Am I allergic to something I ate?
I came back from a dinner party one night and suddenly found myself with a red and swollen eye. I have never had an allergic reaction before. Does this now mean I’m allergic to something I ate?
answer:
Just about everyone will have a negative reaction to food at some point in their lives. However, the negative reaction may not necessarily be caused by an allergy. Most often, it is food intolerances. Food allergy is caused by a hypersensitive immune system that creates antibodies called immunoglobulin (IgE) against an otherwise harmless substance (such as the protein in food), which it considers an “invader”. These antibodies then cause “allergy cells” in the body to release chemicals, including histamine, into the bloodstream to defend against the “invader”. The release of these chemicals is what causes allergic reactions, affecting a person’s eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin or gastrointestinal tract as the body attempts to rid itself of the invading allergen. People with food allergies will have the same reaction whenever there is an exposure to that same allergen. For example, if eating oats causes your eyes to swell, your eyes will swell every time you eat something with oats in it. A food intolerance, on the other hand, can be caused by many things. A person may lack an enzyme needed to digest a certain food or the food may be contaminated by bacteria or toxins that cause symptoms similar to a food allergy. If you suspect allergies to be the cause of your swelling, get tested by an immunologist to find out which foods you are allergic to.
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