How do you overcome nut allergy?
There are new treatments available called Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) and early OIT. This is where carefully selected patients undergo therapy to help develop a tolerance to the food they have an allergy to. Palforzia®, a treatment for peanut allergies, is the first FDA approved treatment for food allergies.
As with most food allergies, the best way to avoid triggering an allergic reaction is to avoid eating the offending item. People who are diagnosed with an allergy to a specific tree nut may be able to tolerate other tree nuts, but allergists usually advise these patients to avoid all nuts.
Peanut allergy immunotherapy is a treatment, not a cure. It is designed to reduce the frequency and severity of allergic reactions. This includes life-threatening anaphylaxis. Peanut allergy immunotherapy should only be done in a medical setting.
Oral immunotherapy (OIT) involves training children allergic to peanuts to do what they have been trained not to do: eat peanuts! In a 2014 study of this treatment, over 80% of participants were able to eat the equivalent of about five peanuts after OIT.
About 80 percent of people with egg, milk and wheat allergies outgrow them, usually by age 16. About 20 to 25 percent of children with peanut allergies outgrow them, and about 80 percent who outgrow them will do so by age 8. Allergies to tree nuts, fish and shellfish may be tougher to outgrow and are often lifelong.
There is no way to flush food allergens out of your system. Rather, you need to avoid ingesting the food that triggers your allergy. And if severe symptoms occur, you need to treat the symptoms, with epinephrine.
Nuts are one of the most common triggers for anaphylaxis — a severe reaction that can be life threatening. A nut allergy develops when the body's immune system becomes over-sensitive to a protein in a nut. Being exposed to the nut causes an allergic reaction.
Myth: Each allergic reaction will get worse and worse. Fact: Food allergy reactions are unpredictable. The way your body reacts to a food allergen one time cannot predict how it will react the next time. You don't know if a reaction is going to be mild, moderate or severe.
Level 3 is the least reactive. In this group, 85 percent can tolerate half a peanut, and 73 percent could eat about 1.5 peanuts without reacting.
But the amount of allergens in the mouth goes down over time, and after a few hours they are all but gone. Experts advise brushing your teeth and waiting at least 4 hours before kissing someone if you think you ate a food that person may be allergic to.
What happens if you keep eating food you're allergic to?
They can manifest as a spectrum of symptoms, ranging from itching, redness and swelling for milder reactions, to vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and other potentially life-threatening symptoms for severe reactions.
One study found that individuals were 14 times more likely to suffer from a peanut allergy if a close relative was also afflicted. Another study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health identified the HLA-DR and -DQ gene region as being linked to peanut allergies within their test group.
Specific spices that should be avoided if you have a tree nut allergy include cumin and spice blends. You should refrain from consuming cumin because it often uses nuts as a filler, and spice blends because they often contain cumin.
While this condition can be serious, it is possible for someone with a peanut allergy to live a full, active and healthy lifestyle, especially if they know how to read food labels, recognize symptoms and what to do if they're exposed.
Scientists don't know exactly why peanut allergies are so severe or why peanut butter allergy reaction time is so fast. One contributing factor may be that peanut proteins, which are what cause a peanut allergy reaction, aren't readily destroyed in the gut.
Bioflavonoids: These plant-based chemicals in citrus fruits and blackcurrants may act as natural antihistamines. Supplements: Flaxseed oil, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E may improve allergy symptoms. Acupuncture: Acupuncture treatments may help some people relieve their symptoms.
For example, if you ingest something that causes your body to produce an allergic reaction, water can essentially help dilute the irritant and again, assist in regulating an appropriate histamine response. It's important to note again however that water can't prevent or interrupt serious allergic reactions.
- raised red bumps on the skin – hives (urticaria)
- swelling of the lips.
- tingling of the throat and mouth.
- itchy skin and rash.
- runny nose.
- tightening of the throat.
- digestive symptoms – cramps, stomach pain, nausea or vomiting.
Signs and symptoms of nut allergies
hives, welts or wheals (a red, lumpy rash, like mosquito bites) a tingling feeling in or around the mouth. stomach pain, vomiting and/or diarrhea (loose poo) facial swelling.
- Abdominal pain.
- Bloating.
- Gas.
- Nausea.
- Diarrhea.
- Headaches.
- Joint pain.
- Skin rashes.
How long does a nut allergy episode last?
Because most IgE-mediated reactions occur within 60 minutes after ingestion but may take as long as 4 hours after ingestion, symptoms occurring later than this are unlikely to have resulted from food allergy. Typically, minor allergic symptoms last less than 1 hour, but severe reactions may be protracted (Fig. 1).
Class 1 food allergens (eg, milk, egg, or peanut) are oral allergens that cause sensitization via the gastrointestinal tract. Class 2 food allergens are aeroallergens (eg, major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1) that cause sensitization via the respiratory tract.
Evidence suggests that there is a low cross-reactivity between pine nuts and other types of nuts. However, people have reported cross-reactivity between pine nuts and peanuts, so it is possible that a person with a peanut allergy may also have a reaction to pine nuts.
| Class | IgE kU/L | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3.50-17.4 | Positive |
| 4 | 17.5-49.9 | Strongly positive |
| 5 | 50.0-99.9 | Strongly positive |
| 6 | > or =100 | Strongly positive |
Peanut allergies are caused by a protein in peanuts. The protein isn't present in the smell, so just the odor of peanuts can't cause a reaction. However, if people are grinding, shelling, or cooking peanuts near you, it could release peanut dust, particles, or oils into the air.
