Food Allergy

Question 1

What is an allergen?

Answer 1

Any substance stimulating the production of IgE or a cellular immune response.

Question 2

What is sensitivity?

Answer 2

Normal response to a stimulus

Question 3

What is hypersensitivity?

Answer 3

Abnormal strong response to a stimulus

Question 4

What is sensitisation?

Answer 4

Production of IgE antibodies after repeated exposure to an allergen

Question 5

What is an allergy?

Answer 5

A hypersensitivity reaction initiated by a specific immunological mechanism that is IgE mediated or non IgEmediated

Question 6

What is atopy?

Answer 6

A personal or familial tendency to produce IgE in response to exposure to potential allergens. Strongly associated with asthma, allergic rhinits, eczema and food allergy

Question 7

What is anaphylaxis?

Answer 7

A serious allergic reaction with bronchial, laryngeal and cardiovascular involvement that is rapid in onset and can cause death

Question 8

How does allergy present?

Answer 8

Allergic rhinits
Allergic conjunctivitis
Allergic asthma
Atopic dermatitis
Urticaria
Insect allergy- redness, swelling and itch around sting site
Drug allergy

Question 9

What is the allergic march?

Answer 9

Allergies dont always start at birth.
Predominant pre school allergic conditions are eczema and food allergy which decrease in incidence with increasing age

Asthma predominates in school aged children and then improves in many and decreases in prevalence in adults

Rhinits and conjuncitivitis are rare in young children and evolve through childhood and increase in prevalence in adulthood

Question 10

What is food allergy?

Answer 10

An adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs on exposure to food. Includes Ig E mediated and non Ig E mediated food allergies

Question 11

What is food intolerance?

Answer 11

Adverse response to food that does not involve the immune response

Question 12

What are non immune mediated food intolerances?

Answer 12

Reactions to pharmacologically active food components eg caffeine or illness in response to toxins from microbial contamination.

Question 13

Which foods cause IgE mediated food allergy?

Answer 13

Milk and eggs
Peanuts and tree nuts
Fish and shellfish
Fresh fruit and veg

Question 14

Which foods result in non Ig E mediated food allergy?

Answer 14

Milk and soya
Wheat
Rice, meat

Question 15

What is the onset of symptoms after ingesting the food in Ig E mediated food allergy?

Answer 15

5- 30 mins

Question 16

What is the onset of symptoms after eating the food in non IgE mediated food allergy?

Answer 16

Hours to days

Question 17

What is the presenting age of non IgE mediated food allergies?

Answer 17

Infancy and early childhood. All have milk allergy by 1 year.

Question 18

What is the natural history of IgE mediated food allergy?

Answer 18

Milk and egg allergy can resolve. Others tend to persist.

Question 19

Which systems are affected in IgE mediated food allergy?

Answer 19

Skin
Gi tract
Respiratory system
CVS

Question 20

Which systems are affected in non iGE mediated food allergy?

Answer 20

Gi tract

Maybe- eczema