January 14, 2012

Allergies

I think this may be one of the areas where we really need to practice in order to take care of our bodies.  There are some foods, drinks, and nutrients that simply do not agree with our body chemistry.  These are the same foods that can cause us to be sick and some may even cause us to die if we are not careful to identify what we can consume and what we cannot consume.  Allergies can also be triggered by certain medications, equipment, latex gloves, and simply inhaling the element which does not agree with out immune system. Allergies are not to be taken lightly and when we realize that we have an allergy to a certain food, medication, or equipment we should immediately cease being in contact with that food or that element.  Approximately 6% of allergy sufferers have food/drug allergies as their primary allergy. Food allergy is more common among children than adults. 90% of all food allergy reactions are caused by 8 foods:  milk, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. For medication allergies, penicillin is the most common allergy trigger.   Nearly 400 Americans die each year due to drug allergies from penicillin.  More than 200 deaths occur each year due to food allergies and each year nearly 100 Americans die due to insect allergies.  10 deaths each year are due to severe reactions to latex allergy.  Now you see why it is not only important to watch what we eat, but it is equally important to watch the type of medications we take and the type of equipment that we may come into contact with in the doctors office.  The best way to determine what, if any, allergies that you have would be from experience or by going to your doctor and getting tested.