Conditions
Allergic Reaction
A food allergy results in the bodies immune system attacking an item of food that it mistakes for an invader. Symptoms vary from person to person, but often result in tingling around the lips and on the tongue, swelling in the mouth and nose, trouble breathing and nausea. In severe cases this can lead to anaphylaxis, where the bodies pulse rate increases, breathing becomes more difficult and nausea and diarrhoea can be accompanied by unconsciousness. The most common allergens are peanuts, shell fish and celery but any food can result in an allergy. These allergies are linked closely with chronic conditions such as asthma, eczema and hay fever. The allergen can often be discovered using a skin prick test at your local GP surgery, introducing a small amount of the allergen to the body. Though food allergies are not curable, eliminating the food from ones diet should prevent symptoms from developing and an adrenaline injector pen can be carried for use in emergencies.
Watch our video showing how 3 year old Charlie and his parents cope with Charlie’s egg allergy.
Comments and Questions
You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments & Questions are reviewed by moderators, but if you see anything on the site that worries you, please report it and one of our moderators will look at it as soon as possible.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
i have had it sinse 2008 . what happen is when i go out for a meal and go round friend and family i feel like im going to be sick when food it put in frount of me and i cant eat it i have to say im going to the toilet or i have to phone someone . i go out the room and stand there doing nothing and saying to my self it will be all right and i start to panic .so plesae could you help? i wolud like to stop
My daughter has been told she has an Isothiazolinone mix (Kathon) allergy. Please could anyone advise us of a website that contains a list of products that contain this
I have had severe allergic dry-eye for over 2 years. When attacked an eye swells and becomes bloodshot with terrible itching. My sight becomes impaired and it can take 3 months to clear again. Steroid drops eventually caused swelling behind the eye so can only tolerate preservative-free hypromellose or catacrom drops and take piriton 3 times a day which worries me. I am 68.
i get a red shadow around my lips when ever i eat any food! i also get small white sticky bits on my lips in the corners throughout the day. i was on rhoacutaine for acne treatment which makes your skin very dry but this all happened after this. I have tried stopping certain foods etc...there is no pattern to it. I read a bout aspartame in fizzy diet pop causing inflammation and have cut this out and it has slightly help but not much please help
i've had a blocked nostril now for over 18 months and very rarely get a decent nights sleep, i do get the odd moment where i can breathe out of both nostrils but this only lasts for a couple of minutes. my gp has tried me on nasal sprays and anti-histamines which don't seem to work, cetirizine hydrochloride tends to stop my eyes from watering but thats about it...i can get up in the morning and on some occasions my nose can run until i fall asleep that night.....had some allergy tests done and the doc says my results were very very high for hayfever...but i feel at my best when i'm actually playing golf (on grass !!!)...HELP PLEASE I'M GOING INSANE
Hi my husband has a similar problem and has had tests etc. He is slightly better now all scented room and car scents have been removed as well as deoderant sprays etc. It hasnt gone but has improved. Check scents objects at work eg what are the cleaners using to clean the environment you are working in etc
Hi. I have had a lot of problems with sinus blockage and infections for the last 4 years or so. I also think I have a lot of allergies. I recently started using a Neti pot to rinse the nose with salt water and for the month I've been using it (twice a day) the symptoms have not returned. If you google it you will find out more, it's a yoga/Indian remedy. I bought a plastic one on an ebay shop and it's great.
Hello I am 22 years old and have been thinking about getting a tattoo for quite some time now. However, I am hesitant as when I was younger took an allergic reaction to a henna tattoo and since then have reacted badly to hair dye and certain synthetic materials. I have had a series of allergy tests and the results indicated that I have severe allergy to PPD and a benzoate allergy (unsure if the two are related at all). I have researched into tattoo allergies etc and have visited my GP who told me to go to the tattoo parlour where I want to get the tattoo done and get a list of the ingredients in the ink, which I did. I didn't manage to get a list however they did tell me that there was alcohol, glycerin and all the inks were plant based. They also said that they would be happy to do a skin test but a small test wouldn't necessarily rule out a reaction to a full scale tattoo. When I researched on the internet if henna tattoo allergies were related to permanent tattoo ink allergies, I couldn't find anything that suggested they were. I feel I have done all the research and investigating into it as I can but am still unsure whether it would be safe to go ahead with it? I would greatly appreciate any information or advice on this dilemma?
Most tattoos are safe but to make sure just get the skin test done. It's very good that you have a tattooist that's willing to do that. The most common allergies that occur with tattoos are with the green and red inks I had a reaction to the red in one of mine but it cleared up with some piriton
Hi Jennifer, I have recently had extensive patch tests, it transpires that I may have started my skin flare ups as a result of a tattoo on my forearm some 3 years ago, try to find out if henna tattoos and indeed permanent ones use some from of potassium dichromate or chromate as pigments (colour), (also found extensively in cosmetics), hope this helps
Hello for the past 2 weeks I've been getting red,itchy, burning blotches all over my skin ! The itchyness wakes me up at night ! The rash moves around and doesn't stay in the same place for long.I keep going hot then cold and the rash is really getting me down.I've been taking anti histamines but they hardly help ! Is there anything els to help with my condition ?
Which antihistermines are you taking as some are better than others try the proper piriton liquid but if the rash is still like it after 3 days of taking the medicine 3 times a day see your Dr and he/she may prescribe something to take with the piriton . It might also be a virus if you're getting hot and cold.
Hi I was wondering if anyone could help. My 2 year old son came out in what looked like chicken pox but then his eye started to swell and the spots joined together to form what looked like sunburn and over the course of a few hours it spread over his body and he was bright red from head to foot. Drs at AnE said it was an allergic reaction and gave him steroids and antihistermines which helped but then it came back and kept going with the mess and back again once they'd worn off. He's had nothing different not even nappies or creams. I'm so confused as to what it could be its gone down completely now but I don't know what to do if it would happen again.
Hello I'm 20 and have been experiancing the same thing for about 2 weeks now ! I havnt used anything differnt either.and would love to kno what has caused this
I looked into it further and anything can cause it and 2 things seem to relate. It said that having an infection could cause it and also high or low temperatures can. My son had some bleeding on one tonsil and Dr said it looked like he had had virul tonsilitis. He had also had quite a low temperature the morning the spots first appeared. Now I'm quite scared in case he gets ill again as with the fact his eye swelled to a slit I'm scared in case it makes his mouth swell next time.
Hi, When ever I have anything dairy or dairy derrived I feel very ill. I even have to check my athmas meds for dairy ingredients. I ache all over, my brain gets foggy and I cannot think or converse properly, my kidneys get sore and my urine goes orangy. Also my testicles swell and are very sore. My GP isn't very helpfull and my Wife gets so frustrated because I am now so fussy about food. I get very angry and my tolerance of her and my children gets non existent when ever I have anything remotely dairy related. Please Help
Hi I have had what I thought was an on going cold for 4months now. I went to my gp and was told I had an allergy, I was given because nasal spray but did nothing, since then I have been back and seen a different gp and he advised a higher dose but I have already tried this and now I'm on avamys which I have only just started. I seem to be worse when at work (I'm a beauty therapist) but I'm constantly sniffling, sneezing, chesty, coughing etc , all my gps seem to be doing is just giving me different drugs to trial rather than looking at the problem. What else can I do and Is this even an allergy?
Important Notice
The information provided on this website (including any NHS Choices medical information) is for use as information or for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. We do not warrant that any information included within this site will meet your health or medical requirements. This Embarrassing Bodies site does not provide any medical or diagnostic services so you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.
If you want to embed our videos in your site, read our embedding T&Cs here
