Allergy — Gluten Allergy / Gluten Free Diet / Yeast Allergy / Asthma / + other Allergies — Page 48

Anaphylaxis

by Allergy Guy

Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a set of serious symptoms triggered by a severe hypersensitivity Type I allergic reaction.

Anaphylaxis is triggered by even tiny amounts of an allergen in some people who are suseptable to it.

Anaphylaxis involved multiple systems in the body, including respiratory (upper and lower), gastro-intestinal, skin and cardiovascular.

Anaphylaxis is usually diagnosed in childhood. It can also begin later in life for some people.

Anaphylaxis Causes

Anaphylaxis is most commonly caused by food, but can also be triggered by medication, insect stings, as well as other substances such as latex.

The most common foods to trigger anaphylaxis are:

Anaphylaxis Symptoms

Sympoms range from mild to severe. In thier worst case, they are life-threatening (when symptoms are so bad that they casue anaphylactic shock).

Symptoms can be delayed or start off as slight, but rapidly develop in to anaphylactic shock.

Anaphylaxis can result in some, many or all of the following symptoms:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Angioedema (swelling of the lips, face, neck and throat)
  • Anxiety
  • Bronchospasm (constriction of the airways)
  • Coughing
  • Diarrhea
  • Encephalitis (acute inflammation of the brain)
  • Fainting
  • Flushed appearance
  • Hypotension (low blood pressure)
  • Itching
  • Polyuria (passage of large volumes of urine)
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Respiratory distress
  • Sneezing
  • Tears (due to angioedema and stress)
  • Throbbing ears
  • Unconsciousness
  • Uneasiness
  • Urticaria (hives)
  • Vasodilation of arterioles (small diameter blood vessels dialate, causing a rapid drop in blood pressure)
  • Vomiting

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Hypersensitivity

by Allergy Guy

Hypersensitivity

Coming-Soon





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Allergy Cure: Potential To Reduce Severe Allergic Reactions

by Allergy Guy

Allergies seem to be on the rise. For many, this is anywhere from a minor to a major inconvenience. But for some, allergic reactions can be so severe that they are dangerous or fatal.

This poses a challenge to people with severe allergy symptoms: what if they come into contact with the allergen, despite their best efforts? This can feel a little like crossing the road with blocked ears and a blind-fold.

Dr. Peter Vadas, at St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto, Canada) has confirmed that an enzyme which reduces the severity of allergic reactions in animals is also effective in humans.

PAF Acetylhydrolase

The PAF acetylhydrolase enzyme could be developed into a drug against allergic reactions. One way it could be used is after a patient comes in contact with an allergen.

It may also be possible to take the drug on an ongoing basis, preventing severe allergic reactions before they happen.

More research is required before a drug can be developed.

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Allergic Reaction

by Allergy Guy

Allergic Reaction

An allergic reaction is what the body does when exposed to an allergen. From the outside, this is seen as the allergy symptoms. Internally, this involves the body’s immune response the the allergen which triggers the symptoms.

Strictly speaking, allergies are a type I hypersensitivity, involving an immediate onset allergic reaction (atopic, or anaphylactic). The broader definition used on this site includes all five classifications of hypersensitivity.

Externally, symptoms range from minor complaints such as hives or a runny nose, to anaphylactic shock which is extremely serious or fatal.

Internally, a variety of complicated mechanisms can come in to play, involving any one of several immune system responses. The comlexity of the immune system cause unpredicatable sets of symptoms from one individual to the next.

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Allergy to Gluten? Try Rice Wraps for Lunch!

by Allergy Guy

For years I avoided bread because of my allergy to wheat. The gluten-free bread on the market was expensive and not very good. Some of that has changed – it is now possible to get excellent gluten-free bread, although it is still expensive.

A great alternative is rice paper. Traditionally, it is used to make spring rolls (a Vietnamese dish), but you can wrap almost anything in rice paper.

The pros of using rice paper to make a gluten-free meal is that it is versatile and inexpensive.

The cons of using rice paper is that you have to prepare it (easy to do, but this makes it less portable) and it does not keep well, making it hard to pack a lunch.

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Allergy Support: Dietary Supplements Section Added

by Allergy Guy

An essential part of staying healthy is to consume enough micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals. This is especially true if you have an allergy. It may even be possible that allergies are brought on by deficiencies in some micronutrients.

Allergy Details now has a new section on dietary supplements, especially those relevant to allergies.

Visit the Dietary Supplements section for more information.
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Zinc

by Allergy Guy

Zinc is an element and a metal. It is required in trace quantities by the human body. Thousands of proteins in the body include zinc in their chemical composition.

Zinc plays a role not only in the chemical composition of the body, but also in its operation.

Some types of cells in the human body secrete zinc ions, including cells in the immune system. Since the immune system is central to the allergy mechanism, zinc is an important element to consider when dealing with allergies.

The recommended daily allowance for zinc is 10 to 15mg (various sources differ in RDA).

Zinc-Containing Foods

  • Most beef cuts
  • Ground beef
  • Beef liver
  • Oysters
  • Most pork
  • cuts
    Baked beans
  • Lentils
  • Kidney beans
    Mussels
  • Shrimp
  • Chicken (dark meat)
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Yogurt
  • White rice
  • Chickpeas
  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
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Dietary Supplements

by Allergy Guy

When you think about food, perhaps you mostly think about the energy it provides? If you are feeling pessimistic, you may also worry about how much weight you will gain if you eat certain foods.

While this is part of the picture, it is a very small angle on the whole food picture. Yes, food does provide energy, but it does a whole lot more than that.

Essential to your well being are the micronutrients that promote the health of your body, including vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements.

This section includes articles about micronutrients – the dietary supplements that make our body work.

As always, articles in this section pay particular attention to dietary supplements that help manage allergies.

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Recommended Daily Allowance

by Allergy Guy

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) specifies the quantity of vitamins, minerals and nutrients you should consume on a daily basis to remain healthy.

Keep in mind that this value is the minimum amount and not all experts agree on what minimum levels of some nutrients are necessary for a truly healthy body (as opposed to a barely functioning body).

The RDA is not universal. The intake that is right for you might be quite different according to your gender, health, size, weight, age, exposure to pollution … and many other factors.

For people with allergies, the RDA might be far too low for some dietary supplements. Increasing your intake of certain vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements might be beneficial if you suffer from allergies.

Recommended Daily Allowances

The following tables are from Wikipedia. They have not been adjusted for allergy requirements. This table is more useful than just listing the RDA. It also indicates the following:

  • EAR: Estimated Average Requirements
  • RDI: Reference Daily Intake
  • AI: Adequate Intake
  • UL: Tolerable upper intake levels
Nutrient EAR RDI/AI UL Unit
Vitamin A 2083 3000 15000 IU
Vitamin C 75 90 2000 mg
Vitamin D NE 200 2000 IU
Vitamin K NE 120 ND µg
Vitamin B6 1.1 1.3 100 mg
?-tocopherol (E) 12 15 1000 IU
Biotin NE 30 ND µg
Boron NE – 20 mg
Calcium NE 1000 2500 mg
Chloride NE 2300 3600 mg
Chromium NE 35 ND µg
Choline NE 550 3500 mg
Copper 700 900 10000 µg
Cyanocobalamin (B12) 2.0 2.4 ND µg
Fluoride NE 4 10 mg
Folate (B9) 320 400 1000 µg
Iodine 95 150 1100 µg
Iron 6 8 45 mg
Magnesium 330 420 350a mg
Manganese NE 7.1 11 mg
Molybdenum 34 45 2000 µg
Niacin (B3) 12 16 35 mg
Nickel NE – 1.0 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) NE 5 ND mg
Phosphorus 580 700 4000 mg
Potassium NE 4700 ND mg
Thiamin (B1) 1.0 1.2 ND mg
Riboflavin (B2) 1.1 1.3 ND mg
Selenium 45 55 400 µg
Sodium NE 1500 2300 mg
Sulfate NE – ND –
Zinc 9.4 11 40 mg

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Wikipedia on Recommended Daily Allowance

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Gluten-Free Allergy Management – Avoiding Bread Crumbs

by Allergy Guy

Does sharing a meal with people who do not understand your gluten-free/wheat-free diet make you nervous?

Since a bread crumb or two could ruin my week, I can’t relax when I am at a table that includes bread made from wheat.

I generally deal with this by taking my share of food first and putting it on my plate, and keeping my gluten-free bread well away from regular bread, or anything else made of wheat.

This Christmas though, I took it one step further.

Everyone had the same gluten-free bread as I did.

Gluten-free bread has advanced a great deal since I first discovered my allergy to wheat. Twenty years ago, you could not buy wheat-free bread. I had a recipe for wheat-free bread. It produced solid bricks that crumbled badly, went stale quickly, were tasteless, dry and appetizing. I gave up on bread completely for the longest time.

Eventually, gluten-free bread did come on to the market, but it was only marginally better than what I could make myself, and rarely fresh by the time I was able to buy it in the health food store.

All that has changed and today, it is possible to get very tasty fresh bread with a nice consistency that everyone can enjoy, even those who normally eat wheat.

So that’s what we did. We all ate gluten-free bread, and I was able to relax and completely enjoy the meal. Yes, the average cost of bread per person was more than it normally would be, but it was well worth it for the sake of a shared holiday meal that everyone could enjoy – allergy-free and allergy-afflicted alike.

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