How to treat food allergy symptoms

At present, there is no clinical method that can completely cure food allergy in the world. The core of all intervention methods is to first avoid allergens and then treat the symptoms according to the severity of the symptoms. Don’t believe in the folk remedies of “root therapy” and “food tolerance training”. There are really too many people who fall into this trap.

I met a 6-year-old boy in the clinic a while ago who was severely allergic to cashew nuts. The parents heard from relatives that "eat more and you will get used to it gradually." So they gave the child half a cashew nut every day. On the fifth day after eating, the child was so breathless that he couldn't lift his head. He was sent to the emergency room and injected with hormones to save his life. Not to mention the money spent, the child suffered from old sins.

If you accidentally get some allergens and only have redness around the mouth, a small rash, and a little itchiness, but no chest tightness, abdominal pain, or tight throat, most of them can be suppressed by taking second-generation antihistamines. The ones commonly used now basically do not cause drowsiness, and office workers and students will not delay work and class after taking them.

At this point, someone may ask, isn’t there such an “oral desensitization” treatment? It is true that the allergy departments of many tertiary hospitals in China are currently conducting small-scale clinical research, which is to start with very small amounts of allergens and gradually increase the dosage to help the body slowly build tolerance. However, this therapy is currently quite controversial. On the one hand, it only treats a few specific allergens such as milk and peanuts. , it is effective for people of a certain age group, but on the other hand, the risk is extremely high, and it must be done under the supervision of a doctor. I have seen people chewing a little bit of peaches at home to test their sensitivity. As a result, they went into anaphylactic shock and were admitted to the ICU. It is really a joke with their lives, and I do not recommend trying it on your own.

Of course, the most important thing to be vigilant about is severe allergic reactions. If you quickly develop shortness of breath, throat congestion, stomach cramps, or black eyes after eating by mistake, don’t hesitate to prick the outer thigh with an epinephrine pen as soon as possible. This is currently the only method that can quickly interrupt anaphylactic shock, and it is much more reliable than waiting for 120 hours. I have a friend who is severely allergic to peanuts. He always carries two epinephrine pens in his bag. The last time he drank a smoothie with peanut butter secretly added to it at a coffee shop, he took it out and finished it himself. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was almost relieved. If he had to wait for the medical staff to come to deal with it, something big might happen.

There is also the "probiotics for allergy treatment" that is popularly mentioned on the Internet. The current clinical evidence is not unified. Some studies have shown that specific strains can help relieve milk protein allergy in infants and young children, but many studies have reached the opposite conclusion. If you really want to try it, it is best to find a doctor to prescribe medical specific strain preparations. Don't buy health-care probiotics on the market that cost hundreds of dollars. Most of them are charged IQ tax.

By the way, there is another pitfall that people often fall into, thinking, "My allergy symptoms were mild last time, so I'll be fine if I eat less next time." Don't take any chances. The dose of food allergies is sometimes ridiculously small. I once met a girl who was allergic to mangoes. She just wiped her mouth with a paper towel handed over by a colleague who had just peeled the mango, and her mouth swelled into a sausage. She also had diarrhea for two days. It is really impossible to prevent it. The safest way is to always put allergen avoidance first.