How Do Adult Onset Allergies Occur?

After eating shrimp all your life, it may seem impossible to suddenly develop an allergy. But it can happen. Though allergies are more common in children, you can develop allergies to anything, even food you’ve been eating all your life, as an adult.

What happened? Why now?

We get these questions a lot at Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Associates at our Tampa and Brandon, Florida, offices. Adult-onset allergies are a hard thing to wrap your head around, but they can happen to anybody.

Take a moment as our expert team wants to explain how adult-onset allergies occur and what you can do to manage them.

Understanding allergies

Before we explain how you’ve suddenly developed allergies to your favorite food, you need to understand more about allergies. 

The process starts with your immune system and its need to protect you from harmful substances. When you come in contact with a germ, your immune system sends out antibodies to kill the germ so you don’t get too sick.

Allergies are treated the same way. Something that might not be harmful to most people could be an allergen to you, and when you come into contact with it, your immune system sends out an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) to protect you. 

The antibody triggers cells to release histamine and other substances, which cause the allergic reaction, such as a rash, itchy mouth, or runny nose.

In severe cases, allergies may cause anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction that requires emergency medical care. 

How adult-onset allergies occur

Researchers are still trying to find the answer to why adults suddenly develop allergies, but they have a few theories:

Family history

Allergies tend to run in families. If a family member has allergies, you may carry genes that make you more susceptible to developing allergies. Pregnancy, hormonal changes, or an illness may make your immune system more sensitive, leading to allergies.

Change in environment

We all like a clean house, but it may limit exposure to common germs and substances. When you come in contact with these substances later in life, your immune system may overreact, triggering the allergic reaction.

Delayed diagnosis

It’s possible you had allergies growing up, but your symptoms were mild or misdiagnosed as something else. Only now do you realize that the stuffy nose you get every spring isn’t due to germs, but pollen. 

Diet 

Eating a diet filled with mostly processed foods affects the microbial balance in your gut. Research suggests an imbalance in the gut microbiome affects the immune system, making you more susceptible to allergies. 

We don’t always know the root cause of adult-onset allergies, but we can develop a plan that minimizes symptoms so it doesn’t disrupt your life.

Managing allergies

Before developing an allergy management plan, we perform allergy testing to find all of the substances that trigger the reaction. Eliminating exposure to your allergens is the most effective way to eliminate symptoms.

However, some allergens — like pollen and dust — are harder to avoid, so your treatment focuses on the best way to manage symptoms. For these allergies, we may recommend medications such as antihistamines, decongestants, and nasal sprays to minimize symptoms.

Allergy shots, also called immunotherapy, may also help you manage your adult-onset allergies. This treatment involves exposing your immune system to your allergen over a period of time, desensitizing the immune response to reduce or eliminate allergy symptoms. 

Food oral immunotherapy (FOI) is an option for people who have food allergies and involves eating small amounts of the food under medical supervision over a period of time. Like allergy shots, exposure to the allergen may lessen the allergic reaction. 

The cause of adult-onset allergies isn’t always known, but getting the right treatment can help you manage your new condition.

If you suspect you have allergies, call us at 813-859-6956 today or book an appointment online. We have two offices in Tampa — South Tampa and Carrollwood — and an office in Brandon, Florida.