Allergies Profile - Food

Complete IgE Food Allergy Assessment at Home

Vesta Care's Allergies Profile - Food delivers comprehensive IgE antibody testing for 44 common food allergens that could trigger immediate, potentially life-threatening reactions. This specialized blood analysis identifies which foods provoke your immune system's allergic response—from common triggers like peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and eggs to fruits, vegetables, grains, and spices consumed daily in Dubai's multicultural cuisine.

At AED 399, this extensive panel tests your immune system's IgE-mediated reactions to foods spanning every dietary category. IgE-mediated food allergies cause rapid reactions within minutes to hours, with IgE antibodies floating in the bloodstream identifying specific foods as threats. Understanding your true food allergies enables life-saving avoidance strategies and appropriate emergency preparedness.

Understanding IgE-Mediated Food Allergies

IgE-mediated food allergy reactions involve multiple body systems including skin, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and cardiovascular system. When you consume allergenic foods, pre-formed IgE antibodies bound to mast cells and basophils throughout your body trigger immediate release of histamine and inflammatory mediators, producing symptoms within seconds to two hours.

The most severe reaction is anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death. Peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, milk, and eggs represent the most common anaphylaxis triggers, though any food can provoke severe reactions in sensitized individuals. Unlike food sensitivities causing delayed symptoms, true food allergies require strict avoidance and emergency medication availability.

Comprehensive 44-Food Allergen Testing

This extensive profile tests major food allergen categories. Common allergens include peanut, tree nuts (hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pistachio, coconut), seeds (sesame, sunflower), and legumes (soy bean, pea, broad bean, green beans, lentils). Grain allergens tested encompass wheat flour, gluten, and rice flour—essential staples requiring careful monitoring.

Animal protein testing covers egg white, egg yolk, milk, casein, cheese, chicken, mutton, duck, and seafood including tuna, crab, shrimp, cod fish, and salmon. Fruit allergens include apple, kiwi, banana, mango, strawberry, orange, grapes, and date. Vegetable testing identifies reactions to carrot, tomato, potato, onion, and bell pepper.

Additional allergens tested include cacao, olive, and enzymatic proteins like bromelain, horseradish peroxidase, and ascorbate oxidase that may cross-react with various foods. This comprehensive coverage ensures identification of triggers across diverse cuisines—Middle Eastern, Asian, Western, and Mediterranean diets common in Dubai.

Recognizing Food Allergy Symptoms

Immediate symptoms requiring testing include skin reactions such as hives, itching, redness, swelling of lips/tongue/face, and eczema flare-ups. Gastrointestinal symptoms manifest as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea occurring within minutes to two hours of food consumption.

Respiratory symptoms indicating potential food allergy include throat tightness, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and persistent cough. Anaphylaxis occurs when symptoms affect two or more body systems, caused by the immune system flooding the body with chemicals.

Cardiovascular and neurological symptoms representing severe reactions include dizziness, weakness, rapid heartbeat, blood pressure drop, confusion, loss of consciousness, and feeling of impending doom. Deaths from anaphylaxis have occurred 30 minutes after eating a food allergen—emphasizing the critical importance of identifying triggers and maintaining emergency medications.

Life-Threatening Anaphylaxis Recognition

Anaphylaxis represents a medical emergency requiring immediate epinephrine administration and emergency care. Early warning signs include tingling or itching in mouth, throat tightness, metallic taste, sudden onset of hives, facial swelling, and abdominal cramping. Progressive symptoms develop rapidly—difficulty breathing, wheezing, persistent cough, voice changes, chest tightness, rapid weak pulse, severe blood pressure drop, confusion, and loss of consciousness.

Any person experiencing anaphylaxis symptoms requires immediate epinephrine injection followed by emergency transport to hospital, even if symptoms improve, as biphasic reactions can occur hours later. Children and individuals with asthma face higher anaphylaxis risk requiring enhanced vigilance and preparedness.

Accurate Blood-Based IgE Testing

Our comprehensive IgE blood test measures food-specific antibodies indicating true allergic sensitization. Blood collection at your Dubai location—from Palm Jumeirah to Dubai Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Village to Motor City—requires no fasting and minimal discomfort. Our DHA-licensed phlebotomists ensure professional sample collection meeting laboratory standards.

Blood testing offers advantages over skin prick testing for individuals taking antihistamines or medications interfering with skin tests, those with severe skin conditions preventing accurate skin testing, young children requiring testing, and anyone preferring convenient home collection. Results delivered in 4-5 days provide quantitative IgE levels for each tested food, indicating sensitization severity.

Managing Confirmed Food Allergies

Strict avoidance represents the only effective treatment for IgE-mediated food allergies. Reading ingredient labels meticulously, understanding food cross-contamination risks, communicating allergies clearly when dining out, avoiding shared cooking equipment, and maintaining allergen-free zones in home kitchens proves essential for preventing reactions.

Emergency preparedness requires carrying prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPen or equivalent) at all times, ensuring family members and caregivers understand administration techniques, wearing medical alert identification, developing written emergency action plans, and establishing relationships with allergists for ongoing management. Schools, workplaces, and social venues must be informed of severe food allergies enabling appropriate accommodation.

Some food allergies—particularly milk, egg, soy, and wheat—may resolve during childhood, though only about 20 percent of patients with peanut and tree nut allergies will outgrow them. Regular retesting under medical supervision determines if foods can be safely reintroduced.

Medical Consultation and Action Planning

Every Allergies Profile - Food includes physician consultation following result delivery. Our DHA-licensed doctors explain findings, correlate results with reaction history, develop personalized avoidance strategies, prescribe emergency medications including epinephrine auto-injectors, provide allergen management education, arrange allergy specialist referrals for complex cases, and establish protocols for safe food introduction.

Comprehensive allergy action plans document specific allergens, describe typical reaction patterns, outline emergency treatment protocols, and provide emergency contact information. These plans should be shared with family, schools, employers, and caregivers ensuring coordinated response during reactions.

Distinguishing Allergies from Sensitivities

This IgE test identifies true food allergies causing immediate, potentially life-threatening reactions—not food sensitivities or intolerances producing delayed symptoms. Food sensitivities involve different immune mechanisms causing digestive discomfort, headaches, and fatigue hours or days after consumption but never anaphylaxis.

Lactose intolerance, gluten sensitivity (non-celiac), and other food intolerances lack IgE involvement and require different testing and management approaches. Accurate diagnosis distinguishes which foods require complete avoidance versus which may be consumed in limited quantities or after specific preparation.

Book Your Comprehensive Food Allergy Assessment Today

Schedule your Allergies Profile - Food through Vesta Care at +971 52 270 4729. Our service operates throughout Dubai with same-day appointments, professional home collection, 4-5 day comprehensive results analyzing 44 food allergens, and complimentary medical consultation with personalized management guidance. Payment accepts payment links, cash, and credit cards.

Take control of your food allergy risk by identifying specific triggers. Comprehensive 44-allergen testing provides life-saving information enabling proper avoidance strategies and emergency preparedness—book your complete food allergy assessment now.