The following symptoms are not necessarily caused by allergies, but allergies can produce many symptoms, and should always be considered as a possible contributor to the symptom picture.

  • Note: The body can develop reactions to both food and airborne particles such as pollen.  Typically the airborne (IgE) reactions will be immediate and associated with the respiratory tract, ears, and eyes, but the reaction can extend to other locations.  The reaction to food is typically delayed a few minutes to a few hours or longer, making the connection between symptoms and ingestion of an allergic food less obvious.  Therefore serum testing for allergies is recommended if you have any of the following symptoms:

Symptoms of Allergies:

  • GI Tract:
  • Diarrhea, constipation, excessive gas
  • Bloated feeling, stomach pain
  • Belching
  • Ears
  • Itchy ears, earaches
  • Ear Infections, drainage from ears
  • Ringing in Ears
  • Hearing loss
  • Emotions
  • Mood Swings
  • Anxiety, fear, irritability, anger, aggressiveness, nervousness
  • Depression
  • Joint & Muscles
  • Pain in Joints, arthritis, stiffness, limitations of movement
  • Feelings of weakness
  • Aches in muscles
  • Mouth & Throat
  • Chronic Coughing, Gagging
  • Often clearing throat, chronic sore throat
  • Swollen tongue and/or lips, canker sores
  • Nose
  • Stuffy nose, Sinus problems, hay fever, sneezing
  • Excessive mucous
  • Skin
  • Acne
  • Hives, rashes
  • Hair loss
  • Flushing/hot flashes
  • Excessive Sweating
  • Energy & Activity
  • Fatigue, Sluggishness, Apathy, Lethargy
  • Hyperactivity, Restlessness
  • Eyes
  • Watery, itchy eyes
  • Swollen, sticky eyelids
  • Dark circles
  • Blurred vision
  • Weight
  • Binge eating, cravings, compulsive eating, excessive weight
  • Water retention
  • Underweight
  • Head
  • Headaches
  • Faintness, Dizziness
  • Insomnia
  • Lungs
  • Chest congestion, asthma, bronchitis
  • Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing
  • Mind
  • Poor memory, confusion, poor concentration, learning disablity
  • Stuttering/stammering
  • Other
  • Irregular or rapid heartbeat
  • Chest pains
  • Frequent illness
  • Urgent urination
  • Genital itch

Testing Methods:

A number of different methods of allergic testing are available:

  • Finger stick – Serum Antibody: A finger stick test can provide a less expensive and convenient screening method.  A lancet, absorbent paper, and mailer allow testing without a blood draw.  This test is currently available only for IgE testing, which is a food allergy panel.
  • Serum Antibody: Blood draw allergy tests are more expensive, but can provide data for more types of allergic reactions.  Typically 98-150 foods, chemicals.  This test can detect both IgE (airborne) and IgG (food) allergies.
  • Skin Prick: The skin is scratched with an antigen (allergen) to see if your body reacts to it.  This test is good for airborne allergies, but usually yields negative results for a foods.  This is an IgE based test, but does not measure antibodies.  It uses the diameter of the inflammation as the indicator of allergic reaction.  This test is typically done by an allergist in preparation for giving desensitization shots.

Development of Allergies via GI tract exposure:

Serum antibody panels detect the level of antibodies formed in the blood stream against foods.  A high level of antibody in the serum against a particular food may have formed because of the contact of undigested food molecules with the GI tract immune cells.  Such contact may occur in the presence of inflamed GI mucosa, which in turn may have formed in the presence of unhealthy bacteria or parasites.  

An unhealthy GI colonization of bacteria often results from taking antibiotics.  These unhealthy bacteria may irritate the GI tract, allow food molecules to penetrate the GI mucous membrane, produce a sensitization to the food molecules and overproduction of antibodies to the food,  When food molecules travel through the body, they may bind to certain tissues or lodge in the intracellular matrix of various organs.  The antibodies can then bind to these food antigens and stimulate a local immune response, thus creating symptoms.

Diagnosis and Treatment:

1) Diagnose the allergies via blood test

2) Treat by:

  • Avoidance of allergens
  • Balanced healthy diet
  • Repair of the GI mucosa by nourishment
  • Eliminate dysbiosis (parasites, pathogenic bacteria)
  • Replenish healthy bacteria
  • Support healthy adrenal function to control inflammation

Call Dr. Abshier for a food allergy evaluation:
503 255-9500