Food Allergies are probably more common than you think. This is because they often go unnoticed due to the fact that many of the symptoms are fairly mild and could either be missed, or perhaps mistaken for another condition. However, if food allergies are not recognised and the food cut from the system then a severe allergic reaction known as Anaphylaxis could take place. This could potentially be life threatening. In this article we are going to take a little look at some of the most common food allergy symptoms. If you can learn to recognise these, then you will know what foods trigger them. These reactions normally occur minutes, or even seconds after eating the food.
One of the most common of the food allergy symptoms is a skin rash. This most often occurs on a specific part of the body. It can however also spread across the whole body. Often this rash will be red and itchy and a raised bump, however the raised rash part doesn’t always occur.
Another one of the more common food allergy symptoms is a swelling of the face. This most often occurs around the eyes, the tongue, lips or even the roof of the mouth swelling up. Generally this swelling will not be painful.
A number of problems may also start to occur in the throat. This can be a change in the tone of your voice, most often it becomes hoarse. This is down to the voice box swelling up. At the same time you may feel a narrowing in your throat which can be incredibly unpleasant.
In addition to all of that you may feel dizzy and lightheaded. This may be accompanied by a feeling of being sick, or actually being sick. Again, this happens within minutes of the food being ingested, and thus you should hopefully be able to work out that you are allergic to the food.
You may also feel pains around the abdominal area, which will often go into spasm. In some cases diarrhoea may also occur. This is one of the food allergy symptoms which will take a bit to kick in, although it can be slightly quicker.
In some cases there may also be cold-like symptoms. This means that you could experience sneezing, a runny nose or congestion. This is the main reason as to why many food allergies end up going unnoticed.
Some other reactions which take longer to occur include heartburn, frequent loose stools, which may or may not include blood. Constipation could also occur. Finally, you may have slightly pale skin, depending on how often you consume the food that you are allergic to.
As mentioned previously, in some cases a severe reaction occurs. This can be identified by a rapid heartbeat, incredibly difficult breathing, a feeling of ‘doom’ and even unconsciousness. If this occurs then it is vital you get emergency assistance immediately.
Hopefully this has given you a brief overview of the various food allergy symptoms, and hopefully it should make you much better aware of when an allergic reaction is occurring.