FOOD ALLERGY

The Sher Allergy Specialists team is specially trained to provide a full range of diagnostic services and personalized, innovative therapy for food allergy sufferers. Our goal is to optimize control by minimizing risk through accurate diagnosis and therapy options like Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) and patient education.

​

Our expert Allergists lead the care team and are on-site for every clinic visit. Every evaluation begins with listening to the patient’s concerns and food allergy journey. This detailed history and a physical exam inform testing options and treatment programs. Our team will regularly communicate with your other doctors and ensures an Allergist is available 24/7 every day in case of emergency.

​

​

ABOUT FOOD ALLERGY

​

Food allergies are an abnormal immune system response to an otherwise harmless food. The immune system is the body’s defender and in the case of food allergy, the immune system sees the problem food as an intruder. A severe immune system response resulting in life-threatening anaphylaxis requires immediate emergency care. 

 

Food sensitivity symptoms can mimic food allergy symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting, or cause uncommon symptoms such as constipation, fatigue, joint pain, “brain fog” and depression. Sher Allergy’s food allergy experts bring the same approach and expertise to food intolerance conditions such as: gluten sensitivity (Celiac Disease), lactose intolerance, gastroesophageal reflux, eosinophilic esophagitis, FPIES, digestive allergy, food allergy headaches, oral sensitivity syndrome, and histamine-related conditions.   

​

 

​

FOOD ALLERGIES AND SYMPTOMS

​

Even one food allergy reaction can increase your risk for more frequent and increasingly severe food allergy reactions. Common food allergies are: eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and sesame. They can produce the following symptoms within minutes to two hours after eating or being exposed:

• Itching

• Hives

• Trouble breathing

• Swollen lips, tongue or throat

• Diarrhea, vomiting, nausea

• Weak and rapid pulse, including fainting and dizziness

• Irregular heart rate or low blood pressure 

​

Less common food allergies are:  Alpha-gal allergy (Meat allergy), Pollen-Food Allergy syndrome, Airborne Food Allergy (cooking vapors), Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES), Proctitis/Proctocolitis in infants, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE).

​

​

STATE OF THE ART FOOD ALLERGY TESTING

​

Some food allergies developed during childhood can be outgrown, like cow’s milk and egg allergies. However, peanut, tree nut, and shellfish allergies can last a lifetime. It is critically important that children and adults with a documented food allergy diagnosis or prior food allergy reaction be re-tested to determine whether the food allergy is still present. Food allergic reactions can become increasingly severe with exposure so it is never safe to assume that you have outgrown a food allergy. The first step in evaluating for food allergy is a thorough medical history and physical examination, with particular attention to the experience(s) that resulted in food allergy symptoms. Our Allergists may ask you questions about the quantity of problem food consumed and time elapsed between eating the food and onset of food allergy symptoms. 

​

Allergy skin prick or scratch tests, blood testing, and oral food challenges are safe diagnostic tools that lead to an accurate food allergy diagnosis when performed by a trained and board-certified Allergist. Selecting the appropriate food allergy tests or a combination, and then expertly interpreting the results of testing, are the cornerstones of the Sher Allergy diagnostic approach. Patients are closely monitored during allergy testing. Because we know you are concerned and eager to manage dangerous food allergies, Sher Allergy Specialists strives to perform allergy testing and review the preliminary results with you during the initial evaluation.

​

​

CUTTING-EDGE FOOD ALLERGY TREATMENT

​

Sher Allergy combines innovative and cutting-edge food allergy treatment in its Oral Immunotherapy Clinic with patient education to manage risk, avoid accidental exposure, and be emergency epinephrine prepared.  Sher Allergy is a leader in Oral Immunotherapy and was the only allergy and immunology specialty group in Pinellas County selected to conduct clinical research trials on the safety and efficacy of Palforzia, the first and only FDA-approved peanut allergy therapy. 

​

​

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

​

Food allergy testing and desensitization therapy aimed at increasing tolerance to a problem food can be dangerous and should not be done at home. We urge you to ensure you have a trained and board-certified Allergist by your side in an allergy clinic when food allergy is explored. Alternative DIY testing and treatment kits are expensive, often produce inaccurate results, and leave you on your own to interpret the implications and action steps. Sher Allergy Specialists is a trusted full-service allergy clinic for generations of children, adults, and families. Our innovative and effective approach to controlling food allergy is rooted in safe, evidence-based, FDA-approved, insurance-covered services.