allergies agin (sorry) - asthma/rhinitis and food allergy?

[SenoraPostrophe]

we think dh is allergic to something he eats, and the symptoms are hay fever symptoms and, lately, an asthma attack.

since the culprit seems to vary from San miguel to one brand of frozen pizza, we think a food additive (preservative) is probably to blame.

all i can find out from a search of the internet is that rhinitis and asthma are not common reactions to food without other symptoms as well (apparently only 5% of asthmatics have attacks in response to food, and 1% of allergic rhinitis is due to food allergy).

One site said something about sulphides giving off sulphur dioxide and triggering asthma, but that's in wine isn't it? wine has never been a problem!

so anyway, does anyone know anything about this or are expensive allergy tests the only way to go? and will they even work seeing as he never gets a skin reaction?

[dolally]

sorry senora, can't help but send sympathies. Dd2 has asthma and rhinitis but don't we don't think it's food related. Last winter and this (just started) have given her echinacea drops, am convinced it helps her.

[SenoraPostrophe]

thanks, dolally.

dh has already tried almost everything - he used to have nasty injections every summer (kenalog) which is the only thing we've found so far that stops it. But docs don't like giving that and it doesn't help the asthma.

[spidermama]

My son had constant snot, red face and colds which went on and on and on. TMI Alert He also had smelly farts and loads of them.
I took him to a naturopath who said take him off wheat and dairy for six weeks then re-intorduce them one at a time and monitor. I was cynical, but I did this. He turned out to be allergic to both. It was so clear. He's clear of symptoms now and it's a great relief.

Meanwhile, as I was eating all the food he was eating, the asthma I've had since age 12 disappeared. I've been taking drugs for ashtma for 25 years and have been hospitalised because of asthma attacks. Now, I've been completely clear of asthma for 10 months! No symptoms, I'm off the drugs. I'm so pleased, but also annoyed with the medics for failing to attempt to address it though diet.

I know I have allergies (dust, dogs, pollen) but these don't seem to affect me now I'm off wheat and dairy.

[SenoraPostrophe]

you said more or less that the other day, sm, and we will try cutting out one or the other of those (it'll be so painful though!)

I was thinking about what you said when i was surfing the other day in fact, but couldn't find anything about it and like i say, we are convinced additives are to blame. so perhaps we will try that anyway and just write down what's in everything in what we eat. I just thought it might help to have a list of the more common allergens to start with.

also does anyone know the law on food labelling? dh had an attack yesterday which we think was due to a tin of lentil soup but it doesn't list any E numbers. It does have e numbers though because it contained cured meat and chorizo. It's very frustrating this!

[Distelsspirit]

I have asthma and rhinitis and have been told the worst culprit is dust. I don't think this is mine thoigh as I have attacks of runny nose and coughing even when I am outside.

[Distelsspirit]

Can you asked to be refered to a hospital fpr allergy testing?

[SenoraPostrophe]

we have a pretty dust free house due to his asthma and attacks are sporadic (and come on suddenly). not hay fever either as it happens on low pollen days.

[Distelsspirit]

Mine is bad all through the winter so I know that it is not hayfever. I went into a health food shop recently and they printed some stuff off of their computer for me and it said that severe rhinitis should be checked after a few montrhs as it is a symptom of many thing. The 2 they gave were a type of Leukemia and HIV, now they said that there is nothing to panic about and this was the worst case scenario, but it should be checked.

[SenoraPostrophe]

really?.

Now is probably the time to gt him properly registered on the spanish health service then.

[Distelsspirit]

My asthma nurse just says '75% of people with asthma suffer with rhinitis, it;s unfortunate but hey ho' well she might as well just say that. I have tried about 4 different nose sprays and as many different allergy tablets and I can't find anything that works for me. Luckily my asthma just makes me cough, I am very rarely out of breath so I can just use my inhaler to stop the coughing.

[spidermama]

Mine was also set off by dust, pollen and dogs. But since changing the diet it has all but disappeared. I'm not totally strict, but have cut out 80% of the dairy and wheat in my diet.

I eat goats cheese, milk and butter. I bake wheat free bread. It is a hassle, but far better than struggling with a chronic condition and drug dependency for the condition.

By the way senora ... there was a thread yesterday about a boy who had a really bad reaction to humous. I posted that tahini in the humous was the likely culprit, but blu posted that many people are allergic to beans and pulses. So it may have been the lentils.

[spidermama]

See Blu's comments on this thread about beans and pulses.