Frequently Asked Questions

Whereas hives happening immediately after eating a particular food, may be a manifestation of food allergy, chronically recurring hives (known as chronic urticaria) is seldom due to a food allergy. Instead, Chronic Urticaria is due to immunological dysfunction and may have an autoimmune basis. Therefore, testing for food allergy is seldom of help in Chronic Urticaria.

Having said that, intake of foods with excess naturally occurring chemicals as well as additives, may worsen symptoms of chronic urticaria in some patients.

Desensitization for food allergies is an area of active research. Whereas the procedure has been tested for a number of food allergies, especially peanut, milk and egg their main concerns regarding the safety of food desensitization, and as such the procedure is limited to research centres and formal trials only. There is good hope though, that an oral or transcutaneous desensitization program for some food allergies will become available for clinical use in the next few years.

Yes indeed. The 2 conditions often coexist and are commonly described as allergic respiratory disease. There is a growing body of evidence that allergic rhinitis can lead to asthma, and similarly treatment for allergic rhinitis, specifically desensitization or immunotherapy, can help prevent this progression.

Eczema is a complex disease, of which food allergy is but one of many possible contributory causes. Food allergens are important but sometimes food sensitization may be mistaken for food allergy – two are not necessarily the same. Generally speaking, food allergens are most relevant to eczema in infancy. In older children and adults, air borne allergens such and dust, pollen and pet hair  become the predominant problem.  Additionally, factors such as poor skin barrier function (often due to a genetic defect), skin infection and stress are important aggravators of chronic eczema.