Food Allergies (Class Health)

235 Pages·2006·1.51 MB·English

by  Tanya Wright

Food Allergies
Comments on Food Allergies: Enjoying Life with a Severe Food
Allergyfrom readers:
‘This book is packed with detailed and useful information.’
Sarah Campbell, Homoeopath (and mother of three with eczema)
‘... essential reading for any allergy sufferer or their friends and family.’
Reviewer from London, featured on the Amazon website
‘It is a really useful book and full of sense.’
Hazel Gowland, Allergy Action
‘This is the most comprehensive help for food allergy sufferers that I have
ever read.’
Maureen Jenkins, Trustee and Member of the Health
Advisory Panel of Allergy UK,and Allergy Nurse Consultant,
Sussex Allergy Service
‘... and this edition is really excellent’
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, Editor of Foods Matter
REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION
‘The author suffers from food allergy, but is also a state registered
dietician with professional expertise on the subject. The result is a really
detailed and useful book on the medical science of food allergy but, perhaps
more importantly, the day-to-day practicalities of diagnosis and
management of food allergy. The text is clear and comprehensive, and
there is detailed description of the different types of special diets. Eating in
or eating out: the author provides information that can be viewed as an
oasis of accuracy on a topic about which much inaccuracy exists.
Particularly useful is also the large section with addresses and web-sites
for those wishing more information.’
Practice Nurse Journal
‘Required reading for those with food allergies.’
David Reading, OBE, Director, The Anaphylaxis Campaign
‘Tanya Wright has amalgamated her personal experience of severe food
allergy with her expertise as a specialist dietitian to produce this
unsurpassed guide to living with food allergy. I challenge anyone to find a
question about the subject of food allergy that is unanswered in this
wonderful book.’
Maureen Jenkins, Nurse Adviser and Coordinator of Training,
British Allergy Foundation
‘This excellent book will be a godsend for people who have food allergies,
their carers and clinicians. I am often asked to recommend a single text
which might help patients, carers and professionals to understand food
allergy and the practical aspects of dealing with it. Tanya Wright’s book
would seem to be the perfect choice.’
Nursing Times
Food
Allergies
Enjoying Life with a
Severe Food Allergy
Second edition
Tanya Wright,
BSc (Hons), RD
Registered Dietitian, working for Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust
as Specialist Dietitian and Allergy Coordinator for adults
and children attending the Allergy Clinic
Medical adviser: Dr Joanne Clough
DM, FRCA, MRCP, FRCPCH
CLASS PUBLISHING (cid:129) LONDON
Text © Tanya Wright 2001, 2007
© Class Publishing (London) Ltd 2001, 2007
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written
permission of the above publisher of this book.
Tanya Wright has asserted her right as set out in Sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this
work wherever it is published commercially and whenever any adaptation of
this work is published or produced including any sound recordings or files
made of or based upon this work.
Printing history
First published 2001
Second edition 2007
The information presented in this book is accurate and current to the best
of the author’s knowledge. The author and publisher, however, make no
guarantee as to, and assume no responsibility for, the correctness, sufficiency
or completeness of such information or recommendation. The reader is
advised to consult a doctor regarding all aspects of individual health care.
The author and publishers welcome feedback from the users of this book.
Please contact the publisher.
Class Publishing, Barb House, Barb Mews, London W6 7PA, UK
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Visit our website: www.class.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 13: 978 1 85959 146 8
ISBN 10: 1 85959 146 9
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Edited by Gillian Clarke
Designed and typeset by Martin Bristow
Index by Vicki Robinson
Printed and bound in Finland by WS Bookwell, Juva
Contents
Foreword by David Reading, OBE,
Director, The Anaphylaxis Campaign xi
Foreword by Maureen Jenkins, Trustee and Member of the
Health Advisory Panel of Allergy UK, and Allergy Nurse
Consultant, Sussex Allergy Service xiii
Author’s note xv
Acknowledgements xvii
About the author xix
About the medical adviser xix
Introduction 1
BACKGROUND
1 Food Allergy 5
What is allergy? 5
Who can develop allergies? 6
How common is allergy? 6
Why are allergies increasing? 7
Food hypersensitivity 8
Treatment 10
Summary 10
2 Food Allergy Tests 11
What to do if you think you have a food allergy 11
Diagnosis of a food allergy 12
Testing for a suspected food allergy 13
Alternative diagnostic therapies 17
Following the diagnosis of a food allergy 17
Testing for latex allergy 18
Referral to an allergy specialist 18
3 Will My Allergy Improve over Time? 21
Immunotherapy (desensitisation) 21
Vaccine 21
Growing out of it 22
v
vi FOOD ALLERGIES
4 Anaphylaxis 23
What are the causes of anaphylaxis? 23
At what age can anaphylaxis start? 24
What actually happens in the body? 24
What are the symptoms? 25
What factors increase the severity and speed of an allergic
reaction? 25
What is the treatment? 25
Which medication – and when? 30
Treatment when taking other medication 31
Management of a severe attack 32
How can you prevent further reactions? 33
The Anaphylaxis Campaign 35
The pharmacy and the ‘little red book’ 35
Frequently asked questions 36
5 Your Anaphylaxis Contingency Plan 37
Emergency pack 37
General preparation 39
Identification (ID) 40
6 Food Allergy and Going to School 42
Pre-school 42
Medical questionnaire 42
Setting up an action plan 43
Health and safety in school 44
Records 46
Food at school 47
School activities 48
7 Food Allergy in Young Adults 50
College students living-in 51
Extra tips 51
ENJOYING FOOD
8 The Dietitian’s Role 55
Getting a referral 55
Seeing the dietitian 56
CONTENTS vii
9 Food Labelling 59
Product changes 59
Food allergen labelling laws 59
Alcoholic drinks 60
‘May contain’ issues 60
The Food and Drink Federation 62
The Food Standards Agency 62
Trading Standards 62
Supermarket food-allergen labelling 63
Food outlets 63
Cosmetics labelling 64
10 Special Diets 66
Cow’s milk- and dairy-free diet 67
Dairy-free diet and nutrition 69
Replacement foods 74
Egg-free diet 80
Egg allergy 80
Foods containing eggs 81
Vaccines 84
Alternatives for eggs 84
Egg-free foods 85
Peanut-free and nut-free diets 85
Other names for peanut 86
Peanut derivatives 87
Peanut oil 87
Other nut allergies 87
‘May contain’ warnings on food labels 89
Is peanut or nut allergy on the increase? 89
How dangerous is peanut/nut allergy? 89
Reducing the danger of a severe reaction 90
Eating out with a peanut/nut allergy 90
Mistaken peanut derivatives 91
Alternative peanut/nut-free treats 92
Lupin allergy 93
Sesame-free diet 93
Sesame seed allergy 93
Sesame oil 94
You should know 94
Shellfish-free and fish-free diets 95
viii FOOD ALLERGIES
Fish-free diet 95
‘Hidden’ fish 96
Shellfish-free diet 97
Scromboid poisoning 98
Wheat-free and gluten-free diets 98
What is the difference between wheat-free and gluten-free? 99
Avoiding wheat 99
Wheat substitutes 100
Avoiding gluten 101
Labelling 102
Special dietary products 102
Soya-free diet 105
Eating out 106
Toiletries 106
Alternative foods 106
Oral allergy syndrome 108
Latex–fruit–pollen syndrome 108
Kiwi allergy 109
Celery allergy 110
Mustard allergy 110
Sulphites 110
Multiple food allergies 111
11 Allergy Prevention: pregnancy, breast-feeding, formula milks
and weaning 112
Atopy 112
The father’s diet 112
Advice for the mother 113
Formula milks for the allergic infant 114
If cow’s milk formula is unsuitable 115
Weaning 118
12 Cross-reactivity and Food Families 122
Common cross-reactions between foods in the same group 122
Common cross-reactions between foods in different groups 123
13 Eating In 127
How can I make my diet more appetising? 127
Where to find out about ‘special diet’ products 128
Finding suitable replacement foods 129
CONTENTS ix
14 Eating Away from Home 132
Basic guidelines for eating out 133
Special occasions 135
Going into hospital 135
Severe food allergy 135
15 Cross-contamination 137
Food manufacture 137
Food preparation 137
Personal contact 140
ENJOYING LIFE
16 Holidays and Travelling 143
Travelling or holidaying in the UK 143
Travelling or holidaying abroad 144
Planning for an emergency 147
Other issues 149
Summary 149
17 Help for People on Special Diets 152
Free prescriptions 152
Prepayment certificate (‘season ticket’) for prescriptions 153
Over-the-counter medicines 153
Non-cow’s milk formula on prescription 154
Gluten-free products 154
Whole-egg replacer 154
State benefits 154
Non-financial sources of help when on a special diet 155
18 Career and Leisure Choices 156
Food allergy 156
Other allergy 156
Other choices 157
Leisure 158
Glossary 159
Abbreviations 164