食物過敏困擾不少人，病情嚴重者可以威脅生命．病人亦更容易出現其他過敏症。

最常見的致敏原有雞蛋，花生，牛奶，海產，麥類，豆類，果仁類，甚至一些水果。

所引起的徵狀亦非常多樣化，較常見的有痕癢、紅腫、蕁麻疹、溼疹、腹痛、噁心、嘔吐、腹瀉、氣喘、咳嗽、眼睛搔癢紅腫等。這些徵狀可以十分輕微，但嚴重時卻也會對生命構成危險。 


口服脫敏治療食物過敏

科學家近年正努力研究食物過敏或許可以用致敏的相同食物作口服脫敏治療。首先使患者能容忍至某一份量，繼而達至完全脫敏。

嚴重食物過敏者因誤食致敏原可導致非常嚴重的過敏發炎及休克反應，可以致命。

最近英國劍橋大學醫院過敏科便對23名兒童作研究，當中21名兒童能以口服方法達至花生脫敏。此研究項目亦將擴大至試驗治療104名兒童。

在此警告千萬不要自行在家中試食，現在還在試驗階段，而且必須在醫院進行，因所產生的反應可以非常危險。


Food Allergy Oral Immunotherapy

Researchers have been working on oral immunotherapy (OIT) for patients with food allergy by treating them with small amounts of the same food allergen that they are allergic to.  The patient may develop tolerance initially, then, desensitization utimately. 

People with severe food allergy can get life-threatening anaphylactic reaction if food allergen is taken.

Recently, a team at the Department of Allergy, Cambridge University Hospitals have done a pilot study on oral immunothrapy for peanut allergy patients.  The study showed that 21 out of 23 children were effectively desensitised to peanut.  A larger scale research on 104 children has been granted to further study on the treatment method.
 
It is warned that the OIT must not be attempted at home, the procedure must be done at hospital with close monitoring due to potential serious consequences.