Food Allergies: A New Approach

Food allergies affect millions of Americans, and they often baffle doctors and patients alike.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay says three big allergy groups hope to reverse that by releasing guidelines on the right way to diagnose and treat the ailments.

She says the three organizations got together, looked at 10 years of data, and put together "a very thoughtful set of guidelines that will help a lot of patients and a lot of doctors, too, really understand what to do."

Senay noted Friday that food allergies have become more and more common in recent years, and the science behind testing and diagnosis has continued to evolve.

She explained to co-anchor Julie Chen that, "What these experts are saying is there are many people are being told they have 20 or 30 different food allergies based on blood tests or skin testing only. These researchers say that is a very, very sensitive test and you have to then correlate it with what the patient finds when they eat a particular food.

"It's not enough just to go do a blood test or skin test and tell a patient you are allergic to these things. They have to go back to the patient and get his historical information about what happens when that person eats that particular food.

"So, the burden is also on the patient to very carefully note what they're eating and what type of reaction they have to it and then, tell it to the doctor so the doctor can pool all that information together and make the right diagnosis. It's very rare for a person to be allergic to more than two or three different foods."

Foods people are most often allergic to include fish, shellfish, nuts, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, soy, and milk."Some people can outgrow a food allergy," Senay points out. "It's obviously, more common in children. About five percent of kids have food allergies. Only about two percent of adults have food allergies. So, you can change over time, and that's another thing they say in these guidelines is they want to see doctors follow people so that they can see if things are changing over time, evolving. People can develop food allergies to something they never had in the past.

"We don't know why some people are more prone to get allergies. We know people with a family history or history themselves of things such as eczema or other atopic diseases are at greater risk for it. Exactly why it occurs, we don't know."

Senay pointed out that many people confuse sensitivities to food with actual allergies. Knowing what the symptoms of allergies are is important to distinguish between them.

Allergy symptoms can include hives, wheezing, skin rashes, and vomiting.

Typically, symptoms appear within minutes after eating the food to which you are allergic. Sometimes, it can take up to two hours for the symptoms to appear.

If you think you or your child is experiencing a mild reaction, take an over-the-counter allergy medication, which will temporarily relieve the symptoms.

If the reaction is severe, of course, call your physician immediately and seek professional help.

"It can become very severe," Senay cautions, "lead to difficulty breathing, blood pressure drop, loss of conscious, even anaphylaxis which, fortunately is rare, but is a very serious complication of a food allergy. It's where your body literally collapses. Your blood pressure drops. You've gotta get epinephrine in right away, get to the emergency room. These experts recommend everyone who has a true food allergy carry two 'EpiPens,' not just one."