Figures released by the Mayo Clinic indicate that about two percent of American adults and six percent of children suffer some form of food allergy.
Although those figures may seem small, with a population in excess of three hundred million people, that equates to some six million and eighteen million folks, respectively.
Any type of allergic reaction, including food allergies, occur as a result of the immune system over reacting to normally harmless allergens.
In the case of food, the allergens are typically milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish and a few other foods.
Reacting to contact or ingestion, the body releases an antibody called immunoglobulin E or IgE since it perceives the food as a foreign invader and not as nutrition.
The antibodies cause the release of histamine, prostaglandins and several other compounds that produce the allergy symptoms.
When compared with other allergic reactions, food allergy symptoms are typically more extensive.
These include the possibility of watery eyes and nasal congestion.
However, they are typically accompanied with or even overwhelmed by such things as swelling of the lips, throat or tongue, urticaria or skin hives, nausea, wheezing and even abdominal pain.
Anaphylactic shock can be the result in more extreme cases.
Anaphylaxis is a general whole body allergic reaction.
It involves some serious symptoms such as dizziness, constricted airways resulting in breathing difficulties and a dramatic drop in blood pressure.
It comes on quickly and if left untreated, can sometimes cause death.
As many as two hundred deaths each year in the United States are attributed to anaphylaxis.
Food allergy reactions can also be localized in some cases.
Fresh fruits and vegetables can cause some folks to experience a type of prickling sensation in the mouth.
The consensus amongst allergists is that particular proteins cause this type of reaction; similar to those found in ragweed pollen.
Diagnosis by a trained Allergist is required in order to discover whether a person has food intolerance or a food allergy.
A skin prick test can often establish whether a person actually has an allergy to certain foods.
The allergist takes an extract of the suspicious substance and exposes the patient to it by injecting a tiny amount under the skin.
The skin is monitored for about thirty minutes to see if there is any swelling or itchiness in reaction to the extract.
In order to measure the amount of immunoglobulin E or IgE produced by the body as a result of ingestion of a certain food, it may be necessary for a blood test to be made although this does not always give a conclusive answer.
Lactose intolerance, for instance, is caused by the genetically induced deficiency of the digestive enzyme needed to safely process cow's milk.
The symptoms may be alike, but this is not an allergy.
Eliminating the problematic food from the diet and surroundings is the first and best line of defense.
Although perhaps a simple answer, a person who has an allergy to eggs or egg-based products should avoid consuming such foods.
The same applies to those that are allergic to peanuts or products that contain traces of them.
In the absence of any recognized cure for allergies, avoidance is the best medicine for the time being.
Even so, it is not always possible to keep away from some substances, in spite of your best efforts to do so.
In that scenario, symptom relief is available in the form of antihistamines, an Epipen or a similar device.
An EpiPen allows allergy sufferers to inject themselves with a small amount of ephinephrine during an emergency, which can stave off any serious attack of anaphylaxis.