What to Do If You Suspect a Food Allergy 1. Consequences of food allergy ■ 30,000 emergency room visits ■ 2,000 hospitalizations

What to Do If You Suspect a Food Allergy
Many people think they have food allergies. But according to experts, only 5% of children and 4% of teens and adults really have an allergic reaction to certain foods.
If you think you have a food allergy, it’s important to find out. Food allergies can be dangerous, leading to severe lowering of blood pressure, suffocation by swelling of the throat and so on. Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that allergic reactions to food results in: 30,000 emergency room visits, 2,000 hospitalizations, and 150 deaths. These strategies can help you know if you truly have a food allergy.
First one, see a doctor. It’s better to see an allergist than to try to diagnose a food allergy yourself. Why? You may be missing out. You may think you’re allergic to a certain food when you’re not. Cutting it from your diet can make you miss important nutrients. You may misdiagnose. The doctor can figure out if you have a food intolerance --meaning you can’t digest certain foods --or if you are really allergic. The difference is important. Intolerances can be uncomfortable and challenging to live with. Allergies can be life-threatening. It may take more than one test to accurately diagnose your allergy. The doctor may also do a skin test to see if your body reacts to a tiny amount of the suspected allergen or allergy trigger.
Second one, keep a food diary. This simple task can help you help your doctor figure out what is going on. For one or two weeks, write down the following in a notebook: Everything you eat; any symptoms you have; and how long the symptoms happen after eating certain foods.
Third one, try an elimination diet. Let’s say you had a reaction after eating prawns or shrimp with peanut sauce. You think the shellfish or peanuts caused it, but you don’t know which. An exclusion or elimination diet can help find out the problem food. It is important to do this under doctor’s supervision because a food allergy can be dangerous and even fatal.
With help from your doctor, you can try eliminating your diet in this process. Don’t eat the foods you think you’re allergic to for two to four weeks. If you don’t have any more symptoms, you probably are allergic to one of those foods.
Gradually add a single food back into your diet. If your symptoms come back, you’ve found the problem. If they don’t, the food is OK for you to eat, and you can try another single food.
To eliminate a food from your diet: Read labels to make sure it isn’t an ingredient in packaged foods you buy or eat. Know restaurant items that are likely to contain your problem food. If the kitchen can’t prepare the dish without it, don’t order it. Remind others of the food you should avoid, so they will not offer you that food.
At last, prepare for a rainy day. You should have self-injectable epinephrine at all times to help counter an allergic reaction.