While food allergies and intolerances can cause some of the same symptoms, there are some key differences between the two. These should help you differentiate between whether your child is suffering from a food allergy or an intolerance, but it’s always best to seek proper testing from a specialist for food allergies from if you suspect that might be the cause.
Digestive system vs. immune system response
A food allergy is a negative immune system response to a food protein that triggers an allergic reaction. When an allergy occurs, your immune system overreacts, producing Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies which travel to cells and release chemicals that cause an allergic reaction. 90% of all food allergies are caused by the top-eight food allergens, which includes wheat, soy, shellfish, fish, milk, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts. The other 10% of food allergies can come from any food, with some children allergic to products such as red meat, citrus and celery (for example).
Food intolerance, on the other hand, is a negative reaction to a food that doesn’t involve the immune system and instead takes place in the digestive system. Food intolerances are not normally life-threatening. Intolerance reactions normally take much longer to develop (up to 20 hours after consuming food) and occur when your body is unable to digest a certain food properly.
Food allergy symptoms vs. food intolerance symptoms
A food allergy can cause a potentially life-threatening reaction when the food is touched, eaten or even inhaled. This is referred to as anaphylaxis which normally occurs within seconds or minutes of eating food and symptoms include difficulty breathing, dizziness or losing consciousness. Anaphylaxis requires immediate treatment with an adrenaline shot to prevent fatal consequences, and the symptoms include suddenly feeling weak due to a drop in blood pressure and breathing problems as the throat begins to swell up.
Other, nonlife-threatening symptoms of food allergy are either shown on the skin, respiratory or gastrointestinal. The most common symptoms of food allergy include itching, developing a rash or hives. Gastrointestinal symptoms are identified by vomiting or diarrhoea and respiratory symptoms can include shallow breathing, wheezing, chest congestion, coughing, a runny or blocked nose and itchy/watery eyes.
In contrast to food allergies, food intolerance symptoms are focused on the digestive system and common symptoms include diarrhoea, bloating and an upset stomach. Less common food intolerance symptoms include weight loss, lack of energy, headaches and anaemia. These symptoms are often linked to other digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS and Chron’s Disease).
Food allergy testing vs. food intolerance testing
Food allergy testing can be carried out by an allergy specialist and there are two different ways to test for an allergy. For symptoms that develop quickly (an IgE-mediated food allergy) – a skin prick test or a blood test is the recommended tool for diagnosis. For symptoms that are slowed to develop (a none IgE-mediated food allergy) – a food elimination diet is the best way to diagnose.
There are no food intolerance tests that are currently recommended by the British Dietetic Association, so the best way to identify an intolerance is to keep a food diary and monitor your symptoms. If you suspect a certain food is a cause, cut this out of your diet and see whether your symptoms disappear. You can then slowly reintroduce it to see if this causes your symptoms to flare up again.
For advice relating to food allergies or intolerances, email me at email@example.com with any questions and I’ll be happy to help.
The difference between allergy symptoms and covid-19 symptoms
The coronavirus has heighted everyone’s fears when it comes to identifying symptoms – even if these are symptoms that have been experienced previously. The timing of the global covid-19 pandemic has also coincided with the onset of spring which is when many seasonal allergies begin to flare. To help put your mind at ease, we want to help highlight the differences between covid-19 symptoms and the symptoms associated with seasonal or year-round allergies.
Covid-19 symptoms can appear up to two weeks after exposure, and the official symptoms include having a new, continuous cough, presenting a high temperature, physical fatigue and a loss or change to your sense of taste or smell. Although these are the main symptoms, other, less common symptoms have also been reported by coronavirus patients. These lesser-known symptoms include having a fever, sore throat or achiness. Some people have also reported sneezing, digestive issues/discomfort, mental fatigue, chills, nausea and diarrhoea.
Seasonal allergy symptoms
The key difference between Covid-19 symptoms and the symptoms of seasonal allergies are that you don’t normally get a fever and high temperature if you’re affected by an allergy. The symptoms of seasonal allergy are much more likely to include postnasal drainage, ear congestion, a runny nose and itchiness in various places - such as the eyes, ears, nose and throat. These symptoms are not known to be associated or reported as a symptom of coronavirus. Sneezing is another symptom that sets coronavirus and seasonal allergies apart. If you are just sneezing and do not have a fever or any achiness in the body – it’s most likely to be hayfever that you’re suffering from. Seasonal allergies also cause a non-stop sneeze and irritation, rather than infrequent sneezing which could be a side effect of coronavirus. You will likely see an improvement in your allergy symptoms after taking an antihistamine, so this will be a good indicator that your seasonal allergy has flared up.
It’s important to remember that even though you have seasonal allergies, you could still be at risk of catching coronavirus, so should take all the necessary precautions when you’re out and about.
Tips to help minimise the risk of catching coronavirus
To help keep both your seasonal allergies and coronavirus at bay, you should continue taking your regular, daily allergy medication consistently. If you need to sneeze in public, you should do this as safely as possible, sneezing into a tissue or the corner of your elbow. Current NHS guidelines (on the day of publishing this article) recommend that you stay at home as much as possible, work at home if you can and keep a 2m distance from people when you’re out.
For advice on your seasonal allergy symptoms, please email me at firstname.lastname@example.org
Ingawa mzio wa chakula na kutovumilia chakula vinaweza kusababisha baadhi ya dalili zilezile, kuna tofauti fulani muhimu kati ya vitu hivyo viwili. Hii inapaswa kukusaidia kutofautisha kati ya mtoto wako anaugua mzio wa chakula au kutovumiliana, lakini ni bora kutafuta upimaji sahihi kutoka kwa mtaalamu wa mzio wa chakula ikiwa unashuku kwamba inaweza kuwa sababu. Msaada wa mfumo wa kumeng'enya chakula (allergy) ni athari mbaya ya mfumo wa kinga kwa protini ya chakula ambayo husababisha mmenyuko wa kinga. Wakati mzio unatokea, mfumo wako wa kinga unashughulikia kupita kiasi, na kutengeneza kinga za Immunoglobulin E (IgE) ambazo husafiri hadi seli na kutolewa kemikali zinazosababisha athari ya mzio. 90% ya allergies zote za chakula husababishwa na allergens nane za juu za chakula, ambazo ni pamoja na ngano, soya, samaki, samaki, maziwa, mayai, soya, karanga na karanga za mti. Alergi ya chakula inaweza kutokea kwa chakula chochote, na baadhi ya watoto ni mzio kwa bidhaa kama vile nyama nyekundu, machungwa na celery. Kwa upande mwingine, kutovumilia chakula ni athari mbaya kwa chakula ambacho hakihusishi mfumo wa kinga na badala yake hufanyika katika mfumo wa kumeng'enya chakula. Kwa kawaida, kutovumilia chakula hakuhatarishi uhai. Kwa kawaida, athari za kutovumilia huchukua muda mrefu zaidi (hadi masaa 20 baada ya kula chakula) na hutokea wakati mwili wako hauwezi kumeng'enya chakula fulani vizuri. Dalili za mzio wa chakula: Dalili za mzio wa chakula zinaweza kusababisha athari mbaya ya hatari ya maisha wakati chakula kinaguswa, kuliwa au hata kupumua. Anafylaxis ni hali ya kawaida ya kawaida ya sekunde au dakika chache baada ya kula chakula, na dalili zake ni pamoja na shida ya kupumua, kizunguzungu au kupoteza fahamu. Anaphylaxis inahitaji matibabu ya haraka na risasi ya adrenaline ili kuzuia matokeo mabaya, na dalili ni pamoja na kujisikia dhaifu ghafla kutokana na kushuka kwa shinikizo la damu na matatizo ya kupumua wakati koo huanza kuvimba. Dalili nyingine zisizo hatari za uhai za mzio wa chakula huonekana kwenye ngozi, njia za kupumua, au kwenye utumbo. Dalili za kawaida za mzio wa chakula zinatia ndani kukwaruza, kuambukizwa na mchochota au kibofu. Dalili za gastrointestinal zinatambuliwa na kutapika au kuhara na dalili za kupumua zinaweza kujumuisha kupumua kwa kina, kupiga kelele, msongamano wa kifua, kikohozi, pua inayotiririka au kufungwa na macho ya kukwaruza au maji. Tofauti na mzio wa chakula, dalili za kutovumilia chakula huelekezwa kwenye mfumo wa kumeng'enya chakula na dalili za kawaida ni pamoja na kuhara, kuvimba na tumbo lisilofaa. Dalili zisizo za kawaida za kutoweza kuvumilia chakula zinatia ndani kupoteza uzito, kukosa nishati, maumivu ya kichwa na upungufu wa damu. Dalili hizi mara nyingi huhusishwa na matatizo mengine ya kumeng'enya kama vile Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) na Chron' s Disease. Utafiti wa mzio wa chakula na mtihani wa kutoweza kuvumilia chakula: Utafiti wa mzio wa chakula unaweza kufanywa na mtaalamu wa mzio na kuna njia mbili tofauti za kupima mzio. Kwa dalili ambazo huongezeka haraka (madhara ya chakula yanayohusishwa na IgE) <unk> mtihani wa ngozi au mtihani wa damu ni chombo kinachopendekezwa kwa utambuzi. Kwa dalili ambazo hupunguzwa kuendeleza (madhara ya chakula yasiyohusishwa na IgE) <unk> lishe ya kuondoa chakula ni njia bora ya kugundua. Hakuna mtihani wa kutovumilia chakula unaopendekezwa na Chama cha Briteni cha Dietetic, kwa hivyo njia bora ya kutambua kutovumilia ni kuweka kitabu cha chakula na kufuatilia dalili zako. Ikiwa unafikiri kwamba chakula fulani ndicho kisababishi, fanya hivyo na uone kama dalili zako zinapungua. Kisha unaweza kuanzisha tena polepole ili uone ikiwa hilo husababisha dalili zako ziongezeke tena. Kwa ushauri kuhusiana na mzio wa chakula au intolerances, barua pepe mimi katika email@example.com na maswali yoyote na mimi itakuwa furaha kusaidia. Tofauti kati ya dalili za mzio na dalili za COVID-19 Coronavirus imeongeza hofu ya kila mtu linapokuja suala la kutambua dalili - hata ikiwa hizi ni dalili ambazo zimepatikana hapo awali. Wakati wa janga la COVID-19 la ulimwengu pia umefanana na mwanzo wa majira ya kuchipua ambayo ni wakati mzio mwingi wa msimu unaanza kuwaka. Ili kukusaidia kuweka akili yako kwa urahisi, tunataka kusaidia kuonyesha tofauti kati ya dalili za COVID-19 na dalili zinazohusiana na mzio wa msimu au wa mwaka mzima. Dalili za COVID-19 zinaweza kuonekana hadi wiki mbili baada ya kuambukizwa, na dalili rasmi ni pamoja na kukohoa mpya, kuendelea, kuonyesha joto la juu, uchovu wa kimwili na kupoteza au mabadiliko ya hisia yako ya ladha au harufu. Ingawa hizi ni dalili kuu, dalili nyingine, zisizo za kawaida pia zimeripotiwa na wagonjwa wa coronavirus. Dalili hizi zisizojulikana sana zinatia ndani kuwa na homa, maumivu ya koo au maumivu. Watu wengine pia wameripoti kupiga chafya, matatizo ya kumeng'enya chakula, uchovu wa akili, baridi, kichefuchefu na kuhara. Tofauti kuu kati ya dalili za COVID-19 na dalili za mzio wa msimu ni kwamba kwa kawaida hupati homa na joto la juu ikiwa unaathiriwa na mzio. Dalili za mzio wa msimu ni uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kujumuisha mtiririko wa maji baada ya pua, msukosuko wa sikio, pua inayotiririka na kukwaruza katika sehemu mbalimbali - kama vile macho, masikio, pua na koo. Dalili hizi hazijulikani kuhusishwa au kuripotiwa kama dalili ya coronavirus. Kutofyonza ni dalili nyingine inayotenganisha virusi vya corona na mzio wa msimu. Kama wewe ni tu sneezing na hawana homa au achiness yoyote katika mwili <unk> ni uwezekano mkubwa kuwa hayfever kwamba wewe <unk>re kuteseka kutoka. Madhara ya msimu pia husababisha kupiga chafya bila kuacha na kuchochea, badala ya kupiga chafya mara kwa mara ambayo inaweza kuwa athari ya upande wa coronavirus. Kwa hivyo, ikiwa una dalili za mzio baada ya kuchukua antihistamine, hii ni ishara ya kwamba mzio wako wa msimu umeongezeka. Ni muhimu kukumbuka kwamba hata kama una mzio wa msimu, bado unaweza kuwa na hatari ya kuambukizwa coronavirus, kwa hivyo unapaswa kuchukua tahadhari zote muhimu unapokuwa nje na karibu. Ili kusaidia kuzuia mzio wako wa msimu na virusi vya corona, unapaswa kuendelea kuchukua dawa yako ya kawaida ya kila siku ya mzio. Ikiwa unahitaji kupiga chafya hadharani, fanya hivyo kwa njia salama iwezekanavyo, kwa kupiga chafya kwenye kitambaa au kona ya kiwiko chako. Miongozo ya sasa ya NHS (siku ya kuchapishwa kwa makala hii) inapendekeza kwamba uendelee kukaa nyumbani iwezekanavyo, fanya kazi nyumbani ikiwa unaweza na kuweka umbali wa mita 2 kutoka kwa watu unapokuwa nje. Kwa ushauri juu ya dalili zako za mgonjwa wa msimu, tafadhali nipeleke barua pepe kwa jina la kwanza. jina la mwisho@example.org