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Food Allergy Center - Mobile, AL

Mobile Asthma & Allergy Specialist Doctors for Food Allergy

Type of Physician: Asthma & Allergy Specialist

What is a Asthma & Allergy Specialist?

A certification by the Board of Allergy & Immunology; practitioners are expert in the evaluation, diagnosis and management of immune disorders.

Specialty: Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Common Name: Allergy Doctor

Asthma & Allergy Specialist Doctors in Mobile *

Diagnostic & Medical Clinic
Cindy T Patton
1700 Spring Hill Ave
STE STE 100
Mobile, AL 36604
(251) 435-1200

Pulmonary Associates of Mobile PC
Lawrence J Sindel
100 Memorial Hospital Dr
STE 1A
Mobile, AL 36608
(251) 343-6848

Asthma & Allergy Institute
Leonard J Caputo
548-B Boulevard Park W
Mobile, AL 36609
(251) 304-0042

Adult & Pediatric Asthma Allergy Ctr PC
Alma M Herrera
1032 Hillcrest Rd
Mobile, AL 36695
(251) 633-3311

Pulmonary Associates of Mobile PC
William L Davidson
7101 US Hwy 90
STE 201
Daphne, AL 36526
(251) 625-1370

Mobile, Alabama

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Food Allergy

Introduction to food allergies

Either food allergy or food intolerance affects nearly everyone at some point. When people have an unpleasant reaction to something they ate, they often think that they have an allergy to the food. Actually, however, only up to 3% of adults and 6%-8% of children have clinically proven true allergic reactions to food.

This difference between the prevalence of clinically proven food allergy and the public's perception of the problem is due primarily to misinterpreting food intolerance or other adverse food reactions to food as food allergy. A true food allergy is an abnormal response to food that is triggered by a specific reaction in the immune system and expressed by certain, often characteristic, symptoms. Other kinds of reactions to foods that are not food allergies include food intolerances (such as lactose or milk intolerance), food poisoning, and toxic reactions. Food intolerance also is an abnormal response to food, and its symptoms can resemble those of food allergy. Food intolerance, however, is far more prevalent, occurs in a variety of diseases, and is triggered by several different mechanisms that are distinct from the immunological reaction responsible for food allergy.

People who have food allergies must identify and prevent them because, although usually mild and not severe, these reactions can cause devastating illness and, in rare instances, can be fatal.

How do allergic reactions to food occur?

The allergens in food are those components that are responsible for inciting an allergic reaction. They are proteins that usually resist the heat of cooking, the acid in the stomach, and the intestinal digestive enzymes. As a result, the allergens survive to cross the gastrointestinal lining, enter the bloodstream, and go to target organs, causing allergic reactions throughout the body. The mechanism of food allergy involves the immune system...

Recommended Reading Related to Food Allergy

Hives »

Hives facts

  • Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes.
  • Hives are very common and most often their cause is elusive.
  • Hives can change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours.
  • Ordinary hives flare up suddenly.
  • Physical hives are hives produced by direct physical stimulation of the skin.
  • Treatment of hives is directed at symptom relief while the condition goes away on its own.
  • Antihistamines are the most common treatment for hives.
  • Hives typically are not associated with long-term or serious complications.

What are hives (urticaria) and angioedema?

Hives (medically known as urticaria) appear on the skin as wheals that are red, very itchy, smoothly elevated areas of skin often with a blanched center. They ap...

Emergency Contact for Mobile

  • In case of Emergency, call 911

Nearby Mobile Hospitals *

USA Children's & Women's Hospital
1700 Center St
Mobile, AL 36604
(251)415-1000

JLB Rotary Rehabilitation Hospital
5 Mobile Infirmary Cir
Mobile, AL 36652
(251)435-3400

Mobile Infirmary Medical Center
5 Mobile Infirmary Cir
Mobile, AL 36607
(251)435-2400

USA Medical Center
2451 Fillingim St
Mobile, AL 36617
(251)471-7000

Springhill Medical Center
3719 Dauphin St
Mobile, AL 36608
(251)344-9630

Infirmary West Hospital
5600 Girby Rd
Mobile, AL 36693
(251)660-5120

Providence Hospital
6801 Airport Blvd
Mobile, AL 36608
(251)633-1000

Mercy Medical
101 Villa Dr
Daphne, AL 36526
(251)621-4400

Thomas Hospital
750 Morphy Ave
Fairhope, AL 36532
(251)928-2375

North Baldwin Infirmary
1815 Hand Ave
Bay Minette, AL 36507
(251)937-5521

South Baldwin Regional Medical Center
1613 North McKenzie St
Foley, AL 36535
(251)949-3400

Searcy Hospital
725 E Coysmith Hwy
Mount Vernon, AL 36560
(251)662-6700

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