Symptoms

The symptoms of wheat allergies can occur anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours after eating a wheat product. These signs can range from mild to severe. In more serious cases, immediate medical care may be required, since anaphylaxis (severe allergy symptoms) is a life threatening condition.  Wheat allergy symptoms can include nasal congestion, airway inflammation and swelling, hives or other skin irritation, or gastrointestinal problems. More severe symptoms might also be airway constriction, rapid pulse, dizziness and shock. These are the symptoms that will require immediate medical care because they can become life threatening very quickly.

Treatment

Treatment of wheat allergies will primarily include avoidance of wheat products once you have had an allergic reaction that can be attributed to wheat. Since wheat allergies can become more severe as you experience more reactions, it is important to see your doctor even if you’ve had a mild allergic reaction to wheat. Your doctor can test you to see if wheat was indeed the culprit of your allergies through a variety of methods. Once a wheat allergy is diagnosed, it will be up to you to ensure that you avoid all wheat products in the future. Fortunately, this has become easier in the United States since food manufacturers have been required to list wheat ingredients on their package labels.

If you have had a severe reaction with a wheat allergy, your doctor may advise you to carry an emergency treatment with you called an EpiPen. This is an injection that can be given if you are exposed to wheat, since it can be difficult to avoid this substance altogether. You may also wear a bracelet so that those around you will also know that you have a wheat allergy. For most wheat allergy sufferers, it is sufficient to try to avoid wheat products as much as possible, and to take an antihistamine if wheat exposure inadvertently occurs. And keep in mind that wheat allergies occur most often in children, and are often outgrown.

When most people of peanut allergies they think of the typical peanut, which in reality are legumes and many people with peanut allergies are also allergic to peas and beans, members of the same family. They are probably also allergic to nuts that grow on trees such as almonds, pecans and cashews. Some of the indications of peanut allergies include a tightness in the throat, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. While many people have developed an allergy to nuts, it is fairly common in children and more children are developing the allergy than they have in the past.

Contrary to popular belief, it is very rare for a person to outgrow an allergy. In some cases, a person may have been misdiagnosed as having peanut allergies and years later it is determined their immune system can, in fact tolerate its ingestion. An allergic reaction occurs when the body’s immune system sees a nut as a dangerous object and mobilizes its defenses to fight it off.

Nuts Often Hidden In Foods

Peanuts are a widely used food product and can show up in places many people would never expect them to be found. While peanut butter is an obvious source of peanuts and is taboo for those with peanut allergies, many may not realize that crushed nuts are often used in sauces and in Asian foods such as pad thai. Additionally, an Italian sauce called Pesto is made from crushed nuts.

Many health food and energy bars contain nuts as do bouillon and some sauces. When a person has been diagnosed as having nut or peanut allergies it can be a life-saving decision to stay away from all foods containing them. Even if not listed in the ingredients, persons with a high susceptibility to peanut allergies can suffer an attack with even a trace amount in the product.

Many of the fruit flavored cereals also contain nuts as do many candy bars and salty snacks. Potato chips can also be fried in peanut oil, which can cause and attack of peanut allergies in just about everyone.

Here’s more info to determine if your allergies are caused by a low immune system.