What is tomato allergy? It is a condition where the skin is over sensitive to tomatoes or also called the type 1 hypersensitivity to tomatoes. There are other type 1 allergies for different food or objects such as metal. This allergy is also popular by the name of contact allergy. The contact allergy happens when the skin is in contact with the objects that can cause the allergy or allergen. The cause of this allergy is the histamines that are released at the point of contact so that the skin or other areas of the bodies are showing rashes and other allergic reactions.
The tomato allergy may not be very popular because it is a rare condition. Despite of the number of tomato being consumed (especially during summer) and other tomato based products, the number of the tomato allergy is very low. When a person has tomato allergy, he or she will also be showing the same allergic reaction toward other nightshades such as tobacco, potatoes and eggplants. Thanks God for the low number of nightshade allergy because personally I never think of not being able to eat those food without having to suffer.
People with tomato allergy will show the allergic reaction in several different ways. Usually the reactions will come almost immediately after consuming one of those food. The symptoms of the tomato allergy may include:
- Skin rash
- Eczema
- Hives
- Abdominal cramps
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Itch in the throat
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Wheezing
- Runny nose
- Swelling in the contact area such as mouth, face, throat and tongue
- And very rarely, some may be anaphylaxis
When a person is experiencing one of those problems above after consuming certain goods, then he or she must test themselves to know which of the food was being consumed was the culprit. There are two ways to know if he or she has tomato allergies. The first is to have a skin prick test and the later would blood test. These tests will detect the igE immunoglobulin.
To avoid having another allergic reaction, a person with this allergy should avoid consuming the food. But when he or she already has the allergic reaction, that is when he or she has rashes on the point of contact, then the best treatment would be with antihistamines as well as topical steroidal oinment. These are the same treatments for different allergies with rash.
