Brief food allergy tips

①Identify yourself/family members’ allergens in advance and keep them in mind； ②When eating out and buying prepackaged food, check the ingredient list for allergen warnings first. ； ③If any discomfort such as rash, stuffy breathing, tight throat, etc. occurs after eating by mistake, stop eating immediately. If it is serious, call 120 as soon as possible. Don’t bear it.

When I was helping out at a private bakery owned by a friend, I met a girl who was in her second year of high school and came to buy a small cake. She asked three times if it contained mango and said that if she took a bite, it would swell into a sausage. The mango series happened to be sold out that day, so she bought an Oreo-flavored one with confidence. However, her friend who was traveling with her did not know that she was allergic and handed it over halfway. After taking a bite of the mango pancake she bought, the little girl accidentally took a small bite. Within five minutes, her lips were swollen and shiny. Fortunately, she brought loratadine with her. It took her more than 40 minutes to recover after sitting in the store. This frightened us so much that when we later make products, if the ingredients contain allergenic ingredients, we will put a small label on the packaging box to remind you.

At this point, some people may ask, wasn’t it said before that small amounts of repeated exposure can desensitize? In fact, there have been two different suggestions in the industry: many authoritative guidelines in the field of pediatrics will recommend that during the complementary feeding stage for infants and young children, under the premise of good supervision, a small amount of allergenic ingredients such as peanuts and eggs can be gradually introduced, which can actually reduce the probability of long-term allergies. ； However, if you are an adult who has identified the allergen, most clinicians recommend avoiding it completely, and don't try it blindly with the hope that "you will be fine if you eat a little". After all, allergic reactions in adulthood will generally only become more severe and will not suddenly improve.

Oh, yes, don’t think that the label “may contain trace amounts of nuts/milk” on prepackaged foods is unnecessary. This is really not a gimmick. The production lines of many factories are shared. Even if the previous batch is made of nut biscuits, no matter how clean the line is when making the next batch of ordinary biscuits, there may still be a very small amount of nut ingredients remaining. For people with severe allergies, this residue is enough to cause severe reactions. The same goes for when ordering food out, don’t be embarrassed to ask, especially for dishes such as salads and baked snacks that are easy to add invisible ingredients. Asking "Are there any chopped peanuts/milk/eggs" can really save a lot of trouble.

When I went to the community to do allergy science popularization, I met many elders who thought that "allergies are children's pretentiousness, and they get used to it after eating a few times." Don't believe this misunderstanding. My distant cousin's child was found to be allergic to eggs when he was a child. My grandma secretly fed him half a spoonful of steamed eggs, and he went into anaphylactic shock the same day and was sent to the ICU. It took him three days to be discharged. This is really not alarmist. Of course, there is no need to be overly nervous. Studies have now confirmed that many food allergies in infants and young children will heal on their own as they age. For example, more than 60% of children with milk and egg allergies will no longer be allergic when they reach school age. Only allergies such as nuts and seafood are likely to remain with them for life. If you are really unsure, you can go to the hospital every one or two years to check the allergens. There is no need to avoid foods that you are not allergic to.

Finally, I would like to mention that if you really accidentally ingest an allergen and you only have a slight rash or itching, you can take antihistamines first and observe. If you are short of breath, have a tight throat, or feel dizzy, don’t think about taking medicine first and observe. Call 120 as soon as possible. Adrenaline is the first-choice emergency medicine for anaphylactic shock, so there is no delay.