Allergy Defined
If you should develope an itchy or runny nose in early summer, or sneezing, sore eyes, especially after flower blooms or cut grass , then you may realise that you have”hay fever”, or allergy to pollen.
There are many clues to the emmergence of an allergy , it can be seasonal , location, occupation, hobbies or
diet.These clear clues to indicate that synptoms are a result of an allergic reaction to something, and there are common products that may be the culprit. On occassion it may be very difficult to locate a specific allergy causing substance or environment, and these are the worst.
Your doctor will have a test kit containing the most common offenders and a test is painless and can eliminate a few possibles if it does not locate the main problem.
Self diagnosis of allergies is not easy and not without risks.
From a practical point of view it can only be done with allergenic substances which it is possible to avoid such as foods, but even then diagnosis is difficult and not always correct.
As will be mentioned there are some foods, containing the same chemical, to which a patient will be
sensitive, but only if he/she takes them in the same meal or on the same day will problems occur. Each food, on its own, will probably not cause symptoms.
Bearing that in mind, the main methods of self-diagnosis in food allergy are explained below.
The food diary
This involves keeping a diary of foods ingested, together with a record of symptoms. If the sensitivity is to a single food (which is not usually the case) then this method will readily identify the offending item. It is also sometimes possible to show from a food diary that one item in the diet is taken more often and in larger quantity than average. As there seems to be a close association between intolerance and addiction – or at least a particular liking for a certain food – anything taken in excess may be the culprit.
