6 THE STRAITS TIMES JUNE 2 2011
Sudden food allergy
Food which you have been
eating for years may suddenly
produce an allergic reaction.
Lea Wee reports
F
ood-lover Ong Wei Ling, 30, was game
when a friend asked her to sample soba
(Japanese buckwheat noodles) in a
restaurant six years ago.
But five minutes into the dish, the
30-year-old manager said her throat
became dry and painful.
She said: “My stomach started churning and I
quickly went to the toilet and vomited.”
In the hospital, more than an hour later, her
body started to itch and break out in hives.
She became breathless and the doctor gave her
a shot of adrenaline, which improves breathing and
brings up blood pressure.
She was found to be allergic to the buckwheat
grain in soba.
Though food allergies are less common in
adults than children, they can strike for the first
time in adulthood.
Figures from the West show food allergies occur
in one to two out of every 100 adults, compared to
six to eight in every 100 infants, said Dr Cheng
Yew Kuang, a consultant allergist and
immunologist from Gleneagles Medical Centre.
People can carry on a food allergy from
childhood or acquire one in their adult years.
Unlike children, once adults have a food allergy, it
tends to persist, said doctors here.
Most children outgrow their food allergies, with
the exception of those who are allergic to peanuts,
tree nuts or shellfish.
Dr Cheng cited a 2007 study here which
showed that crustaceans, like shrimps and crabs,
and molluscs, like the cone-shaped limpets, are
the most common foods implicated in adult food
allergies.
Adults tend to be allergic to a wider variety of
food compared to children, said Dr Justina Tan, an
associate consultant in rheumatology, allergy and
immunology from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).
This may simply be because they are exposed
to more food, she said.
It also means a lot of detective work is needed
to find out which food is causing the reaction.
Dr Tan said: “Many ingredients can go into
preparing a particular meal. If a person develops
an allergic reaction after attending a 10-course
wedding dinner, we may have to liaise with the
hotel regarding each course that was served and
find out what was put into each dish.”
She has patients who are allergic to dragonfruit
and food baked or fried in dust mite-contaminated
flour. One patient, who thought he was allergic to
ang ku kueh (steamed glutinous rice flour cake),
turned out to be reacting to the mung beans
inside.
These types of food may not be included in the
commercial extracts of the skin prick test, when a
few drops of the purified allergen is introduced
through a pin prick in the skin’s surface to test for
a reaction.
Said Dr Tan: “Sometimes, we have to get our
nurses to buy the problem food outside so that we
can send it to the laboratory to make our own
extract for a skin prick test.”
Monosodium glutamate
The food additive called
monosodium glutamate (MSG)
has been implicated in MSG or
Chinese restaurant syndrome, but
it has not been proven to be the
Facebook fans
write in on
substance that causes this
Ms Ong Wei Ling carries condition. food allergies
an Epipen, which releases This is not a food allergy but a
adrenaline, with her after collection of symptoms that some “I am allergic to onions, spring
developing an allergy to people experience after eating onions, celery and coriander.
buckwheat six years ago. Sardine curry puffs and onion
Chinese food.
rings are a definite no. My eyes
Symptoms include chest pain,
will tear and swell and my face
headache, numbness or tingling in
will become swollen.
or around the mouth, swelling and I am also allergic to the
sweating. smell of lavender, coconut oil
Most recover from the and jasmine, as well as
syndrome without treatment and painkillers like aspirin.
with no lasting problems. All these allergies developed
PHOTOS: AP, FILE, MAK MUN SAN a year after my daughter was
born.
I used to be allergic to
prawns and crabs (my throat
would itch) but I suddenly
developed a tolerance to them
three years after my daughter
was born.”
Cyndi Cheong
“My dad had no allergies until
he reached his 50s and started
becoming allergic to various
food, medications, pollen and
dust. Now in his 70s, his
allergies are still a major
problem.”
Agnes Meurzec
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
“I’m allergic to kiwi fruit. It
Adults can react to a food they are eating for as a child, but continue to eat fish with no
causes my mouth and lips to
the first time or they could react to a food they problems throughout adolescence, only to
itch! I avoid eating it.”
were previously tolerant of. suddenly develop an allergic reaction to it as an
Yap Ai
Polytechnic student Low Si Pei, 19, developed adult.
itching, swelling around her mouth and breathing Dr Tan said people can also develop a reaction
difficulties after she ate fish during a Chinese New to a food they are eating for the first time if the
“MSG! I would find myself
Year dinner with her relatives in Malaysia in food shares a similar protein to another food they
Exercise hours after eating a particular aching and my face swelling
February. are sensitised or allergic to.
There is some truth to the food, usually shellfish or after dining at Chinese
She said: “As far as I can recall, I have been In children, food allergies are often blamed on Gluten
wheat. restaurants. Large amounts of
eating fish every day for years without any an immature immune system, which could explain Tennis player Novak Djokovic, saying: Do not exercise MSG-laden foods cause my
problem.” why many subsequently outgrow their allergies as who was said to be allergic to immediately after you eat. The odd thing is that he can
family members to experience
She did not believe she was allergic to fish. their immune system matures, said Dr Tan. gluten – the protein found in eat these foods without any
Exercise-induced food muscle spasms, aches and
A few days later, she decided to sample some In adults, however, she said it is still unclear wheat (above), rye, oats and reaction so long as he does not
allergy, an uncommon and soreness, mostly at the neck,
home-cooked tilapia. Again, she felt itching and what causes this “mature” immune system to exercise after eating them.
barley – made the news recently back and cheeks. The head
swelling around her mouth and an “uncomfortable change. under-recognised syndrome, This condition is more
when he went on a gluten-free also hurts. Only the females in
feeling” in her throat. Some researchers blame it on genes while occurs when a person common among teenagers and
diet and started winning my family seem to be affected.”
It was only then that she decided to see a others say it is the environment. exercises within two to four young adults.
matches. Liang Limin
specialist, who confirmed she was indeed allergic One theory is that viruses in the environment
People can become allergic
to fish. could weaken the immune system, but this theory
In food allergy, the immune system mistakes a remains unproven. to gluten, but gluten allergy is “MSG & artificial seasoning. My
particular food protein as harmful. Doctors do know, however, that adult food
more typically seen in people lips will become red and my
The first time the person eats the food, his allergies share certain traits with childhood food with coeliac disease, which may
skin will peel. This happens
immune system responds by creating allergies. share similar symptoms with
House dust mites or storage even after 42 years.”
immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies against it. The Both are more common in people who have food allergy such as nausea,
Hah Kee
person is said to be sensitised but not yet allergic another allergy, such as asthma, eczema or mites found in flour
diarrhoea, vomiting and
to the food protein. allergic rhinitis, said Dr Cheng. These mites can germinate
He becomes allergic when subsequent And like childhood food allergies, adult food bloating, but involves a different
immune system response. in flour that is not kept in Cyndi Cheong wins a $50
encounters invoke the same reaction from his allergies can also cause severe anaphylactic clean and dry conditions shopping voucher for the best
immune system, triggering the release of IgE reaction – a fact Ms Ong is well aware of. In coeliac disease, the
under a tightly closed lid. post. The winner should e-mail
antibodies and chemicals such as histamines. She carries a self-injectable dose of adrenaline immune system attacks the her full name, address, e-mail
This produces the classical symptoms of an called an Epipen in her handbag wherever she lining of the small intestine When food which is fried address, identity card number
allergy, such as hives, itching, nausea, diarrhoea goes. when gluten is consumed. It or baked using the and contact details to
or vomiting. But her allergy to buckwheat has not dampened may be diagnosed with a small contaminated floor is eaten sthealth@sph.com.sg by next
In a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, her love for sampling different types of food, intestine biopsy. by the person who is Wednesday. Specify ST MYB
the throat tightens and the blood pressure drops. including, most recently, puffer fish. Facebook as the subject.
It is a genetic condition and sensitised or allergic to the
The person can collapse or even die. She said: “I will be fine so long as I avoid
tends to be more common mites, it can trigger an
Nobody knows when a sensitised person will buckwheat.” www.facebook.com/
develop his first allergic symptoms, said Dr Tan. among Caucasians than Asians. allergic reaction. STMindYourBody
Someone like Ms Low can be sensitised to fish leawee@sph.com.sg