What are the symptoms of immediate allergies?
The most common symptoms are mucocutaneous damage such as hives, edema (swelling), pruritus (scratching sensation), allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Symptoms can be severe or even fatal in the event of anaphylaxis, with respiratory distress due to bronchospasm or laryngeal edema (angioedema), malaise, anaphylactic shock.
What should I do if I experience allergic symptoms after exposure to a food?
Mild mucocutaneous reactions are treated with oral antihistamines. On the other hand, the most severe reactions require one, rarely several, intramuscular adrenaline injections and urgent medical attention. After the reaction, you must of course stop all consumption of the suspected food and consult a specialist. The allergist confirms the diagnosis based on the patient’s clinical history and the demonstration of antibodies directed against the suspected allergen using skin tests (prick tests), or the dosage of specific antibodies in the blood. Non-IgE-mediated allergies (mainly to milk or wheat) are sometimes more difficult to diagnose because their manifestations are non-specific and there are no reliable tests to diagnose them.
What are the risk factors for the occurrence of a food allergy in children?
Food allergies can occur in the absence of any risk factors. But the main risk factor for IgE-mediated allergies is having severe atopic dermatitis. About 20 to 30% of children with severe atopic dermatitis have food allergies. There is probably also a slight increased risk in children of allergic parents.
Can we prevent the occurrence of food allergies in children?
It has now been shown that early consumption during diversification, from the age of 4-5 months, of peanuts, nuts and eggs prevents allergies to these foods. These recommendations apply to children most at risk (with severe atopic dermatitis) but also to the general population, because some children without any risk factors can develop an allergy.
Why are food allergies on the rise in recent years?
We don’t know exactly, but several avenues have been put forward. The first hypothesis is the so-called hygienist hypothesis: in rich countries, the immune system, particularly in early childhood, is less and less exposed to infections (sterilized milk, vaccines, clean water, etc.). This would then develop exaggerated responses against environmental substances responsible for allergies.
We also understood that we could become sensitized to food proteins – produce antibodies against these proteins – by being exposed to them through the skin. If the skin is more permeable, as in atopic dermatitis, then proteins from the environment can pass through and induce the production of IgE antibodies. The fact that a child is exposed to a food via the skin, which is pro-allergenic, before the more tolerogenic oral route, could explain the appearance of allergies. Hence the fact that severe atopic dermatitis is a major risk factor. Children are very exposed, through their skin, to household dust that is found in their beds, on the floors, and armchairs. However, this dust contains significant quantities of food proteins and other allergens.
*According to Séverine Fernandez, president of the French Union of Allergists, interviewed on -.
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