Rice allergy

Rice allergy is a type of food allergy. People allergic to rice react to some rice proteins after they eat rice or breathe in rice steam. Although some reactions might lead to severe health problems, doctors can diagnose rice allergy using many different methods and help allergic people to avoid reactions.

 Symptoms 
Some rice proteins are regarded as the causes of allergy in some people.YH Jeon, et al, "Identification of major rice allergen and their clinical significance in children," Korean J Pediatric 54, no. 10 (2011): 414.Yuko Ogo, et al, "Generation of transgenic rice with reduced content of major and novel high molecular weight allergens," Rice 7, no. 1(2014): 19. People allergic to rice might have sneezing, runny nose, itching, asthma, stomachache or eczema after they eat rice.B. Wüthrich, T. Scheitlin and B. Ballmer-Weber, "Isolated allergy to rice," Allergy 57, no. 3(2002): 264.Mitsuhiko Nambu, Noriaki Shintaku and Shigeru Ohta, "Rice Allergy," Pediatrics 117, no. 6 (June, 2006): 2331. Besides eating rice, people with a rice allergy can have reactions breathing rice steam from cooked rice. Allergic people might have skin rashes and swellings. Moreover, they might stop breathing and die due to cardiac arrest.Raj Kumar, et al, "Rice (Oryza sativa) allergy in rhinitis and asthma patients: A clinico-immunological study," Immunobiology 212, no. 2 (2007): 142.F. Orhan and B. E.Sekerel, "A case of isolated rice allergy," Allergy 58, no.5(2003): 457.Alessandro Fiocchi, et al, "Anaphylaxis to rice by inhalation," Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 111, no. 1 (2003): 193.

 Diagnosis 
People suspected of having a rice allergy can try diet avoidance on their own. First, they have to avoid rice for a couple of weeks. If they do not have symptoms in the avoidance period, but have those when exposed to rice, they are most likely allergic to rice. They might also be referred to an allergist (immunologist) doctor who specialises in immunology.

Specific rice IgE, a kind of antibody in human blood, will rise significantly when people are allergic to rice. A blood test shows the level of the antibody. 

A skin prick test, the most efficient diagnosis, shows the reactions in a short period. After being pricked in their skin with some rice mixture, allergic people will get itching and swelling in about 30 minutes.

 Treatment 
Some symptoms might weaken if people get allergy shots. After getting several treatments for a long time, some allergic people will not have reactions afterwards.

Some reactions have been eased by replacing original rice with genetically modified rice. This is regarded as a new choice for rice allergic people.YH. Jeon, et al, "A Study for Allergenicity and Cross-reactivity of Rice," Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 123, no. 2(February 2009): S190. Reactions might lessen by staying away from rice long-term. 

 Prevalence 
Unlike other food allergies, rice allergy is relatively uncommon.It has been reported worldwide but mostly in China, Japan or Korea. Caroline Hadley, "Food allergies on the rise? Determining the prevalence of food allergies, and how quickly it is increasing, is the first step in tackling the problem," EMBO Report 7, no. 11 (2006): 1082. Because rice is a major food in Asia, people from Asia are exposed to higher allergy risk than people from other areas.YH Jeon, et al, "Identification of major rice allergen and their clinical significance in children," Korean J Pediatric 54, no. 10 (2011): 419.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Rice Allergy, Southwest Allergy & Asthma Center 
 Common Food Allergies

Category:Physiology