Food Allergy Flashcards
Define food allergy
Adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs on exposure to food
Types of food allergies
- IgE-mediated
- non IgE-mediated
- mixed
Examples of IgE mediated food allergy
- anaphylaxis
- urticaria
- angioedema
- acute asthma
- acute rhinitis
Examples of non-IgE mediated food allergy
- contact dermatitis
- celiac disease
- dermatitis herpetiformis
- FPIES
What is a food intolerance
Adverse response to food that does not involve the immune response
What are the commonest IgE mediated food allergies?
Milk
Egg
Peanuts
Compare the prevalence of self reported allergies vs challenge proven allergy
Self reported can be 6x higher than challenge proven
Types of food intolerances
Food characteristics
Host characteristics
Describe food intolerances due to food characteristics
- reaction that results from eating spoiled food
-e.g. spoiled oily fish where exces histamines produced from decay produce similar allergysymptoms - reaction to pharmacologically active food components
-e.g. caffeine
Describe food intolerances due to host characteristics
- metabolic disorders e.g. lactose intolerance
- psychological or neurological response e.g. food aversion + rhinorrhoea due to spicy food
What are the 2 commonest non IgE mediated food allergies?
Milk
Soya
Compare the symptom onset of IgE + non IgE mediated food allergies
- IgE: immediate 5-30 mins
- non IgE: delayed hours -days
Compare the systems affected by IgE + non IgE mediated food allergy
- IgE: skin, GI tract, resp system, CVS
- non IgE: GI tract, eczema?
IgE mediated food allergy symptoms
- erythema
- angioedma
- urticaria
- N + V, diarrhoea
- dyspnoea + cough
- pallor
- hypotension
- colicky abdo pain
- behavioural changes (anxiety, agitation)
Non IgE mediated food allergy symptoms
- vague
- often GI symptoms > can mimic GI conditions
- delayed presentation