How to overcome peanut allergy? seafood allergy?
Allergy is chronic. That means it can be controlled but not cured. It is caused by a defect in the immune system whereby the body misidentifies benign (harmless) proteins as evil enemy invaders intent on destroying the body..which they are not. Once the misidentification has been made, a specific human immunoglobulin (IgE) is produced so that upon each subsequent exposure the IgE causes the mast cells to get the immune system all excited and start producing histamines. So that is what allergy is. Some allergies can be controlled through immunotherapy whereby you are exposed to small amounts of the offending protein in an effort to raise the threshold of reaction. This has some effect on environmental allergies but has proven to be ineffective on food allergy. The best thing is avoidance, and no you aren't going to "fix" it. What you can do for your son is instill in him habits that will lead to a strong immune system in an effort to prevent further sensitization. These means teach him to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated (not juice or soda but water), to get plenty of sleep, to eat plenty of colorful foods (except peanuts and seafood) heavy on the bright greens and reds, and to stay active (not hard for a 4 year old boy!) This might not want to be the answer you wanted to hear, but it is the truth, backed by science.
Can you get rid of a food allergy just by eating food(s) you are allergic to?
Because you’re dealing with the danger of eating a food that could cause a severe reaction, I would ONLY advise doing this with a knowledgeable OIT allergist who can guide you safely through the process. OIT, or oral immunotherapy, is done under a trained allergist’s watchful eye according to a vetted protocol in terms of very slow introduction and very slow escalations of an allergen to induce tolerance. There are also a lot of rules to be followed that are based on the histories of the many, many patients who have successfully been through OIT, and the they are always tweaking them. For instance, they now know you need to have a good, starchy carbohydrate in your stomach a 1/2 an hour before dosing to prevent a reaction. And there are many more rules they now know to follow for successful, safe desensitization! So please, DO NOT do this at home—please consult an OIT allergist. See OIT 101 - to find one, hopefully near you.
Is it possible to cure food allergies?
Most scientists still avoid using the term "cure" (since the research is still ongoing), but it is pretty clear that there are great treatments for food allergies that are available today if you're willing to travel to one of the practitioners who offers the treatments in private practice. Oral immunotherapy, sub-lingual immunotherapy, and FAHF-2 are all currently available, and together have thousands of patients who have been successfully treated.I wrote the previous answer about milk (see Elizabeth Muller's answer to My son has milk allergy (allergic to dairy and milk products). What advice do Quorans have on his diet?) but all of the treatments mentioned except baked milk therapy and the patch are available for any food to which you might be allergic -- though some doctors only offer treatment for certain foods. Sublingual Immonotherapy (SLIT) can treat up to 20 allergens at the same time, which is a huge advantage to people who have a huge number of allergies. My 5 year old daughter is currently doing combined oral immunotherapy for peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, and hazelnut. When she finishes that, she'll start buckwheat, and then we'll figure out how we want to tackle fish. My 2 year old son is currently doing oral immunotherapy for baked milk, and he will start SLIT in January for 20 of his allergens, probably focussing on legumes and fruits. We'll then tackle uncooked milk for him, and finally peanuts and tree nuts. Both kids are in treatment with Dr. Li using FAHF-2 (which treats the whole immune system), and also her ASHMI treatment for asthma. It's not easy to find good reliable information on food allergy treatments - but the treatments do exist, and the scientific research is there to back it up!!
Why do my blood tests say I am allergic to foods that do not bother me?
Blood tests for allergies are terribly inaccurate.According to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), blood tests show “False Positives” 50–60% of the time.[1]So with no symptoms, you’re not allergic. Your blood tests show elevated IgE for wheat, but this does not mean you are allergic.Footnotes[1] Blood Tests for Food Allergy
How do people with food allergies deal with eating out?
Some severely allergic people won't eat out at all, or only at specific places where they have assurance they are comfortable with and personal interaction with the chef, repeat experiences without reactions.We used to be much more careful when the kids were smaller, but our allergies are now reduced from the top 8+ so we are able to manage now. I avoid seafood and wheat, DS avoids seafood, wheat, nuts and sesame, and DD just nuts. We also avoid soy, except small amounts of soy sauce. We carry epinephrine at all times. When we were avoiding dairy, eggs, and all soy as well, it was much harder. We now have many more options and the trouble is just that we can become complacent at places we frequent. We are still careful at new places. It's important to stress vigilance and the risks for cross contamination in any restaurant or places other than your home, or even in your home, depending. Even the tiniest amount can trigger a reaction.With our diet, we can manage with some level of cross contamination, except for nuts for the kids and seafood for me. I have to worry about shared fryers and grill space. We have tolerance for wheat in small amounts.If you are managing life threatening food allergies, be sure to talk directly to the chef, so they can personally make or oversee the making of your order. Always carry your epinephrine and other allergy medications and keep them at safe temperatures. Don't become complacent. Don't be too adventurous. Don't be afraid to question the server or ask for the chef again. Don't put up with attitude, but remain calm and show them the epinephrine if they don't understand and explain to them. Don't argue if they can't accommodate you. It is not their job to protect you with a guarantee, there is always an element of risk. Thank them and leave if you need to. Always have a backup plan. Go home, grocery, other restaurants. I find there are usually better accommodations at fine dining places, and Disney is really great at having special diet items for no increase in price. Most restaurants upcharge for gluten free bread, for example, because of the higher cost, but some fine dining places and all of Disney do not. We have spent the majority of our vacations at Disneyland due to safety and proximity. There are increasing options as awareness of food allergies increases, we just need to keep advocating and educating.
Which is better for food allergies and eczema? Benadryl or Claritin?
It sounds like you do not take antihistamine on a regular basis but only when you experience symptoms. In this case I would recommend Benadryl as it is a recommended drug for this. Personally, I carry the children's chewables with me just in case I eat something I shouldn't. The chewables can be taken anywhere anytime without water. They don't taste bad either. You need to double the dose for adults. They only problem is that it can cause drowsiness. Benadryl also makes a cream for hives.
Allergic to cake?
Yes those who have one food allergy are likely to have more. Particularly if you are allergic to one of the top 9 allergens: Dairy, Soy, Wheat, Eggs, Peanuts, Treenuts, Sesame Seeds, Shellfish, Sulphites (a preservative). You should ask for a referral to an allergist. Even if the children are too young for accurate testing they can still offer a lot of useful advice and set up a plan for when things can be tested and treated (I had allergy shots as a child and all my food allergies are gone, now maybe I would have outgrown them no matter what who knows) PS Icing sugar commonly contains cornstarch, and some commercial icings and cakes contain corn syrup. While not one of the top allergens corn allergies are somewhat common. Also some icings contain eggs so with the cake that could be a fair bit of egg. Dried coconut also tends to contain sulphites, and coconut itself is also an allergen separate from nuts. There are a lot of potential allergens there *lol*
Can I be an astronaut if I have a tree nut allergy?
I'm 17 and I've dreamed of becoming an astronaut my entire life. My very first idol was Sally Ride, my mom gave me this huge book about one of her missions and I would look at the pictures over and over and over again. I forgot about my dream for a while.. I went in another direction because I told myself it would never happen and that I wasn't good at math or science.. but because of that, I never tried. I'm now realizing that I AM good at math and science and I find it all really fascinating, much more than history and english. I meet all the requirements to be an astronaut, I'm the minimum height, I have 20/20 vision, I also take very good care of my body. The one issue is that I have a severe allergy to tree nuts. If I eat one I go into anaphylactic shock.. It's never gone that far, but I've had anaphylaxis once in my life. It's not really the kind of thing that you grow out of in this situation. I have an allergist appointment coming up to determine the severity of my allergy.. the last time it was tested was when I was maybe 11. I know that can be a serious health concern.. and there are plenty of candidates that don't have these issues.. but by the time I got to that position.. do you think things would have changed? SO many people in my generation have food allergies now.. ESPECIALLY to nuts. There are a lot of brilliant people who will have a lot to offer to this world who will have these health issues. Frankly, I'm still pretty shocked that airlines haven't banned nuts. Once I was on a plane and you have to make a request to the crew to not serve your isle or the isle around you nuts. On this particular flight, they were very understanding and said that there were two other people on board who had the allergy too! As my generation makes its way into adulthood wouldn't you think that there would be a pretty big push for more safety and bans with this stuff? I mean, only in the recent years they've begun to label products that have been processed with nuts. Are all of my chances of being an astronaut gone because of this?