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A food allergy is an immune response to a food protein, where the immune system believes a specific food is a foreign invader and attacks it. This reaction is known as immediate-onset food allergy (IgE) because of the of the immediate and obvious reactions it produces. Fewer than 5% of the population have this type of allergic reaction, and most are children. The classical IgE immediate-onset food allergy has a rapid onset, which occurs minutes to hours after eating reactive food. The reactions are usually acute, quick and dramatic and are readily apparent after eating the food allergen (most often affecting airways, skin or intestines). Most people know what food they are allergic to because the reactions appear so soon after eating the food.
At this time, no one knows exactly why food allergies occur and there is no cure. The only treatment consists of strict avoidance, where the allergic person avoids any and all forms of the food to which they are allergic. For people who are extremely sensitive, this may involve the total avoidance of any exposure with the allergen, including touching or inhaling the problematic food as well as any surfaces that may have come into contact with it.
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