Content
Allergic diseases can bring a lot of trouble. Reaction to pollenthat interferes with enjoying spring gardens, animal hair, depriving an allergic person of the chance to have a fluffy pet. Or an allergy to sweets, leaving the patient without a delicious cake or a bar of milk chocolate . And if for an adult this is just an inconvenience, then for a child this is a real tragedy. In this article, we will look at the main causes of "sweet tooth allergies" and give a couple of tips that will alleviate the course of the disease.
Origin of the disease
Oddly enough, the cause of the disease is not sugar.
After all, an allergic reaction is possible only in relation to protein compounds, and sugar is a carbohydrate, unlike sucrose. It is she who is responsible for the rash and other unpleasant symptoms that occur after a sweet dessert.
Most often, a similar picture is observed in children. A growing organism is not able to efficiently digest sucrose due to a lack of essential enzymes. As a result, excess protein provokes food fermentation, which releases harmful substances and toxins into the body. And for the immunity of the child, this is tantamount to a declaration of war, with all the ensuing consequences.
False alarm
Very often, a sweet allergy in children is confused with a reaction to other allergens present in the dessert. First of all, chocolate, honey and citrus fruits. Such symptoms greatly distort the picture of the disease, so the identification of the guilty allergens is best done in a clinical setting.
Do not forget about the "pseudo-allergy". This is the name of the situation when the release of biologically active substances occurs without the production of immunoglobulin E. The symptoms are identical to an allergic reaction.
A similar situation occurs when overeating potentially allergenic foods. Moreover, it is not the presence of an allergy to a particular food in a person that is decisive, but the volume of food eaten. A couple of tiny tangerines will not cause harm, but a kilogram or two at a time is a completely different story.
Particular attention here should be paid to the diet. The body is not able to cope with large volumes of food, and any large feast can provoke a pseudo-allergy.
Symptoms of the disease
Most of the symptoms of a sweet allergy in adults appear already in the first hours after the allergen enters the body. And the most common of them is an allergic rash that falls on the cheeks and stomach of the patient. As a rule, it is accompanied by severe itching, and when scratched, it flows into urticaria.
In more severe cases, hives may appear on other areas of the skin. First of all, on the arms and legs. This is especially common in young children, so be careful not to let your child scratch the affected areas.
Common signs of allergies also include a runny nose with frequent sneezing, or vice versa, a dry cough with inflammation of the mucous membranes. These symptoms can appear both soon after contact with the allergen, and after a day or more.
The most dangerous allergic symptoms are anaphylactic shock and angioedema. They are immediate symptoms and can lead to the death of the patient if he is not provided with urgent medical care.
The exact list of symptoms of an allergy to sweets is a strictly individual thing. Not only the allergen itself is important here, but also the general condition of the patient. An optimal diet, hardening of the body, playing sports facilitate the course of the disease and accelerate the cleansing of the body.
At-risk groups
- As with other types of food allergies, children under the age of 15 are most susceptible to this disease. The reason for this is the unformed digestive and immune systems. On the positive side, most symptoms disappear or subside by age 18.
- The other group includes people with disorders in the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Here, an allergic reaction is a concomitant factor that disappears after healing from the underlying disease.
- The last factor influencing the appearance of an allergy to sweets is pregnancy. Moreover, in this case, the disease poses a danger not only to the mother, but also to her unborn child. Therefore, be careful.
Diagnostics
The main task of diagnostic measures is to identify specific allergens. This is where the skin test . In this study, allergic samples are applied to the skin of the sick and the reaction to them is monitored.
In addition to skin tests, allergists often prescribe an immunoglobulin E . This is necessary to eliminate the possibility of "pseudo-allergy".
An excellent help in diagnostic procedures is a food diary, where all the dishes and foods eaten recently are entered. The diary greatly reduces the circle of "suspects" and facilitates the work of an allergist in compiling the patient's diet.
Treatment
At first glance, the most logical way to prevent the symptoms of a sweet allergy seems to be to avoid sweets.
But it is not recommended to resort to this. Sweets contain glucose - the most valuable source of energy for human metabolism and a universal antitoxin. In addition, sweets have a positive effect on the mental state, and their lack leads to depression and increased aggressiveness.
Therefore, the best solution is a diet with small inclusions of sweets and the use of antihistamines. Such a diet is developed by an allergist or nutritionist based on the results of the tests.
But allergy treatment is not limited to blocking allergenic agents. Much more important is the normalization of the digestive system. The measures taken include cleansing the intestines with the help of sorbent drugs (enterosgel, activated carbon or smecta) and improving its microflora with the help of enzyme preparations.
If we talk about the treatment of symptoms, then it is reasonable to use special ointments to get rid of the rash and itching. These include Fenistil, Elokom and other anti-inflammatory creams.
In severe cases of sweet allergy, steroid medications may be used. They vary in effectiveness and speed, but the presence of serious side effects allows their use only as prescribed by a doctor.
The latest argument in the fight against the disease is allergen-specific immune therapy. With its help, the body of an allergic person "gets used" to a harmful allergen. The course of treatment takes up to two years, but the effect lasts until the end of life.
