Allergy Foods

Allergy Foods - Does Food Make You Sick ?

Do you often suffer from strange symptoms after eating certain types of foods? Do you get itchy, break out in hives, swell up or actually vomit? You could be suffering from a common food allergy.

It’s estimated that over 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies. Most allergic reactions are mild, but around 30,000 visits to the emergency room are reported each year because of the reactions. As many as 200 deaths each year are attributed to food allergies.

Studies report up to 8 percent of children have an allergy to some type of food. The numbers are slightly smaller for adults, only around 4 percent.
Many children will outgrow their food allergies. But some will carry these allergies into adulthood and suffer from them their entire lives.

Eating prepackaged foods, out in restaurants or even friends homes can cause problems. It’s often hard to tell what’s added to the foods we eat.
You hate to ask the cook “what’s in this?”, but sometimes you just have to. Especially when asking can mean the difference between an enjoyable meal and a trip to the emergency room.

With the increased cases of peanut allergies, most packaged foods have started including on the label the use of peanut oils and even if the processing of nuts is handled in the same factory.
There’s no cure for food allergies. So the only thing you can do is avoid the foods that cause the reactions you can’t deal with. …Read more >>

Allergy Symptoms

Allergy Symptoms - Allergy’s Favorite Symptoms

If allergies had a top ten list of their favorite symptoms what would be on it? Would they prefer life threatening or just really annoying?
The most common symptoms, that may or may not be on their favorites list:

Breathing problems.

This one should be fun for an allergy. It really gets the persons attention. Nothing like the lack of oxygen to center a person’s attention on the allergy.

Burning, watery or itchy eyes.

This symptom falls into the really annoying category. It could cause additional problems if you can’t see where you’re going.

Red, swollen eyes, also called Conjunctivitis.

Certainly annoying, but most people can deal with this one.

Coughing.

This one gets old real quick. And a constant cough quickly becomes painful.

Diarrhea.

This one might start out in the annoying category, but left unchecked could switch to the life threatening section very quickly.

Headache.

Depending on the severity of the headache, this one might be tolerable.

Hives.

This symptom is not only annoying and uncomfortable (possibly painful) it draws the attention of strangers on the street.

Itchy nose, mouth, throat or skin.

Another in the category of really annoying. An itch that can’t be soothed is one of the most annoying things there is.

Runny nose.

Yeah, this one could cause problems with other people. No one likes to hear someone constantly sniffing or blowing their nose. Makes people wonder what germs you’re spreading around.

Skin rashes.

Possibly ugly to look at, but tolerable

…Read more >>

Allergy Food

Allergy Food - Allergic To Food ?

Food allergies are the most common and prevalent type of allergy. Up to 12 million Americans suffer from some type of food allergy.
The most common culprits are eggs, fish and shellfish, peanuts and other tree nuts.

Children are most commonly allergic to the same foods but with the addition to milk and other dairy products.
Corn and corn products also commonly cause allergic reactions in children.

Most allergic symptoms are often only bothersome, but they can be life threatening.
The most common symptoms are itching of the mouth, eyes and skin, hives, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, often but not always accompanied by stomach cramps and wheezing, shortness of breath or trouble swallowing.

The more severe symptoms can include swelling. The swelling tends to focus on the face area causing swelling of the eyelids, lips, ears and tongue.
Mood swings and depression is another symptom.
The most severe symptoms can result in death. Around 200 deaths each year are reported from both the initial allergic reaction and secondary complications.

There is currently no cure for food allergies. While allergy shots have been developed to help with many different types of allergies, none have been successfully made for food allergies.

The people with the allergies usually avoid those foods that cause the allergic reaction. Epinephrine can relieve the symptoms, and is often carried by people diagnosed with food allergies to be used in an emergency.
Some scientists believe genetic engineering may create vaccines, but that’s still years away. …Read more >>

Alergy

Alergy - Looking For A Challenge?

Ever wonder what are the most challenging places for allergy sufferers to live?

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America wondered that too. So they’ve been researching and publishing a yearly report.

Each spring and fall, they gather information based on 3 factors. They check the pollen scores, the number of allergy medications used and the number of allergy specialists per patient.

Their report lists the top 100 places an allergy sufferer would find the most challenging. That’s just a polite way of saying the 100 worst places to live with allergies.

Looks like Texas tops the list. They have 7 cities in the top 70. Austin is number 1 with a score of 100. This is one time a score of 100 and the number 1 spot isn’t a good thing. San Antonio isn’t far behind Austin with a score of 98.75. That puts it in second place.

Third place is claimed by Oklahoma City, OK. They get a score of 96.25. But it’s not all bad in Oklahoma. Tulsa with a score of 83.00 is the only other city to make the list.

Florida has 11 cities in the top 100, with Lakeland leading the way with a score of 93.75. Orlando is right below them with a 93.20.

Los Angeles isn’t far down the list. It ranked 11th, scoring 82.75. And our nations capital ranked 70th with a score of 51.45. Seattle, WA. finishes the list with a nice low score of 25.45. …Read more >>