Avoid the contraindicated food consumption should be the first standard for people suffering from allergies prevent possible reactions.

Vitoria-Gasteiz, January 2012.- Urticaria, distorting swelling of the eyelids, lips or extremities, dizziness or loss of knowledge and shortness of breath, including the closure of the glottis with the risk of choking, the symptoms that a person may have a food allergic reaction. Symptoms, which often are unknown because there are many people who do not know that they suffer from an allergy. People have to know that when you have a suspected of being allergic, reaction should consult their family doctor which will be sent to the Allergist to enable him carry out the relevant tests, will give a diagnosis and indicate which foods to avoid and what to do in the case of a new reaction ”says Juan Díez Melgosa, allergist, and Medical Director of USP La Esperanza.

Food allergies are not one minor issue and in this sense, is so important that people who have evidence of a food allergy attend the Allergist, as diagnosed patients follow the signs marked by your specialist to prevent possible reactions. Is essential that people who have a diagnosed food allergy should avoid specifically eat the foods that your specialist forbidden. There are allergic people who think that little amount of food produced by allergy, taking an antihistamine by hand, or if they eat some time passed since the last reaction, will not happen them anything, but the result is totally unpredictable on many occasions. There is always the risk that present a more serious than the previous reaction, and ever can be even fatal ”, keeps the Medical Director.

If an intake or accidental exposure to the food that causes allergy occurs despite the precautions, be should follow guidelines by the Allergist to control the reaction: take the prescribed medication, go to the medical centre as soon as possible and in very serious cases, receiving an injection of adrenaline.

Development of food allergies

Food allergic reactions do not occur the first time that a person eat a food, but from the first contact can trigger allergic process. The organism reacts abnormally to certain proteins found in food producing IgE type antibodies and producing the symptoms described above. In addition, many foods contain similar proteins, so if you have allergy to hake is very likely to also develop allergy to other fish, that is what is known as cross-reactivity.

Although all foods can cause allergy, fish, seafood, nuts and fruit are the main cause of food in adult allergies, while milk and eggs are in small children.

With regard to the prevalence of the disease, in Spain, one of every four people suffers from some sort of allergic disorder, figure which, according to collect the Spanish society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC), will increase. The genetic component has much weight when it comes to suffering from an allergy, the ease of manufacture antibodies in allergic-type can inherit but can also be purchased over time ”, confirms Dr. Díez Melgosa. For this reason, allergic diseases are going to be producing a greater impact on public health generate increased consumption of health care and economic resources.

On the USP hospital group

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Madrid, USP hospital is the first hospital private group in the Spanish market. USP hospital now boasts a network of 12 hospitals and 23 health centres which assist 4,000 doctors that attend each year more than two million patients. In addition, at the beginning of 2012 it is expected that enters into operation a new Hospital USP La Bahía in the Campo de Gibraltar.