Food Allergies

Milk and eggs are two of the most common pediatric food allergies. The majority of children will outgrow them by adulthood, though, so repeat testing will be necessary. What is unique to eggs and milk is that some allergenic proteins break down when baked. In these children, they will be able to tolerate baked milk or egg but not the unbaked forms. This can be determined with bloodwork.

Often confused with nuts, the peanut is actually a legume and a common food allergy trigger. Fifteen to 22 percent of children with a peanut allergy outgrow it by adulthood. Until and unless it has been confirmed that a patient has developed a peanut allergy, that person should avoid all peanut foods or products.

An allergy to tree nuts affects around 1 percent of people. When one has a tree nut allergy, it is recommended that you avoid all tree nuts, as having one correlate highly with developing another.

Those with a tree nut allergy also need to avoid foods made from nuts, such as nut butter or foods cross-contaminated with nuts. This can make avoiding the allergen quite tricky for some patients. As a result, most people with a tree nut allergy (as with all food allergies) carry an epinephrine autoinjector so that they can self-administer epinephrine if needed.

Shellfish allergies are most commonly caused by a protein known as tropomyosin in shellfish. Unlike some other food allergies, shellfish allergies do not often go away over time.

Avoiding shellfish, therefore, is necessary throughout life for patients with this allergy. Since the symptoms of shellfish allergy can resemble symptoms related to contaminated seafood, some patients might not be aware that they have a shellfish allergy. Consulting with an allergist is the best way to identify and address a shellfish allergy.

Those with a wheat allergy will have an allergic response to specific proteins in wheat, resulting in a range of food allergy symptoms.

People often confuse celiac disease or gluten sensitivity with a wheat allergy. A true wheat allergy is a severe condition resulting in anaphylaxis and can be fatal.

While the above are the most common food allergy triggers, some foods trigger allergies in rare cases. Uncommon food allergies can be triggered by red meat, avocado, mango, corn, and even dried fruit.

Anyone who believes a food may be triggering an allergic response should consult with an allergist.

When you have a food allergy, the chances of being allergic to another food in that same group increase. An allergist can know which are more likely to have cross reactivity. For example, a cashew food allergy patient may also have a pistachio allergy because they are in the same tree nut group. A less obvious example is that a latex allergy may cross-react with a banana, kiwi, or avocado.