CHILDREN’S ALLERGIES: ALLERGENS
Pitfalls in the Diagnosis of a Food Allergy
1. In an allergy to a food, not only the kind of food counts, but also the amount eaten. Symptoms may occur only if the food is eaten often and in large quantities.
2. Cooking and canning alter the allergenic power of a food. (Fresh food is more allergenic than cooked or canned food.)
3. Allergy to an additive, not to the food itself, may be the cause of the symptoms.
Interesting Facts About Food Allergy
1. A food may provoke symptoms when eaten, smelled, or touched.
2. The same food may cause different degrees of illness in a person in different circumstances because its allergenic powers keep changing. A food allergy may be shed altogether if one avoids that particular food for a few months, while another food may become more allergenic because it was eaten in quantity and frequently. A frequent check on food sensitivities is advisable.
3. There is no mathematical way to diagnose a food allergy. The only proof of its existence is the appearance of symptoms when that food is eaten.
4. Hyposensitization (injections) against food allergies is rarely successful.
5. An atopic child instinctively avoids the foods that he is allergic to because they make him sick.
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