system reaction to the antigen.

Allergenic foods can impact the lungs when an allergic reaction individual inhales food particles that may have been released when the food was cooked or that were dispersed in aerosol form. Allergy to the allergens in cooked food has been reported by highly allergic patients who were exposed to their allergenic foods (say, fish, shellfish, or eggs) in an enclosed area (for example, a restaurant dining room) or during meal preparation. Most cases of asthma triggered by aerosolized food allergens involve adults engaged in specific occupations that regularly expose them to the allergens. In contrast, most cases of asthma in children are triggered when the allergen is eaten, not inhaled.

Many experts believe that if a baby can be protected from becoming sensitized to the most highly allergenic foods when their healthy immune system and the digestive tract are in the most vulnerable stage for allergy to develop, the incidence of lifelong food allergy and potentially life-threatening anaphylactic reactions to foods will be reduced and hopefully entirely prevented. When a baby has been identified to be at risk for developing allergy, measures to reduce allergic sensitization might be implemented at birth and the problems associated with future food allergy may be significantly reduced. However, as we shall see in later discussions, experts disagree on the best way to avoid this early allergic sensitization.

The reaction of asthmatics to these chemical compounds is not an allergy, but is more correctly described as allergy intolerance because the initial response is not a triggering of the immune system. The process involves an increase in the level of the inflammatory mediators that are responsible for the bronchospasm of asthma. These mediators include histamine and leukotrienes. They are released during the reaction to an allergen, and cause the muscular contractions that result in the difficulty in breathing and wheezing that are typical of asthma. By inhibiting (or turning off) other types of mediators, the chemicals in the food additives cause an increase in the level of antihistamine and leukotrienes. This results in increased bronchospasm, and a definite worsening of the asthma symptoms.

Oral allergy syndrome is an allergic reaction to food that is confined to the oral cavity (i.e., to the lips, and around the lips, roof of the mouth, tongue, hard and soft palate, and uvula) and adjacent structures. It differs from other food allergy in that its symptoms do not appear in any other location in the body, and always accompany respiratory allergy to inhaled allergens of plants, particularly plant pollens. Of course, symptoms in the mouth, throat, and upper respiratory tract can be part of a generalized reaction to foods, but in this case they are more accurately described as oral allergy symptoms. The term oral allergy syndrome applies specifically to pollen allergy (pollinosis) accompanied by reactions to certain raw foods when they are in direct contact with oral tissues. Individuals with Oral allergy syndrome typically have hay fever symptoms caused by allergies to trees, grasses, and weeds. They experience irritation in the mouth (lips, tongue, roof of the mouth) and sometimes the throat after eating specific types of raw fruits, vegetables, and sometimes nuts.

At least a million Spanish suffer allergic reactions to food, some of them as common as milk, eggs, fruit or fish. Many of them are children who are constrained in their quality of life and opportunities to participate in activities as usual for other children and enjoy a family meal, eating at school, have a pizza or a bagel or even attend a children’s party. An accidental ingestion of a food to which you are allergic (which happens often due to lack of identification of many food allergy ingredients) can have serious consequences, from allergic urticaria to anaphylaxis symptoms. (more…)

After long-term avoidance of the offending foods, many children outgrow their food allergies. Subsequent periodic challenge with asthma foods to avoid, the offending food should therefore be undertaken to determine whether your child remains allergic to it. The results of skin and blood tests tend to remain positive long after symptoms have resolved, so direct challenge with the offending food is usually necessary. (more…)

Many children are living with asthma. Asthma is a lung disease because the constriction of small airways (bronchioles). When this happens, there is moderate to severe difficulty in breathing came with by wheezing. Even though wheezing is not always heard but most of the time it is always present. (more…)

In theory, any kind of food is having the capability to trigger food allergic reaction in our body. All foods contain molecules capable of triggering a response of the immune system. However, for many reasons—including both the structure of the food molecules and our body’s immunological responses—the foods that cause the majority of allergic reactions tend to be few in number. (more…)