Worrying rise of the food allergies

Worrying rise of the food allergies
True public health problems, the food allergies can be serious, even mortals. Their importance is in increase in the adult population and particularly in the children. Lastly, the quality of life of the patients and their entourage is considerably faded. 

In January 2002, the French Agency of public health of food (AFSSA) drew up an alarming inventory of fixtures. 

A pathology which can be serious
Contrary to an generally accepted idea, the food allergies can be serious, sometimes mortal. The most dramatic consequences relate to the generalized reactions, in particular the shocks anaphylactic. Relatively rare at the children, the shocks anaphylactic and the oedemas of Quincke are more frequent starting from adolescence. The edema of Quincke is an allergic reaction occurring in subcutaneous fabrics. It can cause an asphyxiation mortal.

Vis-a-vis such risks, the best treatment remains unfortunately the prevention: it is necessary to avoid all food in question. In the event of anaphylaxie, the treatment consists of an immediate injection of adrenalin followed by an evaluation and monitoring in hospital medium.

The report/ratio specifies that “in many countries whose France, the majority of the allergists recommend to the people having antecedents of accidents anaphylactic to relate to them of the syringes of adrenalin ready with employment”.

Severe forms multiplied by five
Although few figures are available, the demonstrations of allergies would be in increase since the beginning of the years 1980 in the developed countries: food allergies, but also clinical demonstrations of asthma, dermatite atopic, allergic rhinitis, etc

The assessment of the AFSSA reports that in France “between the years 1982 and 1995, the number of severe forms would have been multiplied by a factor 5”. The last epidemiological investigation with the national scales reports that 2,1 to 3,8% general population suffers from food allergies. Although being able to occur at any age, the children are most exposed.

But this boom of the food allergies is to be relativized. Indeed, the health professionals pay an increased attention to the diagnosis of this disease whereas it was not the case before. However, according to the report/ratio of the AFSSA, the increase in these figures could also have other explanations among which:

Modifications of the social behaviors with the early exposure of the infants to a larger variety of allergens (disaffection of the breast-feeding) as well as a possible sensitizing of the fetus during the pregnancy or of new born during the breast-feeding;
A modification of the allergenicity of food during their industrial transformation. One thus notes an increase in the “masked allergens” which gather the ingredients known as proteinic (, dried milk egg white, etc) and the contaminations which have occurred during harvests, storage, the manufacture or the conditioning of the food products.

The “guilty” food
On the dock, the food most often put at the index is:

In the child, the egg is the first allergen (34% of the cases), in front of the groundnut (25%), milk (8%) and the fish (5%);
In the adult, the products of vegetable origin occupy the first place with in particular the fruits of the group latex (14%) followed closely by rosacées (13%). The oleaginous dry fruits and ombellifères account for 9,5% of the cases.
Group Bananes latex, lawyers, sweet chestnuts, kiwis
Group Amande nut, hazel nut, nut, Brazil nut, cashew nut, nut of pécan, pinion, pistachio
Ombellifères Dill, carrots, celery, fennel, parsley, seeds of caraway, anise seeds, coriandre
Rosacées Apricots, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, hazel nuts, fishings, pears, apples, plums
Leguminous plants Groundnut, soya, pea, beans, lens, broad beans 

Table of principal allergenic food by family
AFSSA - January 2002

The patients know a major deterioration of the quality of life due to which has occurred of the symptoms but also to the difficulty in detecting the guilty ingredients entering the composition of a product. Lastly, in spite of the existence of a project of individualized reception concerted with the parents, the schooling of the allergic child always poses problem. The parents must manage all the exits of class, the collations, the goûters, etc In certain establishments, it appears even difficult to register his/her child with the canteen of his school.