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Some Tips on the Treatment and Cure of a Yeast Allergy |
A yeast allergy can sneak up on you because yeast is always part of some other food and you do not eat it by itself. When you first begin to experience the symptoms of a yeast allergy, you may suspect you are dealing with a food allergy. But as it the case for anyone dealing with a new food allergy, sorting out what is in your diet that is causing the problem can be difficult.
The symptoms of a yeast allergy include a sore throat, headaches, nausea, sneezing and a feeling of itchiness and congestion in the nose. These symptoms can often be confused with hay fever or the early stages of a cold. But it is good to be aware that a yeast allergy may be causing the problem and then be ready to take the proper steps to solve the problem if that is the diagnosis.
A yeast allergy is the result of your immune system reacting in a hypersensitive way to a protein that is in yeast. Your immune system sees that protein as a danger and it generates histamines and other chemicals to combat those proteins. As those chemicals that the immune system uses to fight the perceived threat goes into your bloodstream, the outcome are the yeast allergy symptoms that can cause discomfort and even at times represent a health risk to you.
One way to tell if the symptoms you are experiencing may be the result of a yeast allergy are when you experience them. If they occur very quickly after eating or drinking, that is a big clue and it also gives you something to work with in terms of what foods were in your diet that day. Be alert that a yeast allergy can come from a wide variety of foods so don't jump to conclusion about what kind of food allergy you may have.
Treatment and cure of a yeast allergy starts with a consultation with your doctor. The first thing your doctor may do will be to confirm that your symptoms are the result of allergies and that the source of your problem is a yeast allergy. Your family doctor may bring in the services of an allergist or an immunologist because these specialized doctors will have gone through more training in how to treat your specific yeast allergy problem.
The testing process to discover if your problems are the result of a yeast allergy may take some time and patience. But to zero in on the yeast allergy, the doctor will apply a small amount of liquid yeast protein on your skin somewhere in the form of a liquid extract. Usually the sample being used to find out if you have a yeast allergy is put on the back or on your forearm. If your skin reacts by turning red or developing red bumps or symptoms of hives, that is an indication that the protein in yeast is causing a yeast allergy in your system.
There is a different kind of yeast allergy test that is similar to what you might conduct at home by eliminating some foods from your diet to see if you can isolate what is causing your yeast allergy symptoms. The food challenge approach to yeast allergy testing will work with you to eliminate all foods from your diet that could introduce yeast to your system. Your allergist will be good at identifying what foods to avoid and that list could get quite long.
Once all evidence of any yeast allergy symptoms stop, then your allergist will introduce a small sample of food that contains yeast to your diet so that he or she can observe your reaction. If a typical yeast allergy reaction occurs, then the allergist will have identified the problem. Then a program of avoidance can be developed so you can control your diet and not allow yeast into any food or drink that you consume.
The obvious types of foods to avoid to eliminate the effects of your yeast allergy are baked goods including breads and many desert items. You will also have to give up alcohol entirely because yeast is part of the process of making almost every kind of alcoholic beverage including whiskey, beer, scotch, cognac, brandies, bourbon and wine.
The lifestyle adjustments to eliminate a yeast allergy from your life can be intrusive. But as is true of most allergies, avoidance of the causes of the yeast allergy is the only treatment that is certain to work. There is no other real cure or treatment than to learn all you can about how to live without yeast in your diet. But once you have been successful at avoiding yeast in every circumstance where you might eat or drink, the reward of living free of the symptoms of a yeast allergy will make that effort worth it in terms of how much better you will feel all the time.
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