If you suffer from asthma and allergies, you may notice quite a few of your symptoms overlap. You may also notice factors (i.e., environmental and foods) that trigger your allergies, may also trigger an asthma attack.  Allergies are commonly characterized by itchy, watery, red eyes, and runny nose. In severe cases, allergies may cause hives, or similar symptoms to asthma such as shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, vomiting and chest tightness.

To manage asthma and chronic allergy symptoms, many doctors will prescribe antihistamine and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as rescue inhalers. However, health care professionals may also advise you to avoid certain foods that may trigger your symptoms, such as:

1. Eggs
Eggs are triggers for allergies that show themselves in the form of inflammation and hives that show up on the skin. For asthma you will often see any one or more of wheezing, coughing or shortness of breath.

2. Milk from cows
Cow milk will often trigger a red rash or swelling around the lips, face and even eyes or ears in some cases. Digestive problems can also crop up in many cases as well.

3. Nuts
Nuts are very common triggers for allergies and asthma that can cause very severe symptoms and flare ups. There are a plethora of symptoms ranging from indigestion to a tightness of the throat or even vomiting. Nut allergies need to be taken extremely seriously to the point that a doctor should be consulted.

4. Soy
Triggers to soy are often time subtle and nondescript. Slight skin redness and tingling of the mouth are the symptoms to pay attention to early after taking soy to ensure that it doesn’t turn into something more severe.

5. Wheat
Wheat symptoms manifest themselves in the form of eczema on the skin and are even as simple as sneezing. You also do see rashes, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath that come up on occasion when wheat allergies and asthma symptoms are showing themselves.

6. Shellfish
Shellfish allergy and asthma symptoms can span a very broad range of severity from a slight tingling of the mouth all the way to abdominal pain and even fainting. This is another allergy and asthma trigger that should be taken extremely seriously. As discussed with nuts, shellfish causes very swift and potential life threatening symptoms that need to be addressed proactively ideally with the consultation of a doctor.

It is vitally important to remember that this is just a short list of trigger foods. There are many other foods and symptoms beyond what has been listed above that can cause issues for your body. The main point to remember is to listen to your body and watch for reactions that you have to food and the environment.