ALLERGY TO FOODS AND FOOD ADDITIVES ARE COMMONLY SEEN IN OUR OFFICE

ALLERGY TO FOODS AND FOOD
ADDITIVES ARE COMMONLY SEEN IN
OUR OFFICE.
Pin pointing the allergen responsible for the allergy symptoms is important to guard against
needless food restrictions & nutritional deficiencies especially in children. In general, the
incidence of Food Allergy is higher in children although allergy to foods is also a frequent
complaint of many adults.
In children, the most common six foods involved in food allergy are:
• Eggs
• Cow’s milk
• Wheat
• Soy
• Peanut
• Wheat.
In adults, the following four foods are also commonly involved in food allergy:
• Seashells,
• Tomatoes,
• Strawberries, and
• Tree nuts.

Food allergy is of special importance in infants and children and is seen after introducing infant
formulas or when introducing solid foods, and usually presents as:
• Colicy babies
• Vomiting after introducing formula feeding
• Difficulty in introducing new foods or drinks
• Frequent change of formula and/or solid foods
• Improvement with non dairy or amino acid formulas
Food allergy sufferers whether adults or children may complain of one or more of the
following:
• Skin symptoms such as itchy skin, hives, angioedema (giant hives), eczema and other
rashes.
• Respiratory symptoms are runny nose, spasm of the larynx, asthma, chronic cough and
shortness of breath.
• Digestive system complaints such as:
o Itchy, sore or inflamed gums, cheeks or the whole mouth
o Sore, inflamed or swollen tongue
o Sore, inflamed or swollen throat with difficulty swallowing
o Esophagus symptoms are soreness and difficulty swallowing felt in the middle of
o
the chest
Stomach and intestine: symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, failure
to thrive, and anemia.
• The nervous system producing headaches, migraine and even seizures
• The cardiovascular system causing Anaphylaxis (allergy shock).
Allergy skin test to foods is the preferred method for diagnosis of food allergy. RAST test to
foods (blood test), although can be useful in certain cases, its accuracy does not equal that of the
skin test.
Ask our Dr. Fikria Hassan for more details about food allergy.
Dr. Fikria Hassan is our sub specialist in food allergy. In addition to her Board certification in
the field of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (a specialist certified to take care of all allergic
diseases of both adults and children), Dr. Fikria Hassan received additional training and
postgraduate education in the fast developing field of Food Allergy. She served on many
scientific panels and Committees on Food Allergy and attended innumerable National and
International meetings with a focus on Food Allergy. Dr. Fikria Hassan is very active in research
in the rapidly growing field of Food Allergy.
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FOOD ALLERGY.
WE CAN HELP.

Allergy, Asthma, Sinus and Immunology Center
201 Eighth Street South Suite 107
Naples, FL 34102
Phone: (239) 261-5599
www.allergytoday.com