How Food Allergies Are Treated
Managing your food allergy can be frustrating when you eat at a restaurant or eat food someone else has prepared. The best way to prevent an allergic reaction is to avoid your triggers. That means you need to constantly read food labels and ask about ingredients in food. It's important to do so since you can't predict if your symptoms will be mild or severe after an exposure. Since it isn't possible to eliminate allergens with complete certainty at all times, you need to have a backup treatment plan in place. Here are some common methods of treating food allergies.
Epinephrine Injection
If you've had allergy testing and your doctor has determined you are allergic to certain foods such as peanuts, your doctor will probably give you a prescription for an auto-injecting epinephrine pen. You carry this pen with you at all times so you can use it if you accidentally eat the food that causes an allergic reaction. This ensures you get quick treatment rather than waiting on an ambulance to arrive. You simply self-administer the medication or have someone nearby do it. The pens usually have two doses so you can follow up the first injection with a second one if you don't get relief right away. …show more content…
You may need additional drugs to get your allergy attack under control. You may need additional epinephrine, steroids, or antihistamines. You should look at the injector pen as emergency medication that allows you to make it to a doctor for further care rather than as a cure for your
Managing your food allergy can be frustrating when you eat at a restaurant or eat food someone else has prepared. The best way to prevent an allergic reaction is to avoid your triggers. That means you need to constantly read food labels and ask about ingredients in food. It's important to do so since you can't predict if your symptoms will be mild or severe after an exposure. Since it isn't possible to eliminate allergens with complete certainty at all times, you need to have a backup treatment plan in place. Here are some common methods of treating food allergies.
Epinephrine Injection
If you've had allergy testing and your doctor has determined you are allergic to certain foods such as peanuts, your doctor will probably give you a prescription for an auto-injecting epinephrine pen. You carry this pen with you at all times so you can use it if you accidentally eat the food that causes an allergic reaction. This ensures you get quick treatment rather than waiting on an ambulance to arrive. You simply self-administer the medication or have someone nearby do it. The pens usually have two doses so you can follow up the first injection with a second one if you don't get relief right away. …show more content…
You may need additional drugs to get your allergy attack under control. You may need additional epinephrine, steroids, or antihistamines. You should look at the injector pen as emergency medication that allows you to make it to a doctor for further care rather than as a cure for your