Food Allergies

Eczema is an inflammatory condition of the skin that is characterized by itching, redness. And oozing vesicular lesions which can become crusted, scaly or hardened. Atopic dermatitis (eczema) often will occur along with allergies and frequently will run in families which other family members will have asthma or hay fever. It is known that certain food allergies will cause atopic dermatitis or eczema.

Reactions to food allergies can be from very moderate to a very severe type reaction. There is a difference between the food intolerance and the true food allergy. With a food intolerance the person may be able to ingest a small amount of the suspect food with no reaction what so ever. But a true food allergy will not allow for any of the food to be ingested at all, no matter how small the amount. One the trigger food is determined it is very important to avoid this food completely.

The use of a registered dietitian is a great way to learn how and what to avoid. The registered dietitian can help with meal planning suggestions to help avoid the trigger foods, but can also help to maintain a healthy diet by offering different suggestions to keep the new diet not only nutritionally sound but also ways to keep it tasting great too. If you are allergic to the more common fruits or vegetables, the registered dietitian may help to point out some of the more exotic types of the fruits and vegetables for you to try.

Make sure your family and loved ones are aware of the food that will cause a allergic reaction with you, what the reactions are and what they need to do if this should occur. If your food allergy is not to severe, your physician may prescribe some type of antihistamines which will help to ease some of the reactions and easy some of the discomforts. Certain skin creams may help relieve some of the irritation of the skin eczema. If severe enough reactions occur, the physician may have to prescribe the injectable epinephrine such as the Twinject or the EpiPen.

Do not be embarrassed or ashamed to wear a medical alert bracelet. It is also recommended by the Food Allergy Initiative to have a card with your food allergies. This can be given out to the chef, manager or server before you place your order in the restaurants. Cookbooks that are very specific to certain food allergies can be very helpful to plan great tasting foods but also offer substitutes. Read all food labels. Learn about the alternate names for the foods you are allergic to. If you have a allergy to milk, you will need to avoid foods with the ingredients nougat, sodium caseinate, lactoglobulin and casein. People with egg allergies should avoid foods with the ingredients of egg whites and albumin.