Food allergies

Presented by-
Ms. Anshu
M.Sc Nursing
KGMU Institute of nursing

Food allergy affects up to 6 to 8 percent of
children under the age of 3 and close to 4
percent of adults.

Food allergy is an abnormal response to a
food triggered by the body’s immune
system.

Food allergy refers to a particular type of
response of the immune system in which
the body produces what is called an
allergic, or IgE, antibody to a food. (IgE, or
immunoglobulin E, is a type of protein that
works against any type of foriegn body
entering in the body.)

Sometimes, a reaction to food is not an
allergy at all but another type of reaction
called “food intolerance.”

In adults, the foods that most often cause
allergic reactions include
Shellfish such as shrimp, crayfish, lobster,
and crab
Peanuts
Tree nuts such as walnuts
Fish
Eggs

The most common foods that cause
problems in children are :
Eggs
Milk
Peanuts
Tree nuts

DETAILED HISTORY-
What was the timing of your reaction?
Did your reaction come on quickly, usually
within an hour after eating the food?
Is your reaction always associated with a
certain food?

Did anyone else who ate the same food
get sick? For example, if you ate fish
contaminated with histamine, everyone
who ate the fish should be sick.
How much did you eat before you had a
reaction? The severity of a reaction is
sometimes related to the amount of food
eaten.

 How was the food prepared? Some people
will have a violent allergic reaction only to raw
or undercooked fish. Complete cooking of the
fish may destroy the allergen, and they can
then eat it with no allergic reaction.
 Did client eat other foods at the same time he
had the reaction? Some foods may delay
digestion and thus delay the start of the
allergic reaction.

This diet diary gives more detail from
which client and health care provider can
see if there is a consistent pattern in
allergic reactions.

 The next step some health care providers use is
an elimination diet.
 don’t eat a food suspected of causing the allergy,
such as eggs.
 substitute another food—in the case of eggs,
another source of protein.
 Health care provider can almost always make a
diagnosis if the symptoms go away after removing
the food from diet. The diagnosis is confirmed if
client then eat the food and the symptoms come
back. client should do this only when the reactions
are not significant and only under healthcare
provider direction.

During a scratch or prick skin test,
healthcare provider will place an extract of
the food on the skin of lower arm. Health
care provider will then scratch this portion
of the skin with a needle and look for
swelling or redness, which would be a sign
of a local allergic reaction.

If the scratch or prick test is positive, it
means that there is IgE on the skin’s mast
cells that is specific to the food being
tested. Skin tests are rapid, simple, and
relatively safe.

Healthcare provider may use blood tests
such as the RAST (radioallergosorbent
test).
Another blood test is called ELISA
(enzymelinked immunosorbent assay).

These blood tests measure the presence
of food-specific IgE in blood.
The RAST can measure how much IgE in
blood has to a specific food. (gold standard
test)
As with skin testing, positive tests do not
necessarily mean client has a food allergy.

Wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace
stating that patient have a food allergy and
are subject to severe reactions
Carry an auto-injector device containing
epinephrine (adrenaline), such as an
epipen or twinject.

Food allergy is treated by avoiding the
foods that trigger the reaction.

 Steroids (e.g., cortisone) may be given,
typically in the emergency room, to help
reduce inflammation after an anaphylactic
attack.
 Antihistamines, known as H1 blockers, are
prescribed to relieve mild allergy symptoms,
although they cannot control a severe
reaction. Medications in this class include
diphendydramine (Benadryl®) and
cetirizine (Zyrtec®). An antihistamine should
never be given as a substitute for
epinephrine.

 Asthma Medications. Short-acting
bronchodilators (known as “rescue”
inhalers), such as albuterol (Alupent®,
Proventil®, Ventolin®), may be used to
help relieve breathing problems once
epinephrine has been given, particularly if
patient is experiencing asthma symptoms.

Food allergy is treated by avoiding the
foods that trigger the reaction.
Advice client that,once he and his
healthcare provider have identified the
food(s) to which he is sensitive, he must
remove them from his diet.
Encourage him to must read the detailed
ingredient lists on each food he is
considering eating.

ASSESSMENT-
Assess for anaphylactic reactions
Assess for the food that has caused allergy

GOALS-
To treat anaphylactic reactions
Prevent complication

 1. Impaired gas exchange related to ventilation
perfusion imbalance as evidenced by: shortness
of breath, tachycardia, flushing, hypotension,
shock, and bronchospasm.
2. Altered tissue perfusion related to decreased
blood flow secondary to vascular disorders due to
anaphylactic reactions as evidenced by:
palpitations, skin pale, hypotension, angioedema,
arrhythmias, ECG features inverted T waves.

 3. Ineffective breathing pattern related to the
swelling of the nasal mucosa wall as evidenced by:
shortness of breath, breath with the lips, there
rhinitis.
4. Acute pain related to gastric irritation as
evidenced by: abdominal pain, looked grimacing
while holding stomach.
5. Impaired skin integrity related to changes in
circulation as evidenced by: swelling and itching of
the skin and the nose, there are hives, urticaria,
and runny nose.

1. Impaired gas exchange related to
ventilation perfusion imbalance
 Assess the respiratory rate & depth
 Maintain patency of airway.
 Do ET intubation in case of laryngeal
edema.
 Give comfortable position.
 Remove the cause of allergy.
 Give anti inflammatory drugs as
prescribed by doctor.

Assess characteristics of pain
Stop patient from eating.
Keep patient on NPO.
Give IV fluids.
Give antacids as told by doctor.

Food allergies are very common now a
days.
Client should always check food
ingredients before consuming it.
Always carry epipen and alergic card
aswell.

Which Ig released in response to allergic
reaction?
A) IgA
B) IgG
C) IgE
D) IgM
Ans- c)

What initial medical management is
needed in food allergy?
A) corticosteroids
B) epinephrin
C) bronchodilators
D) IV fluids
Ans- b

Food allergies

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