So I went to the doctor today

[ninny]

and had blood drawn. I am being tested for food allergies. Eggs,milk,pork,beef,corn,wheat,soy and peanuts. I'm already lactose intorant so I'm praying it's not the milk. I really want dairy goats in the spring. I also have the worlds itchiest ears and inflamed sinuses. So in three weeks I get my labs back. I also was given a cream for my ears to stop the itch. It won't make it go away more to stop it when I can't take it anymore. The other thing is a steroid spray for my nose that is suppose to fix it I guess. However, it won't work for a least a month of twice a day sprays. I have yet to pick them up. Does anyone have any ideas on what else will work?

 

[moolie]

This is just a personal opinion, but some of what I suggest has greatly helped me--I have mild asthma and lactose intolerance. Within a year of instituting these changes about 7 years ago I went completely off all asthma meds (daily steroid puffer, emergency Ventolin puffer for attacks) except during pollen season when I occasionally need my Ventolin puffer.

If you haven't already, stop using all skin/hair products, cosmetics, scents etc.--anything you put on your body/hair. Buy a mild natural shampoo (and conditioner if you need it) from a natural/health foods store (or do the baking soda and apple cider vinegar thing) and only use basic (home made if you can get it) lye/fat soap. Also change your laundry routine--switch to a natural laundry soap or home made and totally skip any sort of fabric softeners other than vinegar in the final rinse. This was huge for my allergy issues, most personal care and laundry products are LOADED with hormone-mimicking chemicals (mostly the scents and the preservatives) that wreak havoc on the human system. Do the same with your cleaning products--get rid of any "scented" cleaners and stick to vinegar and baking soda, Comet or bleach only if you need it.

Also, check your environment for allergy triggers--do you live near any heavy industry (chemicals, petroleum) or fields that are regularly sprayed with herbicides/pesticides? Was any of the land near you used in any of these ways in the past? Do you have pets that you could have developed allergies/sensitivities toward? Is there any mold or mildew around--bathroom, drip tray under fridge, basement floor or walls, barn, other outbuilding--that you are regularly exposed to?

Then regarding food--even if you test negative for allergies to certain foods, you may still be sensitive: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/index-eng.php

So the only way to truly find out what is bothering you is to go on an elimination diet. Take everything on your doctor's list out of your diet for two weeks. Then slowly add back foods, one item at a time. It takes forever, but you'll definitely know if you react to something. While you are on the elimination diet, cook all foods from scratch--no packaged or pre-made foods, and read the labels on things like pasta or spices to be sure there's no msg or lots of preservatives (google anything you don't recognize as "food" to check what it is).

Soy is the devil and severely messes with your hormones, no one should eat it. Wheat can be troublesome, switch to ancient grains or just go off it--some people feel way healthier without wheat in their diet. Corn is pretty much all GMO so best to avoid anyway unless it is home grown or certified organic. Peanuts are a serious allergen, I think you'd know if this was the case because people tend to react immediately. The others on the list all contain proteins that can cause allergic reactions so they'll show up in your tests.

 

[Icu4dzs]

This is just a personal opinion, but some of what I suggest has greatly helped me--I have mild asthma and lactose intolerance. Within a year of instituting these changes about 7 years ago I went completely off all asthma meds (daily steroid puffer, emergency Ventolin puffer for attacks) except during pollen season when I occasionally need my Ventolin puffer.

If you haven't already, stop using all skin/hair products, cosmetics, scents etc.--anything you put on your body/hair. Buy a mild natural shampoo (and conditioner if you need it) from a natural/health foods store (or do the baking soda and apple cider vinegar thing) and only use basic (home made if you can get it) lye/fat soap. Also change your laundry routine--switch to a natural laundry soap or home made and totally skip any sort of fabric softeners other than vinegar in the final rinse. This was huge for my allergy issues, most personal care and laundry products are LOADED with hormone-mimicking chemicals (mostly the scents and the preservatives) that wreak havoc on the human system. Do the same with your cleaning products--get rid of any "scented" cleaners and stick to vinegar and baking soda, Comet or bleach only if you need it.

Also, check your environment for allergy triggers--do you live near any heavy industry (chemicals, petroleum) or fields that are regularly sprayed with herbicides/pesticides? Was any of the land near you used in any of these ways in the past? Do you have pets that you could have developed allergies/sensitivities toward? Is there any mold or mildew around--bathroom, drip tray under fridge, basement floor or walls, barn, other outbuilding--that you are regularly exposed to?

Then regarding food--even if you test negative for allergies to certain foods, you may still be sensitive: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/index-eng.php

So the only way to truly find out what is bothering you is to go on an elimination diet. Take everything on your doctor's list out of your diet for two weeks. Then slowly add back foods, one item at a time. It takes forever, but you'll definitely know if you react to something. While you are on the elimination diet, cook all foods from scratch--no packaged or pre-made foods, and read the labels on things like pasta or spices to be sure there's no msg or lots of preservatives (google anything you don't recognize as "food" to check what it is).

Soy is the devil and severely messes with your hormones, no one should eat it. Wheat can be troublesome, switch to ancient grains or just go off it--some people feel way healthier without wheat in their diet. Corn is pretty much all GMO so best to avoid anyway unless it is home grown or certified organic. Peanuts are a serious allergen, I think you'd know if this was the case because people tend to react immediately. The others on the list all contain proteins that can cause allergic reactions so they'll show up in your tests.

What she said...Do that first! It is ALL good advice.
your friend,
A doctor

 

[so lucky]

Regarding the GMO foods; I read recently that the three big foods to look out for (That are extensively GMO) are corn, sugar and papaya. This article said to make sure your sugar is 100% cane sugar, if you use sugar. Just about all the other produce we buy is not organic, but not GMO.

 

[Marianne]

Ditto what moolie says. I always suspect medicine first, but food allergies sure can kick in all of a sudden.

I sympathize with you, all that stuff drives you nuts. I have to use an inhaler twice a day. One kind gives me the itching ears, another brand makes my scalp so sensitive that I can't even brush my hair. I wished for a bottle brush to scratch my itching ears!!

 

[moolie]

Regarding the GMO foods; I read recently that the three big foods to look out for (That are extensively GMO) are corn, sugar and papaya. This article said to make sure your sugar is 100% cane sugar, if you use sugar. Just about all the other produce we buy is not organic, but not GMO.

There are a few more pretty common GMO foods as per this list: http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Foods

Particularly watch out for soy as well as corn--products derived from these are in EVERYTHING these days. Reading labels really opens your eyes--there is dairy in a lot of sausage/hot dogs/deli meats which totally affects lactose-intolerance, there is soy and cottonseed oil in mayonnaise, and cornstarch is in SO many things.

 

[so lucky]

Oh yeah, I forgot all about soy because I tend to avoid it anyway. It is in about as many prepared foods as corn is.....maybe more. Thanks for the link, moolie.

 

[moolie]

Any updates ninny? What did your test results show?

Have you tried the elimination diet or made any other big changes, and how is that going for you?

It's a tough thing to do, and I hope you are finding success!

 

[Marianne]

Yes, any updates yet?

Just an added note, our youngest couldn't tolerate milk or soy products, but had no problems with raw goats milk.

 

[Corn Woman]

Try NAET its an allergy elimination technique and it has worked very well for me. I do many of the same things as Moolie.