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Medical Author:

Jatinder Singh, MD

Coauthor:

Mark Clark, MD

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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The only sure way to prevent future food allergies is to avoid eating a trigger food. Take care because a trigger can be present in many different foods; only a trace amount can cause a reaction.

• Learn to read food labels carefully and know which ingredients to avoid.
• When eating in restaurants, the person should ask what ingredients are in foods they would like to order.
• The person should avoid foods whose ingredients they can't confirm.
• Work with a registered dietitian to plan safe menus.
• Check into special food-allergy cookbooks and groups such as the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network that deal with issues specific to food allergies.

The person should be prepared to deal with an anaphylactic reaction if they are exposed to the culprit food again. If the person has had a severe reaction before, he or she should carry their epinephrine kit.

Never underestimate the danger of an allergic reaction.

Allergy shots and other forms of immunotherapy are being tested in some people who have persistent and disruptive food allergy symptoms.

• The shots do not treat symptoms, but by altering the immune response they prevent future reactions. (This is referred to as immunotherapy.)
• Treatment involves a series of shots, each containing a slightly greater amount of the antigen(s) that cause the reaction.
• Ideally, the person will become "desensitized" to the antigen(s) over time.
• While these are used for allergies to environmental factors such as pollens and insect venoms, their use in food allergies is still under investigation, and they and have not been proven to prevent allergic reactions.
• The effectiveness of shots varies by individual.

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