“I am allergic to seafood.” Have you heard that words from one of your friends when the two of you go out eating at a restaurant? Maybe it’s easy for the one who doesn’t have any allergy to underestimate it. They could say, “Just eat a little won’t kill you.” But is that true? Those who have an allergy to certain food and still trying to consume that food usually suffered an allergic reaction. A different person might show different symptoms, from the lightest, skin problem until the major one, anaphylaxis shock.
What is a food allergy?
A food allergy occurs when an allergen (IgE) that normally produced to response to infections caused by parasites labels other elements besides parasites to trigger the immune system response, resulting in many allergic reactions such as irritation, itchiness, and scales in the skin, inflamed, red and sometimes a fatal shock called anaphylaxis. Food allergy, unfortunately, cannot be healed only can be avoided. It is remained a mystery until now why the allergen (IgE) labels something not harmful like pollen as allergic.
Symptoms of food allergies in the skin
When the symptoms of food allergies reaction occur might be varied. It could be rapid, appearing within an hour (or sometimes even seconds) of consumption, or in some cases, it might be delayed and appear up to four hours after eating. Symptoms that occur in the skin as allergic reactions are as follows:
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Skin rashes
It can appear in a generally short period, disappearing within a few days but there’s also the long lasting rash such as scaly patches that can stay until months or years called atopic dermatitis, which will be explained further below.
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Itching and swelling
The reactions might occur mostly in the face particularly, the lips and mouth area. Not only it will be itchy and swell but sometimes also followed by red and swollen. This may occur because the lips and mouth are in contact with the offending food.
Read Also : How Long Do Allergic Reactions Last On Skin?
Can a food allergy cause skin scales in the body including face area?
Sadly, the answer is yes. There are several types of allergic condition towards the skin. They can be very troublesome and bring so much discomfort. No need to worry because there is still good news for the conditions can be healed. If you’re still wondering whether you suffered allergic reactions or not, you can seek medical advice from your family doctors or you can also read the explanation written below. Just scroll down the page for several types of allergic reaction that affect the sin in which people mostly experienced:
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Hives and Angioedema
Urticaria is the medical term for hives, which are red, itchy, raised areas of the skin. Their size differs and it can appear anywhere on your body including your face. The last are you want to have hives at. Hives can be acute and mostly stay within days or weeks but if it becomes chronic, it can stay for months or even years. While related to hives, angioedema is swelling that affects the deeper layer of the skin. It often appears around the eyelids, lips, tongue, hands and feet. Usually, angioedema occurs with hives but in some cases, it can occur on its own.
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Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
Eczema is an allergic reaction happened to skin that usually develops during infancy or early childhood and mostly is triggered after eating certain foods. Atopic dermatitis or eczema is scaly, itchy rash that often affected the face area, elbow, and knees. The only way to prevent this condition is to totally avoid foods that your body labels as an allergen (IgE).
It may not easy for those who have a food allergy because they have to be strict on what they eat. Since there isn’t any cure for food allergy, the only way to prevent it is to avoid the kind of food that your body can’t handle. Of course, it might limit your pleasure in savoring food for you no longer can eat all foods without a caution but it’s better than suffer the allergic reaction after. It’s just not worth the suffering afterward. If you happened to have conditions like mentioned above, don’t be shy and do please seek medical advice or ask your family doctor for treatment.
How to manage the food allergy?
Complete avoidance of the offending food can be very difficult due to the presence of very small quantities in commercially manufactured foods or read-to-serve food in a restaurant. Due to lack of knowledge, someone might also make a wrong diet for his/her food allergy resulting in malnutrition. The best way to avoid it is to ask medical advice of a professional. Besides that, the food allergic person must be armed with knowledge so they can be vigilant with what they eat and they should be! Support from family can also helpful such as helping the food allergic person by reminding he/she not to eat the offending food or helping prepare the non-allergic food for his/her diet. In the end, Food allergy- even when severe- can be managed perfectly well. What is required is sound medical guidance, a commitment by the patient and supports the family to remain vigilant and always carry the prescribed medication or if you happened to have EpiPen (epinephrine injection) at your home, make sure to bring it with you whenever you go in case emergency situation arise.
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