I Think I Have Food Allergies: Can You Help?

You never had a problem before, but now every time you have shrimp cocktail, your throat itches and you get a rash. These unusual symptoms may mean you have a food allergy. 

Food allergies are an abnormal immune system reaction to specific foods, causing a range of symptoms from hives to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Before eating more shrimp, you need allergy testing to confirm your suspicions and reduce the risk of a more serious reaction.

At Respacare in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Dr. Nehal Mehta and Dr. Prashant Patel, offer in-office allergy testing to identify the substance causing your new symptoms.

If you think you have food allergies, here’s what you should do and how we can help:

See your primary care doctor

About 33 million people in the United States have food allergies. Though often associated with children, food allergies are more common in adults and can occur at any time. 

Common food allergy symptoms include:

• Hives
• Itchy mouth or throat
• Sneezing or coughing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Abdominal pain
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Shortness of breath

Most people only have mild symptoms that may not appear until two hours after eating, making it hard to connect the symptom to a food allergy. 

But if you think you have food allergies, don’t dismiss your concern. Make an appointment with your doctor who can provide guidance on the possible causes of your symptoms and what steps you need to take next, like allergy testing.

Schedule allergy testing

There’s no best test for diagnosing food allergies. We first conduct a thorough history and physical to determine what tests you might need. 

If we suspect your symptoms are food-related, we start with skin allergy testing. For this test, we prick your skin with a small amount of the suspected allergen (or allergens) and wait 15 minutes to check for a reaction.

Your test is positive if you develop a raised red welt at the site of the skin prick. However, testing positive after the skin prick test doesn’t necessarily mean you have a food allergy. You must do an oral food challenge (OFC) to confirm the allergy. 

For this test, you consume measured amounts of the suspected food allergen over a period of time at the doctor’s office. Having a reaction during the test confirms your food allergy diagnosis.

Follow the treatment plan

About 170 foods are reported to cause an allergic reaction. However, most allergic reactions are caused by nine foods, including:

• Cow’s milk
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Soy
• Wheat
• Seafood
• Shellfish
• Sesame

Avoiding the food that triggers the allergy is the primary treatment. All food labels must identify if they contain any of the nine major food allergens, helping you avoid foods that may trigger a reaction. 

Immunotherapy is a treatment option for food allergies, helping build up your immune system’s tolerance to the allergen over time. We provide allergy injections, or immunotherapy, for seasonal allergies, indoor allergies, and insect stings — but not for food allergies.

We can also prescribe medication that reduces the severity of the allergic reaction when accidentally exposed. People with severe allergic reactions must carry an epinephrine pen with them at all times.

If you think you have food allergies, we can help. Our team can identify the food causing the reaction with our allergy testing. Call us today or request an appointment online.