Food Allergies For Dummies

Food Allergies For Dummies

About the Authors

Dedication

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Contents at a Glance

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Feasting on Food Allergy Fundamentals

Chapter 1: Breaking Out with Food Allergies

Pinning Down Food Allergy: What’s an Allergy, and What’s Not?

Meeting the Many Faces of Food Allergies: Signs and Symptoms

Investigating the Conspiracy: Allergens and Other Contributing Factors

Labeling Your Maladies with a Doctor’s Diagnosis

Battling Back with Medications, Modifications, and Other Therapies

Getting the Lowdown on Potential Futuristic Cures

Living Large with Your Food Allergies

Unmasking Common Food Allergy Myths

Chapter 2: Turning Allergies Inside Out: Probable Causes and Common Symptoms

Finding Out What’s Wrong with Your Food

Finding Out What’s Wrong with You

Exploring the Sudden Rise in Food Allergies

Gauging Your Child’s Risk for Developing a Food Allergy

Exploring Common Signs and Symptoms

Chapter 3: Spotting the Usual Suspects: Wherefore Art Thou, Allergen?

Naming the Common Culprits

Ingesting Allergens with Your Food

Calming the Fears of Contact Reactions

Clearing the Air About the Risks of Airborne Allergens

Chapter 4: Picking On Peanuts: A Potentially Deadly Foe

Investigating the Allergic Nature of Peanuts

Playing Find-the-Peanut on Your Plate

Inhaling Peanut Dust: Airborne Reactions

Steering Clear of the Other Nuts

Part II: Progressing from Hives to Hope: Diagnosis and Treatment

Chapter 5: Labeling Your Ailments with an Accurate Diagnosis

Taking a Flyover View of the Diagnostic Journey

Self-Screening for Food Allergies

Taking a Trip to Your General Practitioner

Seeking an Allergist’s Advice

Getting the Skinny on Allergy Workups

Looking for Clues with Additional Diagnostic Tools

Chapter 6: Concocting Your Own Avoidance Diet

Setting Sensible Goals

Drawing Up Your Avoidance Diet

Decrypting Food Labels: Allergen-Savvy Grocery Shopping

Approaching Warning Labels with Caution

Feeding Your Nutritional Needs

Taking Turns with a Rotation Diet

Chapter 7: Making It Stop: Finding Symptomatic Relief

Pro-Acting and Reacting to Anaphylaxis

Dealing with Itchy Stuff: Eczema

Dealing with More Itchy Stuff: Hives

Alleviating Gut-Retching Food Allergies

Catching Your Breath . . . Asthma Symptoms and Treatments

Treating a Chronic “Cold”: Allergic Rhinitis

Chapter 8: Debunking Alternative Tests and Therapies

Exposing Meaningless Tests and Other Mumbo Jumbo

Demystifying Homeopathy: A Little Hair of the Dog That Bit You

Deflating the Hype Surrounding Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs

Addressing the Leaky-Gut Hypothesis

Healing Yourself through Mind, Body, and Soul Manipulations

Solving Allergies through Acupuncture or Acupressure

Chapter 9: Exploring Cures from Mice to Man: Current Research

Muting Allergen Sensitivities through Immunotherapy

Treating Your Allergies to an Ancient Chinese Herbal Remedy

Fighting Back with Anti-IgE Antibody Therapy

Investigating Other Futuristic Treatments

Part III: Living Well with Your Food Allergies

Chapter 10: Living at Home with Your Allergies

Dumping the Bad Stuff . . . or Not

Stocking Up on the Essentials

Cooking and Dining Safely in the Midst of Allergies

Organizing an Information Station

Chapter 11: Eating Out and Traveling with Food Allergies

Preparing for Your Outing

Taking Your Allergies Out to Dinner

Traveling with Your Allergies

Chapter 12: Conquering the Challenges of Daycare and Preschool

Making the Big Decision: To Send or Not to Send

Finding the Right Daycare Center or Preschool

Teaming Up with Your Child’s Daycare Center or Preschool

Chewing on Some Snack-Time Issues

Keeping Parties Fun while Making Them Safe

Chapter 13: Sending Food Allergies Off to School: K-12

Selecting an Allergy-Safe Educational Environment

Making a Safe School Safer for Your Child

Packing for Lunchtime: Cafeteria or Brown Bag?

Protecting Yourself without Becoming a Party Pooper

Taking Your Allergies on a Field Trip

Going Behind the Scenes with 504 Plans

Chapter 14: Empowering Your Adolescent or Teenager

Fostering an Atmosphere of Empathy

Empowering Your Teen to Take on More Responsibility

Getting a Little Help from Your Friends

Mastering the Art of Acceptable Risk Taking

Laying Down Some Safe Dating Guidelines

Chapter 15: Preventing and Outgrowing a Food Allergy

Preventing Food Allergies: Hope or Hype?

Ranking the Likelihood of Outgrowing an Allergy Food by Food

Speculating on the Timing

Prodding Your Allergy to Vacate Sooner

Monitoring and Managing Your Allergies

Safely Reintroducing the Problem Foods

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Chapter 16: Teaching Your Child Ten Key Food Allergy Lessons

Finding Comfort in Numbers: Lots of People Have Food Allergies

Decoding Labels and Asking Questions

Teaching Your Friends a Thing or Two

Sitting at the Cleanest Table in the Cafeteria

Eating Off a Plate or Napkin

Steering Clear of Sloppy Eaters

Avoiding Lunch Room Food Swaps and Food Fights

Stocking up on Some Healthy, Yet Yummie Snacks

Asking for Help Immediately when You Start Feeling Funny

Carrying a Health Emergency Card

Chapter 17: Packing Ten Key Food Allergy Tips for Camp, College, and Other Outings

Packing Fresh Medications

Taking Your Allergy Free Diet on the Road

Packing Emergency Information and Instructions

Identifying One or More Point Persons

Tweaking Your Emergency Plan

Training Counselors and Other Personnel

Giving Your Child a Refresher Course

Choosing a Food Allergy–Friendly Camp

Educating Bunkmates and Roommates

Buddying Up with a Food Allergy Savvy Pal

Chapter 18: Substituting Foods and Ingredients: Ten Common Dietary Substitutions

Discovering Peanut and Peanut Butter Alternatives

Replacing Milk, Ice Cream, and Yogurt

Discovering a Better Butter

Checking Out Some Cheesy Substitutes

Trading in Your Chocolate

Whipping up a Fake Egg Mixture

Finding a New Staple: Wheat-Free Breads

Breakfasting with Wheat-Free Cereals

Baking Your Goodies with Wheat-Free Flour

Discovering Safer Thickening Agents

Chapter 19: Exploring Ten Outstanding Food Allergy Web Sites

Tapping Online Resources at FAAN: Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

Communing with the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics

Investigating the Food Allergy Initiative

Poking Around in the Food Allergy Kitchen

Visiting AAFA: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Accessing Anaphylaxis Canada

Dropping in on the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology

Attending the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology

Joining the Anaphylaxis Campaign

Gathering Additional Information at AllAllergy. net

Chapter 20: Responding to a Severe Reaction: Ten Do’s and Don’ts

Identify the Symptoms

Tell Someone Immediately

Remain As Calm As Possible

Respond Immediately

Administer Medications

Call 911

Don’t Drive Yourself

Call Your Doctor

Call Family or Friends

Review What Happened

Part V: Appendixes: Allergy-Friendly Recipes and Other Treats

Appendix A: Breads & Breakfasts

Appendix B: Main Courses

Appendix C: Snacks and Cookies

Appendix D: Cakes and Desserts

Appendix E: Glossary

Index