What is Tree nut Allergy ?

Tree nut allergy is immunologically mediated reaction to tree nut which occurs within minutes to hours after taking tree nut. Even a small amount of food is sufficient to trigger allergy symptoms. In some individuals, a food allergy can cause severe allergy symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis.

Tree nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans walnuts etc. Tree nuts and peanuts are different as peanuts are legumes, not nuts, whereas tree nut is a hard-shelled nut.  Research indicates 25 and 40 percent of individuals who are allergic to peanuts can also react to at least one tree nut.

Symptoms of Tree nut Allergy

The most common symptoms include:

• Tingling sensation or itching in and around the mouth
• Swelling of the lips, tongue, face, throat or other parts of the body
• Hives, itching or eczema
• Cough, wheezing or trouble breathing
•  Nasal congestion
• Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
• Anaphylaxis

Causes of Tree nut Allergy

In food allergy, our immune system recognizes food as a harmful substance and react against it leading to symptoms of food allergy.

In Tree nut allergy, our immune system recognizes Tree nut as a harmful substance and react against it leading t symptoms of food allergy.

Diagnosis of Tree nut Allergy

Till date there is no ideal test for Tree nut allergy.

A physician should consider the following:

• Symptoms. Tell your physician /allergist, the symptoms you are experiencing.
• Family history of allergies. Tell your physician whether other family members are suffering from any form of allergic disorders.
• A physical examination. To find out any urticarial lesion in the body and to exclude other cause of similar symptoms.
• A skin prick test. A skin prick test using food allergen can be performed. Expertise in this regard is necessary to perform skin test. A positive prick test is only indicate the people is sensitized to particular food allergen tested.
• A blood test. A blood test can be performed to measure the allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE).
• Elimination diet.
• Oral food challenge.

Treatment of Tree nut Allergy

Avoidance is the best preventive measure. However an individual may unknowingly come in contact with the food and lead to allergic reaction.

For mild to moderate allergic reaction:  over-the-counter or prescribed antihistamines are helpful.

For severe allergic reaction: If there is severe reaction or anaphylaxis one must inject adrenaline/ epinephrine in appropriate dosage. If someone has adrenaline autoinjector then he can use it otherwise one have to attend nearest hospital as early as possible. One must carry his adrenaline autoinjector all the time if an allergist prescribed it.

Prevention of Tree nut Allergy

Avoidance of the Tree nut is the best way to prevent food allergy.

If you have food allergy, then follow these steps:

• Know what you’re eating and drinking. Always read the food labels.
• If you have already had a severe reaction/anaphylaxis, wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace that lets others know that you have a food allergy.
• Have an action plan ready. Always have your epinephrine /adrenaline autoinjector with you.
• Be careful while eating at restaurants.
• Plan your meals and snacks before leaving home.

If your child has a food allergy, you must follow few steps to ensure your child is safe:

• Always notify key people about the child’s food allergy.
• Explain food allergy symptoms to persons who spend time with the child.
• Have a written action plan.
• Have your child wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace.

Food Allergy Mimickers

Common conditions that mimic food allergy include:

• Lactase deficiency / lactose intolerance
• Food poisoning
• Celiac disease. sometimes called to as a gluten allergy
• Sensitivity to food additives.eg sulfites used in dried fruit, canned goods
• Histamine toxicity from certain not refrigerated fish

Read in depth of Tree nut Allergy

To read details click on Read More

Point to be remembered in managing Food Allergy

Avoidance of the offending food is the best way to prevent food allergy. One must know the causative food to which he is allergic. A person with food allergy must be cautious when eating in  restaurants and in social events.

If you have  food allergy, then follow these steps:

• Know what you’re eating and drinking. Always read the food labels while you eating something.
• If you have already had a severe reaction/anaphylaxis, wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace that will alert others and you have a food allergy.
• Have an action plan ready. Always have a action plan of your food allergy. This action plan will be prepared by your Allergist.
• Have an Epinephrine / Adrenaline Autoinjector with you.
• Be careful while eating at restaurants.
• Plan your meals and snacks before leaving home.

If your child has food allergy, you must follow few steps to ensure your child is safe:

• Always notify key people about the child’s food allergy. Inform your child care providers, school personnel, parents of your child’s friends and other adults who regularly interact with your child. Tell them that food allergy may be life threatening and may require urgent intervention to save life of the child.
• Explain food allergy symptoms to persons who spend time with the child.
• Have a written action plan.This plan should include the appropriate management strategies to care the child in case of food allergy and in emergency case of anaphylaxis. One copy of the plan must be given to school authority.
• Have your child wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace to display that he/she has Food Allergy.

In-depth reading about of Food Allergy

What is Tree Allergy?

Food allergy is immunologically mediated reaction to certain foods which occurs within minutes to hours after taking food. Even a small amount of food is sufficient to trigger allergy symptoms. In some individuals, a food allergy can cause severe allergy symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis.

Tree nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans walnuts etc. Tree nuts and peanuts are different as peanuts are legumes, not nuts, whereas tree nut is a hard-shelled nut.  Research indicates 25 and 40 percent of individuals who are allergic to peanuts can also react to at least one tree nut.

Sometimes few people develop indigestion, gaseous distention of abdomen or diarrhea after taking some food but it may not be due to food allergy but another condition called food intolerance. This reaction is not immunologically mediated and it is less severe than allergy.

Symptoms of Tree nut Allergy

Symptoms of food allergy can ranges from mild allergic reaction to severe allergic reaction or even life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis. Usually, food allergy symptoms develop within a few minutes to two hours after eating the offending food.

The most common symptoms include:

• Tingling sensation or itching in and around the mouth
• Swelling of the lips, tongue, face, throat or other parts of the body
• Hives, itching or eczema
• Cough, wheezing or trouble breathing
•  Nasal congestion
• Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting

Anaphylaxis

In few individual, a food allergy can cause anaphylaxis. Life-threatening signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis include:

• Respiratory distress
• A swollen throat or the sensation of a lump in your throat
• Shock with a severe drop in blood pressure
• Rapid pulse
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness

Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency treatment. Emergency treatment with intramuscular epinephrine/adrenaline is crucial for the survival of patients. Anaphylaxis if untreated can lead to coma or even death.

Causes of Tree nut Allergy

In tree nut allergy, our immune system recognize food as a harmful substance and react against it leading to symptoms of food allergy.

Risk factor for Food allergy include:

• Family history of Allergy.  your family members are suffering from some form of allergies like asthma, eczema, urticaria, allergic rhinitis then you are at risk of developing food allergy.
• If you are suffering from food allergy to one of the food items. If you’re already allergic to one food, then you are at risk of developing food allergy to other foods.
• Age. Overall food allergies are more common in children. Your food allergy may disappear when you grow older. In most of the cases of food allergy to eggs, milk, soy and wheat in children may resolved automatically when they grow older. But an allergy to shellfish and nuts may remain lifelong.
• Asthma. Asthma and food allergy can occur together. In such patient, both food allergy and asthma symptoms are more likely to be severe.

Diagnosis of Tree nut Allergy

Till date there is no ideal test for Tree nut allergy. A physician should consider the following:

• Symptoms.

  Tell your physician /allergist, the symptoms you are experiencing. Tell your allergist about the possible food items, eating of which lead to start of your symptoms. Inform him when this symptoms start occurring, how much time the symptoms last and how you get relief.

• Family history of allergies.

  Tell your physician whether other family members are suffering from any form of allergic disorders.

• A physical examination.

  To find out any urticarial lesion in the body and to exclude other cause of similar symptoms.

• A skin prick test.

  A skin prick test using food allergen can be performed. Expertise in this regard is necessary to perform a skin test. A positive prick test only indicates the people is sensitized to particular food allergen tested. The result of the skin prick test is to be corroborated with the clinical finding of the patients.

• A blood test.

  A blood test can performed to measure the allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE).

• Elimination diet.

  This can be done by first eliminating the suspected food items for 2-4 weeks then reintroducing the food items one by one to see when the symptoms return back. However, an elimination diet cannot distinguish true food allergy from food sensitivity. Another thing one must be kept in mind that if a person is already experienced severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, one must not do an elimination diet as it may be disastrous.

• Oral food challenge.

  Here the physician will give you a small but gradually increasing amount of tree nut or tree nut containing product to see whether the symptoms are occurring or not. One must be kept in mind that if a person is already experienced severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, one must not do oral food challenge test as it can be disastrous.

Treatment of Tree nut Allergy

Avoidance is the best preventive measure. However, an individual may unknowingly come in contact with the food and lead to an allergic reaction.

For mild to moderate allergic reaction:  over-the-counter or prescribed antihistamines are helpful.

For severe allergic reaction: If there is severe reaction or anaphylaxis one must inject adrenaline/ epinephrine in an appropriate dosage. If someone has adrenaline autoinjector then he can use it otherwise one has to attend the nearest hospital as early as possible. One must carry his adrenaline autoinjector all the time if an allergist prescribed it.

How to Prevent Tree nut Allergy

Avoidance of the offending food is the best way to prevent food allergy. One must know the causative food to which he is allergic. A person with a food allergy must be cautious when eating in a restaurant and in social events.

If you have a food allergy, then follow these steps:

• Know what you’re eating and drinking. Always read the food labels.
• If you have already had a severe reaction/anaphylaxis, wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace that lets others know that you have a food allergy.
• Have an action plan ready. Always have your epinephrine /adrenaline autoinjector with you.
• Be careful while eating at restaurants.
• Plan your meals and snacks before leaving home.

If your child has a food allergy, you must follow few steps to ensure your child is safe:

• Always notify key people about the child’s food allergy.  Inform your child care providers, school personnel, parents of your child’s friends and other adults who regularly interact with your child. Emphasize that food allergy may be life-threatening and may require urgent intervention.
• Explain food allergy symptoms to persons who spend time with the child.
• Have a written action plan. This plan should include the appropriate management strategies to care for the child in case of food allergy. One copy of the plan must be given to school authority.
• Have your child wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Avoidance of the offending food in the utmost importance in food allergy.

• Don’t assume offending food in any form. Always check food labels while you eating outside especially in restaurants and in social events.
• If you are in doubt then don’t eat. One must keep in mind that even a very small amount of food particle can trigger symptoms of food allergy or may trigger anaphylaxis. So if you are in doubt then it is better to avoid the food.
• Involve caregivers of the child. If your child has a food allergy, then you have to inform the school staff and other care givers of the child so that they can manage the child in case of any symptoms of food allergy.
• Hand washing/ clean kitchen room.

Alternative medicine

Limited use. Research needs to be conducted. Some people, however, claim few improvements of symptoms.

Common conditions that mimic food allergy include:

• Lactase deficiency / lactose intolerance
• Food poisoning
• Celiac disease. sometimes called to as a gluten allergy
• Sensitivity to food additives.eg sulfites used in dried fruit, canned goods
• Histamine toxicity from certain not refrigerated fish

Complications of food allergy include:

• Anaphylaxis. This is a severe life-threatening allergic reaction.
• Atopic dermatitis /Eczema. Food allergy can cause eczema.

Pollen-food syndrome

Pollen food syndrome can occur with Tree nut.

Pollen-food allergy syndrome also known as oral allergy syndrome. Pollen-food allergy syndrome may affect many people who have allergic rhinitis/ hay fever. In this condition, certain fresh fruits and vegetables can trigger an allergic reaction that leads to tingling sensation and itching in and around the mouth. In rare cases, it can trigger a severe form of allergy called anaphylaxis.

The main reason for oral allergy syndrome is the cross-reactivity of proteins of certain raw fruits and vegetables with certain pollens. Symptoms of food allergy may reduce if someone cook the food and vegetables properly.

If a person is allergic to Birch pollen then he may react to Hazelnut.

Excercise -induced food allergy

• In this condition exercise trigger allergy symptoms after eating food. In severe cases people may develop urticaria or ever more serious form of allergy including anaphylaxis. If someone is suffering from exercise-induced food allergy then he should avoid eating food for few hours before exercise. It will help to prevent this problem.

Food intolerance

• A food intolerance is a condition which is not allergy but it mimic the sign symptoms of allergy such as nausea, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea.
• Depending on the type of food intolerance you have, you may be able to eat small amounts of offending foods without a reaction. By contrast, if you have a true food allergy, even a tiny amount of food may trigger an allergic reaction.
• Sometimes an individual may not be intolerant to food itself but maybe intolerance to the ingredients to prepare the food.