Food Allergies and Allergy Testing (August 29, 2011)  

Food allergies can cause uncomfortable symptoms such as abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, hives, and itching, tingling, or swelling in the mouth/throat or other body parts. Symptoms that appear within an hour or even days later could include redness/rash on the skin, eczema, nasal congestion, coughing, or sneezing. Food allergies can become very dangerous in a short period of time and can even be life-threatening. Once you have a reaction to a food, it will get worse every time you are exposed to the offending food. Should you have an extreme reaction to a food you have just eaten, you could go into anaphylactic shock. This may cause swelling in the throat, tongue, and nasal passages, cause breathing difficulty, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and even loss of consciousness. This can happen is a short period of time and requires a trip to the emergency room. It is life threatening! Allergies often run in families, so if another family member has food allergies and you suspect you may have them as well, call and make an appointment to have the allergy testing done as soon as possible. 

It is important for a person with food allergies to read food labels to check for ingredients. A food labeling law passed in 2006 requires that certain ingredients such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pecans, soybeans, wheat, fish and shellfish be listed on the label, as these items are known as major food allergens. The FDA is currently evaluating the most effective communication for warning consumers of ingredients in a food product that may be one of the major food allergens.

 

Harvesting, processing, manufacturing, storage and transportation may lead to cross contamination with other food items. Production lines, storage facilities and transportation lines dedicated to a particular food source may prevent some forms of cross contamination. Cross contamination may occur in restaurants, school cafeterias and homes by a cutting board used to prepare a peanut butter sandwich then used to peel a carrot. Sauces containing milk or eggs may splash onto a salad plate. Cooking oil that has been used to fry shrimp should not be used for frying potatoes. Crushing garlic for a potato recipe with a utensil used to crush nuts may be lethal if served to the wrong customer or family member.

 

A cook must be alert to the many ways that contamination can occur including the hands, gloves, spilled foods, shared utensils and counter tops. Each utensil and surface should be cleaned with soap and water before preparing a dish for a customer or family member with a severe food allergy. An ideal kitchen would include a separate frying area for cooking fish and foods that contain nuts from other food products. If there is a possibility of cross contamination, it is best to not serve the dish.

There are two ways to test for allergies. The first is a skin test. For this type of testing, you must make an appointment with an allergist. Skin testing is time consuming and could cause an allergic reaction to some of the allergens used. These tests are preformed by putting a drop of the suspected allergen on the skin of the arm or back and pricking the skin. It must be done in a doctor’s office under close supervision due to the possibility of a severe reaction. The results are immediate, but the positive reactions may continue to itch for a day or two. If you don’t want to go through this long process there is an easier way, a blood test. 

The blood test is quick and easy to perform.  These tests are typically done in a laboratory and involve only one needle stick. Blood tests can also be done while you are taking allergy medicine, while skin test cannot.  Allergy blood tests measure a protein called lgE antibodies to determine particular food allergies.  However, many people are deterred from getting the tests for a number of reasons - they don't want to make multiple appointments with their doctor, they fear that it may be too expensive to get tested, or they may just not want to endure the stress of getting tested. But what you may not know is that it's possible to test yourself for common food allergies affordably and without having to go to the doctor. You can purchase a food allergy test from Health Testing Centers and avoid the pain, cost, time and hassle of getting tested at your physician's office.

 

There are two convenient combinations of blood tests available from Health Testing Centers to diagnose food allergies. The first is the Basic Food Allergy Test and tests for reactions to eggs, fish, cow’s milk, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat. The second and most comprehensive is the Extended Food Allergy Test which covers all of the Basic allergens plus chocolate, beef, corn, and pork. To be sure you are testing for the most common types of food allergies, the Extended Food Allergy Test is more specific and the best overall choice for screening food allergies.  You can be assured that you'll get the most accurate results possible in the shortest amount of time. When it comes to your health, it's important to know what you're allergic to, and getting food allergy tests performed is one of the wisest moves you can make. You can take the first step today.