Anaphylaxis Menu
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Food
- The most common "anaphylaxis triggers" are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (almond, Brazil nut, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut or filbert, pecan, pine nut, pistachio, walnut), sesame seeds, soy, wheat, fish and shell fish.
- However, any food is capable of triggering anaphylaxis; even in small amounts food can cause a life-threatening reaction and in extremely sensitive individuals, the smell alone can trigger an attack.
- Food additives such as sulfites, found in alcoholic beverages, dried fruits, vegetables, potato products, pickles and other foods can also trigger serious allergic reactions. In fact the FDA has banned sufites from fruits and vegetables,
Insect venom
- Bee, wasp and jumper ant stings are the most common causes of anaphylaxis.
Medication
- Both over the counter and prescribed medications can potentially trigger an attackAntibiotics like penicillin are the main culprits.
- Vaccines are another possibility.
- Allergy shots can sometimes bring on an anaphylactic reaction, that is why it is important to remain in the physician’s office for at least 45 minutes after an injection.
Other
- Latex is less common, the source can be balloons, kitchen cleaning gloves, condoms (sometimes), elastic and adhesive bandages.
Very rarely strenuous exercise can bring on an anaphylaxis.
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| Food Allergy and Food Intolerance: |
An adverse reaction to food can also be intolerance as opposed to an allergy. This is a completely different thing and it is worth explaining the difference.
A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly believes that a particular food is harmful.
In order to protect the body, your immune system creates antibodies to that food, these are called the IgE ( immunoglobulin E) antibodies.
Now the next time you eat that particular food, these IgE antibodies sense “danger” and signal the immune system to release massive and disproportionate amounts of chemicals and histamines which cause the unwanted allergic reactions and of course if it is severe, it can be a life threatening anaphylactic reaction.
With food intolerance, the immune system is not involved. The problem is more of a metabolic disorder where for whatever reason ( perhaps a missing digestive enzyme) the digestive system finds it difficult to digest a particular food and unpleasant gastro - intestinal symptoms occur like gas, bloating and abdominal pain. These are all quite different symptoms from a food allergic reaction.
Many people go through life not knowing they have a food intolerance problem because the symptoms are often just marginal and people consider it normal for them.
There are ways of diagnosing food intolerance through a minute blood test which is quite accurate. Another alternative is to implement an elimination diet and try to pinpoint foods that are causing the problems.
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