Posted by: lakeswimr
« on: March 06, 2016, 10:47:03 AM »You want the very best allergist who knows food allergies well you can find. ENTs have not impressed me over the years based on stories I read regularly by people who see them. It appears to me that most are not fully up to date on food allergies and allergies in general. Yes, you should avoid any food that causes you haves. That is a sign that future reactions to those foods could be anaphylactic, unfortunately.
Reactions are often dose dependent so if you eat more of the allergen the reaction is usually going to be worse. But also, the longer you avoid a food, the stronger future reactions can be. Past reactions can give you an idea of future reactions but reactions can vary a lot. I'm glad you have epi pens and that you are asking these good questions. I"m sorry you have food allergies, though.
Skin and blood testing for food allergies is not all that accurate. Testing has a very, very high false positive rate and a positive test by itself does not mean a person is allergic. (Unfortunately many ENTs seem to diagnose based only on test results.) Negative results are over 90% accurate, though, so can be helpful to rule things out. The only way to know for sure if you are IgE allergic to a food is a food challenge. It sounds pretty clear cut that you already did react to these foods, though.
What do you mean by 'developed severe esophagitis'? What symptoms are you having? If you think you have EoE, I'd check out the www.apfed.org website for good info on it. The big EoE symptoms in adults are having food get stuck. Other symptoms can feel like reflux, chest pain, stomach pain, vomiting.
Reactions are often dose dependent so if you eat more of the allergen the reaction is usually going to be worse. But also, the longer you avoid a food, the stronger future reactions can be. Past reactions can give you an idea of future reactions but reactions can vary a lot. I'm glad you have epi pens and that you are asking these good questions. I"m sorry you have food allergies, though.
Skin and blood testing for food allergies is not all that accurate. Testing has a very, very high false positive rate and a positive test by itself does not mean a person is allergic. (Unfortunately many ENTs seem to diagnose based only on test results.) Negative results are over 90% accurate, though, so can be helpful to rule things out. The only way to know for sure if you are IgE allergic to a food is a food challenge. It sounds pretty clear cut that you already did react to these foods, though.
What do you mean by 'developed severe esophagitis'? What symptoms are you having? If you think you have EoE, I'd check out the www.apfed.org website for good info on it. The big EoE symptoms in adults are having food get stuck. Other symptoms can feel like reflux, chest pain, stomach pain, vomiting.