Sammanfattning
IgE-mediated food allergy is dominating among children with food hypersensitivity and can cause many allergic symptoms, ranging from itching in the mouth or skin rashes to death. More than 90% of all IgE-mediated acute allergic reactions to food are caused by milk, egg, peanut and tree nuts. Food allergy is diagnosed by medical history, skin prick test (SPT) or blood test for the detection of specific IgE antibodies. However, the presence of IgE antibodies (sensitization) is not synonymous with an allergy diagnosis. To be classified as allergic the child must have allergic symptoms caused by the same food as they are sensitized to. The dominating symptoms come from the skin and the mucosa. IgE levels in the blood or the wheal-size in SPT does not predict the severity of the reaction. Cross-reactions between pollen and plant-based foods are common and rarely give severe allergic symptoms.