Diagnosing Food Intolerance
For Safety
Before diagnosing food intolerance, a physician must rule out the possibility of a true food allergy. Therefore, a skin prick test needs to be done to determine possible allergens. Your physician needs to first determine if your sensitivity is affecting your immune system, which is a signal of a food allergy. When The Skin Test Results Are Negative...When a negative skin prick test is returned, but by first impressions your doctor feels there is a possibility of an allergy, a physician will often use your symptoms as the next judging factor in diagnosing food intolerance vs. food allergy. While symptoms of asthma or eczema generally develop with an allergy, a food intolerance does show a different set of symptoms. Usually the patient will express pain from a migraine or unusual bouts of depression, muscle fatigue, weakness and soreness. Actually a food intolerance can affect every single part of the human body's systems.Another deciding factor between the two conditions is time. According to conventional medicine a food allergy will show some kind of symptoms within minutes to an hour after exposure, but an intolerance can be more difficult to pinpoint because it can be 24 hours or more before symptoms do appear. Because a skin prick test can not be used in diagnosing food intolerance, the alternative standard test used in diagnosing food intolerance is the food elimination diet. Under a doctor's supervision, you are requested to avoid all foods you commonly eat for 7-20 days. After this your doctor will document any changes. Be advised though, the first 5-6 days most people state all of their symptoms seem to intensify to extremely uncomfortable levels. Then by the end of the week a noticeable improvement is felt every day. As you can see, the elimination diet is a very lengthy and often unreliable testing procedure also. This is whether it is being used in conventional medicine or alternative medicine. Usually after three weeks if the patient shows no appreciable changes, the elimination diet test will be abandoned. Alternative Testing Procedures: Are They ReliableBecause of inconsistencies and inconclusive test findings, a medical practitioners lack of knowledge, or the unfortunate lack of qualified allergists in many areas of the world, many people have turned to alternative therapies for relief. Some of these people advocating alternative treatments though do not have the education or experience needed to enter into this field. As with any other program, yes there will be some triumphs and then there is some people who get no relief at all. So the major deciding factor here is check and double-check your care-giver's credentials, experience and education first to verify they have the capabilities of diagnosing food intolerance correctly for your future health and safety.
Return to "Allergy Vs. Intolerance" from "Diagnosing Food Intolerance".
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*Disclaimer*
This site is not intended to replace the advice and supervision of your professional medical treatment plan. Although all of the information is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge, we still recommend you carefully check all food labels before consuming any food product. We can not assume any legal responsibility for any illness obtained while following the advice contained on this site.
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