Table of contents:
- What is a wheat allergy?
- Wheat allergy, celiac disease, and gluten intolerance
- What are the symptoms that can appear?
- Tests and drugs for wheat allergy
- Can allergic reactions be prevented?
Wheat is known as a good source of carbohydrates. Included in the type of complex carbohydrates, wheat takes longer to digest so that the energy obtained from its consumption will also last longer in the body.
Although it has a number of benefits, unfortunately wheat can also trigger food allergies in some sensitive people.
What is a wheat allergy?
Source: MDVIP.com
An allergic reaction from wheat is a condition in which a person's body is sensitive to substances contained in wheat. As a result, after consuming foods that contain these ingredients, several symptoms appear, such as itching or redness which is commonly referred to as an allergic reaction.
The reaction can occur because the immune system thinks the protein in wheat is a substance that is harmful to the body. Substances that cause allergies are called allergens. When the body is exposed to allergens, the immune system will produce antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE).
Later these antibodies send signals to the body's cells to release histamine to attack these substances. Histamine that attacks this substance will cause food allergy symptoms.
Wheat allergy mostly affects young children and usually goes away when they are adults. Usually, allergic reactions decrease when the child turns 12 years of age. However, there are also some people who develop allergies only as adults.
Apart from being more susceptible to attacking children, a person has a higher risk of developing a wheat allergy if the parents have food allergies. For those who also have other allergies or live with asthma, they should be careful with the possibility of a wheat allergy.
Wheat allergy, celiac disease, and gluten intolerance
Many people associate a wheat allergy with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, but the truth is that these three are different things.
People who are allergic to wheat can cause reactions from various types of protein in wheat, both albumin, globulin, gliadin, and gluten. While the trigger for celiac disease and gluten intolerance is the gluten protein itself.
Celiac disease is a condition in which the body overreacts to gluten contained in food. Once exposed to gluten, the immune system responds by attacking the healthy tissue in the small intestine.
This reaction will cause various digestive problems such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. In addition, the reaction can also damage the villi, the fine hairs in the intestines that function to absorb nutrients from food.
In people who are intolerant of gluten, their bodies do not have certain enzymes that can digest gluten, resulting in various symptoms that often attack the digestive system.
What are the symptoms that can appear?
Signs and symptoms of a wheat allergy reaction usually occur within a few minutes to several hours after consuming the food. Some of the symptoms of a wheat allergy are:
- itchy rash,
- hives, itchy rash, or swelling of the skin,
- a tingling sensation in the mouth and throat area,
- nasal congestion,
- stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting,
- diarrhea,
- headaches, as well
- hard to breathe.
In severe cases of wheat allergy, the symptoms are very dangerous and can be life-threatening. This reaction is also known as anaphylactic shock.
Tests and drugs for wheat allergy
If you feel the symptoms that have been mentioned after eating foods that contain wheat, you may have an allergy. Especially if the symptoms have occurred several times, to be sure you should immediately check with your doctor.
During the examination, the doctor will ask several questions about the symptoms you feel like what symptoms appeared, when and for how long the symptoms occurred, and what foods you consumed before experiencing the reaction.
Your doctor may also ask you and your family's medical history to see if there are other conditions or hereditary allergies.
After that, you still have to undergo a number of follow-up examinations. Some of these include blood tests to see the levels of antibodies causing your allergic reaction and a skin prick test for allergen exposure.
If the results are inconclusive, you may need to take an oral exposure test using allergens directly or go on an elimination diet.
If allergies tend to be mild, doctors usually only give antihistamine drugs. Please note, this drug is not intended to cure allergic conditions, but only to relieve the symptoms you feel. This medicine you can take after you are exposed to an allergen.
Another if you have a severe allergic reaction, the doctor will give you a drug in the form of an epinephrine auto-injection tool such as EpiPen or Adrenaclick. It should stay close to you and should be carried with you wherever you go.
Later, when symptoms or anaphylactic shock occur, this drug can be injected directly into the upper thigh area. After that, you must immediately be taken to the emergency room for medical help.
Can allergic reactions be prevented?
An allergic reaction is often unpredictable. Sometimes a reaction appears within minutes of eating a trigger food, other times an allergy will appear after a few hours.
If you have actually been diagnosed with a wheat allergy, the best thing you can do to prevent a food allergy is not to eat foods that contain wheat.
Remember to always read the ingredient composition label on every package of food products you want to buy. Wheat is mostly found in flour or bread and cake products, if you want to make these foods use alternatives that do not contain wheat.
Foods made from other grains such as corn, rice, quinoa, oats, rye, or barley can be safer choices. Products that have labels gluten free also usually can be consumed by those of you who have a wheat allergy.
If you are not sure about food ingredients or what you can consume, it's better to consult a doctor or allergist who can help you in compiling your daily diet.
