Gastrointestinal something?
When I have an allergic reaction to food, it is brought on by a component of the immune system known as an immunoglobulin (IG for short). Since I am a layperson, not a nurse, doctor, or biologist, I can't tell you what specifically an IG is, although I did once know from reading a long time ago. I think they are enzymes. There are different types of IGs, e.g. IGE and IGG. They cause different types of reactions. The immune system has many components - T cells, machrophages, IGs, lymph, surface skin cells, etc.
The differences in reactions depend on what is activated in your immune system in response to a substance (an allergen). Reactions can range from sneezing and runny eyes, to hives, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, headaches, swelling in the throat, tongue, and air passages, even swelling in the inner ear causing vertigo. It all depends on what the substance is, how long or intense the exposure is, what part of the immune system is activated in response to the exposure, and even what other recent exposures a person has had.
The abdominal pain that I get from raw tomatoes is caused by either IGE or IGG - I don't remember which. The pain is due to internal hives and swelling in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. It feels like I will explode from the inside out and is so painful that ANY pressure from outside, like the weight of a bedsheet on me, is devastating.
Since I know which foods cause it, I avoid them. If I eat one by accident, I recognize the initial symptoms right away and take an antihistamine ASAP. That prevents a full blown attack of internal hives and lessens the pain to just the initial symptoms.
An epi pen is not used for localized allergic reactions, like abdominal cramps, external hives (on the face, arms, etc.), sneezing, etc. The epi pen is ONLY for systemic reactions involving more than one system in the body, particularly the respiratory system (lungs, mouth, nasal passages) and the circulatory system (heart, arteries, and veins). That kind of reaction is called anaphylactic shock and it is lethal, sometimes within 30 minutes of the time that it starts. Certain specific allergies can trigger it. It does not happen with just any substance. The types of allergies that most often cause anaphylactic shock are peanuts, some kinds of seafood (e.g. shrimp), some medicines (like penicillin), and bee stings.
I have had anaphylactic shock twice, both times caused by the negligence of incompetent doctors. The first time was when an allergist injected me with 60 suspected substances at once for testing and left me alone in a cubicle with no one to monitor possible reactions. I was positive to so many of them that my immune system was overloaded and reacted full blast. But the main culprits were grass and tree pollens. Fortunately, a friend worked in the doctor's office and poked her head in to say hello, saw my grotesque swelling and purple ears and yelled for the doctor, who gave me epinephrine (adrenaline) shots. After a couple hours I was allowed to go home.
I do not need an epi pen for that. Ordinary exposure to grass and tree pollens does not bring on such a severe reaction. It was severe in the doctor's office only because the pollens were injected into me in concentrated form AND I was also injected at the same time with with several other things that I was also allergic to.
The second time was also caused by an allergist. She did oral surgery on me and refused to believe me when I said that I am alletgic to aspirin because true aspirin allergies are not very common. An aspirin allergy means that I cannot take other meds that are in the same category as aspirin (NSAIDS). She used an NSAID pain killer along with another anesthetic for the surgery. When she was done, my tongue swelled to triple size and my throat was closing up so badly that I could not swallow my own saliva. I could not talk and had to grunt and gesture to get her to look into my mouth. Epinephrine shots again.
I do not need an epi pen for that, either. I know better than to take aspirin or an NSAID. I use Tylenol instead.
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