Tomato allergy

Nowadays, food allergy is considered to be the most common disease in the world. There is an idea that allergy to tomatoes appears because they contain a red pigment, which is the reason for the development of such a reaction in a person.

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Causes tomato allergies

This type of allergy is called food allergy. It occurs due to a person's allergic reaction to one of the substances present in tomatoes - anthocyanin or lycopene. But it should also be understood that sometimes there are cases of intolerance to various chemical additives and other harmful ingredients that get into tomatoes due to the process of their cultivation in production - these are food additives nitrates, various dyes and preservatives. It should be noted that tomatoes themselves can be tolerated completely normally.

Symptoms tomato allergies

The symptoms of hypersensitivity to tomatoes are very similar to the symptoms of any other food intolerance. They can appear either 1-1.5 hours after eating the allergen, or only after several days.

The most common symptoms of tomato allergy are considered to be the following:

• Pain in the stomach, diarrhea and vomiting with nausea;
• Bronchial spasms, the development of conjunctivitis, severe attacks of bronchial asthma, as well as persistent runny nose;
• Lowering blood pressure;
• The mucous membranes (especially the throat and lips) and the skin begin to swell, large blisters, hives, and severe itching appear. The skin becomes dry to the touch and rough;
• Rarely, an allergy can cause a state of anaphylaxis;
• A blood test reveals an increased concentration of immunoglobulin E in the serum – this factor indicates that the allergy has become severe. When this indicator has an average level, it means that the allergy is latent.

Allergy to yellow tomatoes

Usually, orange or yellow tomatoes do not cause intolerance, since they contain almost no allergen that many red fruits, vegetables and berries contain – anthocyanin.

Tomato pollen allergy

An allergy to tomato pollen sometimes occurs when working in a greenhouse or when planting seedlings in a city apartment. In such a case, there is a high saturation of the allergen in the air of a small, rarely ventilated room.

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Tomato allergy in a child

An allergy to tomatoes in a child can manifest itself immediately after he/she first consumes this vegetable. Because children, unlike adults, can have various complications, before giving their child tomatoes for the first time, parents need to discuss this issue with a pediatrician.

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Complications and consequences

If you do not start treating allergies in time, over time it can first transform into chronic bronchial asthma or allergic dermatitis. And later, after 3 years, in addition to intolerance to tomatoes, intolerance to wool, pollen, cosmetics, ordinary dust and other irritants will also appear.

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Diagnostics tomato allergies

An application test for detecting allergic intolerance, which can be used to determine whether a person has hypersensitivity to tomatoes. To conduct the test, you need to lubricate the applicator with a sample of the product (tomato), then attach it to the patient's back for 1-2 days. If irritation occurs on exposed areas of the skin, this indicates the existence of intolerance.

A test prick that detects allergies by placing a small amount of food containing the allergen under the skin using a sterile needle. If the person later develops eczema, irritation or blisters, this will confirm the presence of an allergy.

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Tests

The most accurate way to detect an allergy to tomatoes is with a blood test. After exposure to an allergen, the human body begins to produce IgE – the so-called immunoglobulin E antibodies, and the test allows you to check for the presence of these substances in the blood. If the test result is positive, you can confidently say that the person suffers from an allergy to tomatoes.

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Differential diagnosis

Food allergy should be differentiated from poisoning, mental disorders, metabolic disorders, diseases and anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract, infections. In addition, differential diagnostics should be performed with immunodeficiency, endocrine diseases, IBS, drug overdose, disaccharidase deficiency, pancreatic endocrine dysfunction, as well as gluten enteropathy, etc.

Treatment tomato allergies

Tomato allergy can be eliminated with a special diet. Like any other food intolerance, it should be treated by eliminating the allergen from the diet. To do this, you should stop eating tomatoes and any of their derivatives - ketchup, any red sauces, and tomato juices. In addition, you should always and with special care study the composition of all the dishes that you are going to eat. In addition, since it is known that antigens that are the causative factors of allergies can be eliminated by heat treatment, you should try to eat boiled vegetables instead of fresh ones.

Medicines

The following medications may be used during drug therapy:

Antihistamines, which help improve the condition by reducing the severity of symptoms. Doctors mainly prescribe the following drugs: Dimebon and Dimethinene, as well as Diphihydramine and Doxylamine; in addition, Kestin and Clemastine, Mebhydrolin, Loratadine and Meclozine. Promethazine, Sequifenadine and Telfast, as well as Fexofenadine; Cetirizine, Quifenadine and Cyproheptadine may also be prescribed.

Medicines can be used only with a doctor's prescription. The treatment course lasts approximately 2-3 weeks.

Glucocorticoids that relieve inflammation. These include Hydrocortisone, Betamethasone, Triamcinolone, and Fluticasone. In addition, Prednisolone, Dexamethasone, and Fluocinolone Acetonide may be prescribed.

Epinephrine, which is administered intramuscularly. This drug relaxes the muscles of the respiratory tract, thereby easing impaired breathing. It is used if there is a risk of anaphylaxis.

A bronchodilator that helps relieve the symptoms of bronchial asthma.

Medicines that eliminate diarrhea: Attapulgite, as well as hydrolytic lignin.

Anti-vomiting drug Meclizine.

Corticosteroids, which are prescribed only for severe allergies. They should be used only in short courses, because long-term use can cause serious complications.

Serotonergic drug Cyproheptadine.

Sorbents, including: Attapulgite, Calcium Carbonate, Hydrolytic Lignin, Lactofiltrum, and Filtrum. In addition, Enterosgel and Eubicor are prescribed.

A desensitization process is carried out, during which Zaditen (Ketotifen) is taken for 1.5-3 months - 1 mg 2 times a day.

Traditional and herbal medicine

Traditional methods of treating allergies:

• Recipe #1. A decoction of medicinal herbs. The ingredients include 1.5 tablespoons of valerian root and succession, as well as 1 tablespoon of thyme, oregano, violet leaves, nettle and chamomile, licorice root and horsetail herb.

The tincture should be prepared as follows: take 2 tablespoons of chopped herbs and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over them. Boil this decoction for 5 minutes, then strain. The tincture should be consumed 0.5 cups four times a day.

• Recipe #2. Tincture that helps remove allergens. Ingredients include 1 tbsp each of buckthorn bark, licorice root, burdock root, dandelion root, and fennel fruit.

Preparation of the tincture: chop the ingredients and mix, then pour 5 tbsp of the mixture into a thermos. Then the decoction should be infused for 12 hours, and then it should be filtered through a sieve. The decoction should be consumed 0.5 cups before meals (30 minutes). It is necessary to repeat the intake until all symptoms of the disease disappear.

• Recipe #3. Herbal tea from succession. Ingredients: 1.5 cups of boiling water and 1 tbsp. succession.

Preparation: pour boiling water over the chopped succession and leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then strain through a sieve. You need to drink the drink throughout the day, replacing regular tea or coffee with it. Remember that for each new time you need to brew a fresh portion of herbs.

• Recipe #4. A collection that helps eliminate food allergies. Ingredients: 5 parts each of celandine, sage leaves, and couch grass rhizome, 10 parts of viburnum flowers, 3 parts of elecampane root, and 2 parts of licorice root.

The tincture should be prepared in the following way: grind the tincture components in a coffee grinder, pour 1 tbsp of the resulting mixture into a thermos, then pour boiling water (250 g) over it. Then leave the decoction for 8 hours, and then strain through a sieve. Drink the tincture four times a day, before meals.

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Prevention

To prevent allergies, it is necessary to drink a complex of micro and macroelements, as well as vitamins, which has a general strengthening effect. The complex is based on drugs containing calcium. Sometimes enterosgel can be prescribed to cleanse the body. These procedures are allowed to be carried out only under the supervision of the attending physician.

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Forecast

An allergy to tomatoes, like other allergic tendencies, remains for life. But what its manifestations will be and their frequency depend on the diet, the state of the immune system, and also the lifestyle.

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