Lamb Allergy: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention, Coping

Lamb allergy is a type of food allergy in which the patient is allergic to lamb products. When a foreign material enters our body, the antibodies are discharged by the immune system of the body and if the materials are found again in our bodies the antibodies which are already formed to fight the material cause several reactions in our body. These foreign materials are often allergens which develop the allergic reactions in your body. Thus allergy is the reaction that your immune system show when your body is not comfortable with any material that has entered it.

The most common form of allergy is the food allergy. Almost all people have allergies of some kind or the other, like the gluten allergy or soy allergy. Another form of food allergy is lamb allergy. Usually meat is digestible but sometimes some people might have difficulty in digesting meat products especially when the meat is of some mammal hence it can affect you as an allergen. Sometimes lamb allergy develops at an early age of 3 and when the kid is of about 10 years old he or she outgrows the reaction. At other times the allergy could there be in you for a lifetime. Any kind of meat product and any food item which contains lamb might trigger the allergic reaction in you within a couple of minutes after you consume the food.

The most important cause of lamb allergy is the body being intolerant of animal protein especially when the protein is from mammal meat. Mammal meat like that of the lamb is not easily digestible always. The fibre content is high which might cause disruption in the digestion process. The small intestine thus fails to absorb all the nutrients out of the lamb stock that enter in your stomach and this causes the allergic reaction leading to lamb allergy. Animal fat can be another reason for the allergic reaction in you that you develop when you consume a dish which contains lamb. Usually if a person has lamb allergy he or she is probable to have allergic reaction towards other meat products. Sometimes the animal proteins becomes too heavy or the body takes the ingredients as a sign of harmful product entering you and thus the immune system eject immunoglobulin E ( which is a type of antibody) to stop the proteins to disturb your body and when the immunoglobulin starts working again on consuming lamb the allergic reactions are noticed.

The signs and symptoms of lamb allergy are common like any other food allergy symptoms which if not taken care of immediately can cause severe damage to the patient’s health. The usual signs and symptoms of having a lamb allergy are:

• Developing rashes on the skin, even hives is the primary symptom of lamb allergy.
• Developing a sensation of itchiness on the skin due to the rashes, around the mouth, in the tongue
• Swelling of the skin, swelling of your tongue and the insides of your mouth.
• Shortness of breath or breathlessness.
• Sudden fall of blood pressure.
• Stomach aches.
• Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Watering of the eyes and nose, even blocking of the nose and throat. Finding difficult to swallow food or water.
• Dizziness and nausea may also be seen in lamb allergy.
• Anaphylactic shock where the person fails to continue normal breathing.

There are few risk factors for lamb allergy. Lamb allergy can develop in you at any point of time. There is no proper age for it to develop. Also a person having lamb allergy is often allergic to all other mammal meat products. Thus lamb allergy can often drive you to keep yourself away from social gatherings and keep yourself under a controlled food habit. This will make you lonely and you will fail to take animal protein in your diet which is vital for your healthy living. The lamb allergy attacks if severe in your case then you might develop a phobia of lamb products. If your lamb allergy attacks are mild and you tend to ignore them then it will deteriorate your health and if you choose to take medicines by yourself, you can be caught up in reverse reactions. Also if you are not always alert about what you are consuming it can cause an allergy attack at any time which shall be disturbing your daily life.

As lamb allergy can develop at any point of time in your life you might get a sudden attack when you consume a dish without being extremely careful about its contents for a single thread of lamb fat can trigger the allergic reaction in your body and may lead to complications. Usually if a kid develops an allergic reaction at the age of 3 he or she is likely to outgrow it by the age of 10 but it is difficult to keep a kid away from food and making them aware and careful about what to consume. At the same time it is not possible to learn about all the ingredients that a food dish contain though in a lamb dish the main attraction is the lamb steak. You might also start developing allergic reactions towards other meat products which will disrupt your on-going food habit.

There is no specific test which confirms any kind of food allergy including lamb allergy. Usually food allergies like the lamb allergy are self-identifiable hence lab tests are not required. Answering to the doctor the series of queries that he or she will have for you and submitting your medical history will help the doctors diagnose the lamb allergy. Sometimes a small amount of the allergen is entered in your body to watch the reaction and if the reaction occurs within 20 minutes of the consumption of the suspected allergen then the allergy is diagnosed.

• As the doctors suggest, the mostly preferred method of treating lamb allergy it avoid the product. In case of lamb allergy; avoiding the consumption of any kind of food dish which contains lamb is preferred by the doctors.
• When you develop an allergic reaction, your body produces histamine, thus antihistamine is prescribed by the doctors to check the growth of rashes on your skin.
• Lotions and creams containing cortisone are also prescribes to prevent the itchiness caused by lamb allergy. As if you go on itching continuously you might damage your skin.
• Pills with little amount of sedative and tranquilizers are also suggested by the doctors to calm down the nerves so that the lamb allergy reaction may slowly wear off without you panicking.
• To reverse or prevent the severe effects of the lamb allergy reaction, epinephrine is often given to the patient.

There has been a rule that all the ingredients are to be mentioned behind the food packet so that people can be aware of what they are consuming. For a child, the parent needs to be very careful about what the kid is eating. Choosing alternative food is also important. Sometimes the doctors carry out the exposure therapy for lamb allergy where the patient is made to consume a little amount of lamb under controlled situation at regular intervals so that he or she outgrows the allergic reaction in time.

The best way to prevent lamb allergy is not to consume lamb in your food. Also you should be reading all the ingredients mentioned in the food packet before buying the product. As food allergy can be identified by you, you shall be able to realise if you are developing an allergic reaction towards the lamb items and thus avoid taking them. Also trying to learn if you are allergic to other meat products and avoiding them will prevent you from triggering any allergic reactions. Getting diagnosed quickly will help you to be alert.

Lamb allergy can be treated and cured and the outlook or prognosis is good if not developed due to heredity. Also if you continuously exposed to the product that causes the allergic reaction, your body will be triggered often and the conditions will get severe.

There are not many home remedies for lamb allergy except to avoid it. Some of the suggested remedies are:

• Having a clear change in your food habit without losing the nutrients that you need to remain healthy shall help you avoiding triggering any lamb allergy reaction.
• Once you develop a mild allergic reaction like rashes or hives, start watering your skin with cold water and cover it will cold cloth to prevent the rashes from spreading and prevent yourself from itching.
• Using regular products like the cucumber lotion, curd or sandal powder to treat the rash or hives marks will prevent your skin form developing permanent marks on your skin.

Avoiding animal meat, especially mammal meat is difficult as it forms a part of your usual diet and is highly required to be healthy.

• To find alternative food products is very important. As soon as you realise you are developing an allergic reaction to lamb or have lamb allergy you might visit a doctor and never neglect it. Also timely treatment will prevent the development of phobia towards the allergen.
• Lamb allergy also develops allergy towards other meat products thus you should be careful about what you are consuming.
• The allergy pills for lamb allergy contain sedatives which will make you sleepy and thus should not be consumed often as it can disrupt your daily lifestyle.

Lamb allergy can be recovered but the time of recovery can be learnt from the doctor who is treating you. The time that you will need to get well also depends on the kind of treatment you are going under and also the stage of illness you are in. the doctor can also help you to know if you can develop back the allergic reaction at some of time again or not.

Also Read:

• What is Food Allergy: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention, Home Remedies
• What is Chicken Allergy: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
• Difference Between Food Allergy and Food Intolerance
• Role of Elimination Diet in Food Allergy & Can You Eat Anything You Want On An Elimination Diet for Food Allergy?