Rice allergy is a type of food allergy. People allergic to rice react to various rice proteins after consuming rice or inhaling the steam from cooking rice. Although some reactions might lead to severe health problems, doctors can diagnose rice allergy with many methods, and help allergic people to avoid reactions.
Symptoms and signs Rice proteins are regarded as the causes of allergy in 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 experience sneezing, runny nose, itching, asthma, stomachache, hives, sores in the mouth, or eczema after eating 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.Richard Lockey, "Food Allergy," World Allergy Organization, accessed February 29, 2016, http://www.worldallergy.org/public/allergic_diseases_center/foodallergy/ . Besides eating rice, people with a rice allergy can have reactions breathing rice steam from cooked rice. In severe cases death may result.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 who suspect they might have a rice allergy can try diet avoidance on their own. They avoid rice for two weeks; if they don’t have symptoms during the avoidance period, but have symptoms when exposed to rice, they are most likely allergic to rice.Food Allergy Research & Education, "Food Elimination Diet," Food Allergy Research & Education, accessed March 3, 2016, http://www.foodallergy.org/diagnosis-and-testing/food-elimination-diet .
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.Food Allergy Research & Education, "Blood Tests," Food Allergy Research & Education, accessed March 3, 2016, http://www.foodallergy.org/diagnosis-and-testing/blood-tests .
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 experience itching and swelling within 30 minutes.Food Allergy Research & Education ,"Skin Prick Tests," Food Allergy Research & Education, accessed March 3, 2016, https://www.foodallergy.org/diagnosis-and-testing/skin-tests .
Treatment Symptoms might weaken if people receive allergy injection treatments. After receiving several treatments over a year, some formerly allergic people will have no reactions after eating rice.American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, "ALLERGY SHOTS (IMMUNOTHERAPY)," American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, accessed February 16, 2016, https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/treatments/allergy-shots-(immunotherapy).aspx .
A new choice for rice allergic people is switching to genetically modified rice which has helped ease some allergic reactions.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 after 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.
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