One of the most common diseases on Earth is skin allergy: spots itch, inflame and swell. Many people experience discomfort, burning and tearing of the eyes, tickling in the nose and nasopharynx, attacks of nausea and dizziness, gastric colic, swelling, irritability. The causes of this reaction can be very different, but the main ones are: pollen of plants, dust, citrus fruits or animal hair. Nevertheless, various rashes and redness may occur as a result of a reaction to other substances that seem completely harmless at first glance. These can be synthetic threads in clothing, the sun, cold, or foods such as fish, honey, or dairy products. Often a reaction occurs even to tomatoes. Allergy is an individual disease, therefore, each person can have their own allergen, and, as a result, everyone will have their own symptoms. So what is this ailment that affects millions of people around the world? Let's try to understand what kind of disease it is and why it arises.
What is an allergy?
An allergic reaction of the body can occur as a response of the immune system to the effects of any irritant (allergen). However, hundreds of various factors are constantly acting on us, but the body does not react to them in any way. They do no harm to health, so our body simply ignores them. Signs of an allergy appear when the immune system perceives one of them as a threat and begins to defend itself from it. Sometimes the protective reaction of our body can be so strong that our own organs and tissues suffer.
Most people who are allergic to tomatoes experience unpleasant symptoms after eating them. Therefore, most often, such manifestations of hypersensitivity are classified as food allergies. The condition for its appearance is the response of the immune system to the action of certain antigens - anthocyanin or lycopene. These are plant compounds that are part of red-burgundy vegetables, fruits and berries. However, there are cases when signs of allergies appear in response to various harmful chemical additives contained in plant products through the fault of manufacturers.
When does an allergy occur?
Three stages can be distinguished in the development of an allergy to tomatoes:
- At the initial stages of the development of allergic reactions, an explicit immune response of the system is not observed, there is a process of sensitization - increasing sensitivity to the antigen.
- The next step is the disruption of mast cells, which are an important part of the immune system. Due to their destabilization, active substances that cause changes in the body's tissues, such as histamine and serotonin, enter the bloodstream.
- External manifestations in the form of redness, itching, sneezing, nausea, pain in the abdomen and other symptoms are the last stage of the development of an allergy to tomatoes. How the reaction of the immune system to the antigen looks like depends on the characteristics of the human body.
Who is prone to allergic reactions?
Hypersensitivity of the body to the effects of irritating antigens appears in people who have a genetic predisposition to synthesize immunoglobulin E, the development of which requires a certain amount of time.
The immune system perceives the substances included in this vegetable as harmful and tries to get rid of them. The antibodies produced combine with foreign agents to form antigen complexes. This process stimulates the formation of antibodies and the degranulation of mast cells of the immune system. The process of allergic manifestations starts.
Tomatoes have the ability to directly affect mast cells, a process called false allergy to tomatoes. In this case, the symptomatology will be the same as with the true hypersensitivity, but without manifestations of severe forms. The reaction of the body will manifest itself after eating tomatoes in large quantities and not be detected at all after they are excluded from the diet. However, a true allergy reminds itself even with a slight ingestion of a vegetable, which is part of a dish. False symptoms of a tomato allergy can trigger the use of certain medications that cause the production of histamine or serotonin in the blood.
Symptoms and manifestations of reactions
Severe allergic symptoms may occur within an hour and a half after eating tomato, and may occur in a few days. Usually, signs of the disease are expressed:
- From the intestinal tract. Abdominal pain, digestive upset, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, heartburn.
- On the skin. Itching, hives, eczema, puffiness, various spots can occur even with allergies to pollen from tomatoes. Depending on the severity of the course of the disease, irritation of the skin can be local in nature or spread throughout the body.
- Irritation of the mucous membranes. After eating tomatoes, many people begin to sneeze and cough, a runny nose and increased watery eyes appear. This is due to the synthesis of histamine, which leads to increased permeability of blood vessels. As a result, small vessels located in the nose and nasopharynx begin to rapidly lose fluid, which provokes its discharge from the eyes and nose. In extremely rare cases, eating a vegetable can cause anaphylactic shock - a deadly reaction of the body. In this case, there is an instant development of edema of the face, lips, eyes, tongue. Respiratory failure due to edema of the respiratory tract. Such a process very often leads to death.
Possible complications
If the disease is not detected in a timely manner and treatment is not started in time, the allergy begins to transform into various forms of allergic dermatitis or bronchial asthma. Later, sensitivity to other allergens will be added to the allergy to tomatoes - it can be pollen of flowering plants, pet hair, some food and other potential irritants.
Diagnostics
Such hypersensitivity can have many different manifestations, so it is important to consider any symptoms of an allergy to tomatoes. Is there excessive sweating after eating this vegetable, distraction or irritability, anxiety, increased salivation, runny nose or lacrimation? Or maybe the signs of allergies are different? If such characteristic symptoms are present, it is necessary to consult an allergist.
Laboratory research
As the main methods for determining the disease, a blood test is used and allergy tests are performed. The study of blood composition gives the most accurate result for the presence of a reaction in the form of the synthesis of antibodies of immunoglobulin E.
A test conducted in the form of applications also gives a certain result. To carry it out, a sample of a potentially dangerous product is applied to a special applicator and attached to the patient's back. If inflammation appears on the skin within two days, then the vegetable really causes allergies. Sometimes they carry out prik tests. A small amount of the potential allergen is injected under the skin. The appearance of any reactions indicates the presence of hypersensitivity to tomatoes or allergies to tomato seedlings.
How to treat the disease?
The best way to deal with the signs of allergies is to follow a special diet. Often people resort to the help of medications. It can be antihistamines or special creams and ointments.
Another way to combat allergies is to increase the protective properties of the immune system. Enriching the diet with products containing a large number of antioxidants and healthy nutrients helps to strengthen the immune system. A strong and healthy body is able to withstand the effects of histamine, which, in turn, helps to prevent signs of a tomato allergy.
Antihistamines and allergy pills
The list of medications used for various forms of allergic reactions is quite wide. The use of special ointments: Fenistil, Vundekhil, Skin-Cap, Loratadin and other creams will help relieve unpleasant symptoms on the skin.
As oral medications, doctors usually recommend: Dimebon, Dimentinen, Difigidramin or Doksilamin, Kestin, Clemastine, Mebhydrolin, Loratadin and Meklozin. They may prescribe Promethazine, Sechifenadine and Telfast, Fexofenadine, Cetirizine, Hifenadine, and Cyproheptadine. However, all these drugs can only be used as directed by a doctor. The duration of the treatment course is 2-3 weeks.
Glucocorticoid preparations with anti-inflammatory properties are also prescribed - Hydrocortisone, Betamethasone, Triamcinolone or Fluticasone. In addition, the doctor may advise Prednisolone, Dexamethasone, or Fluocinolone Acetonide. They are prescribed for severe allergies, and in a short course, otherwise they can cause serious complications.
Sorbents Attapulgit, Calcium carbonate, Hydrolysis lignin, Lactofiltrum or Filtrum, Enterosgel and Eubikor can be added to the list of allergy pills.
In severe manifestations of allergic reactions with the likelihood of anaphylaxis, "Epinephrine" is prescribed intramuscularly. To relieve symptoms of bronchial asthma, bronchodilators are prescribed. In case of hypersensitivity with symptoms of diarrhea, “Attapulgite” or “Hydrolytic lignin” are used, and “Meclosin” against vomiting.
Alternative medicine
In folk medicine, there are many ways to deal with the signs of allergies. Decoctions of medicinal herbs have been widely used due to the excellent therapeutic effect and safety. However, even their reception should begin with a consultation with an allergist.
There are many recipes for preparing medicinal tinctures. Here are just a few of them, the most popular among the people.
For example, to prepare a decoction of valerian root, string, thyme, oregano, violet leaves, nettle, chamomile, licorice root and horsetail grass. Take 2 tbsp. tablespoons of chopped herbs, brew them in half a liter of hot water and boil the broth for 5 minutes. After that, it is filtered, cooled and consumed 4 times a day in half a glass.
In order to remove allergens from the body, in folk medicine there is such a recipe.
Take 1 tbsp. spoon of buckthorn bark, licorice root, burdock root, dandelion and fennel. Herbs are crushed, mixed and laid 5 tablespoons in a thermos. Pour boiling water and insist 12 hours. After that, the infusion is filtered and consumed 30 minutes before a meal in half a glass.
Diet
You can eliminate the symptoms of allergies with a certain diet. The allergen must be completely eliminated from the diet. You need to stop using tomatoes and any derivatives of them - juice, red sauces, ketchups. A particularly thorough study of the composition of the foods used is the basis of such a diet. In addition, you can try replacing fresh tomatoes with boiled or fried, because it is known that heat treatment destroys not only useful vitamins, but also some antigens.