Questions about food allergies.

Read this part first.

A true food allergy is an immune reaction, and it can be life threatening. Hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, wheezing, vomiting, dizziness, and collapse can all come from one. A severe reaction is called anaphylaxis. It can happen within minutes of eating the food, and it is treated as an emergency with epinephrine and a call to 911. Nothing on this page changes that. If you think you have had an allergic reaction to a food, this is a matter for a doctor, and a suspected severe reaction is a matter for emergency care right now, not a call scheduled for later.

What commonly causes it.

A food allergy happens when the immune system mistakes a harmless food protein for a threat and mounts a reaction against it. In the United States, most reactions come from a short list: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and sesame. Allergies often start in childhood, though they can develop at any age, and some people also react to a food that shares proteins with a plant they are already allergic to, which is known as cross-reactivity.

Signs that range from mild to severe.

Mild reactions can look like tingling in the mouth, a few hives, or mild stomach upset. Severe reactions involve the airway, the heart, or the whole body at once: swelling of the throat, wheezing or trouble breathing, a fast or weak pulse, dizziness, or fainting. Reactions can also come back a few hours after the first one settles down, which is one reason people with a known severe allergy are told to stay near medical care after using epinephrine, not to assume the danger has passed.

Who diagnoses it.

An allergist or your physician. Diagnosis uses your history along with testing such as skin prick testing, specific blood tests, and in some cases a supervised food challenge done in a medical setting. Those are medical procedures with medical supervision behind them for a reason, and they are the only reliable way to confirm or rule out a true allergy.

What an allergist typically recommends.

Once an allergy is confirmed, an allergist usually builds an avoidance plan specific to that food, prescribes an epinephrine auto-injector for anyone at risk of a severe reaction, and reviews how to read ingredient labels and handle cross-contamination. Some allergies are watched over time to see whether a child outgrows them. None of that is guesswork, and none of it happens outside a medical setting.

Why the page exists.

Because the honest answer is short and worth putting in writing. People confuse allergy with food sensitivity all the time, and the confusion runs in the dangerous direction: treating a real allergy as a mild intolerance. If a food has ever made your mouth tingle, your lips swell, or your breathing tighten, that is not a sensitivity.

Where a chiropractic exam fits.

Boss Chiropractic is a chiropractic office. We examine and treat mechanical problems in the spine and joints. Food allergy sits entirely outside that, and there is no chiropractic answer to it. See an allergist. If you carry an epinephrine auto-injector, carry it, and make sure the people around you know where it is and how to use it.

Boss Chiropractic is a chiropractic office in Sterling Ridge, The Woodlands. You can read how we think about this whole area on our holistic health and wellness page, or contact us with a question before you book.

Reviewed and approved by Dr. Christopher Boss, DC, Doctor of Chiropractic since 1998 and the treating chiropractor at Boss Chiropractic. Last updated September 11, 2026.

This page is general information, not medical advice. What is right for you depends on your exam. Dr. Boss will tell you straight whether we can help, and where to go if we cannot.