What do you know about food allergies?

DouginUtah · December 06, 2011, 04:09:47 PM

Aside from my wife having a heart attack on July 2, she has been dealing with food allergies. She has had five episodes in the past year. Just a couple of weeks ago she was at work, eating lunch in the locker room by herself and not eating foods she has not been eating regularly. She had an attack and soon was on the floor unable to get up. She had to use her cell phone to call to the next room to get someone to come help her. They sent her to a hospital less than two miles away. The ambulance fee was $1250, and the hospital bill was over $1600.

Her blood pressure was extremely low and her usual symptoms were first itchiness and then a rash.
She has been to an allergist and they did twenty tests and all were negative. She is pretty sure nuts are something she cannot eat (especially almonds).

Since her heart attack she has altered her diet severely. No cholesterol and a maximum of twenty fat grams per day. She lost twenty pounds in her first two months and her cholesterol dropped from 246 to 123. So, that's the good news. Now we just need to figure out what is causing the food allergy.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had experiences in identifying food allergies.

DanG · December 06, 2011, 05:23:12 PM

Back in the '70s, I suddenly developed an apparent allergy to shrimp. It took several episodes, including a few trips to the ER, before I could narrow it down. I ate shrimp frequently, but only got sick occasionally. I stopped eating them completely and haven't had the problem since. A few years ago, I learned that they started putting sulfites on shrimp as a preservative, and I have always known that I'm allergic to sulfur. They began that practice about the time I started having problems.

My point is, don't just look for things she hasn't eaten before. Look for ANY common denominators, as some additive may have been introduced to something she has always used.

CHARLIE · December 06, 2011, 07:13:03 PM

Several years ago, my wife all of a sudden became allergic to shrimp. It's interesting that she is not allergic to any other seafood. I wonder if the sulfites that DanG mentioned are to blame.

I was told once to eat nuts as a snack food. So I started eating almonds. I became allergic to them and break out in a rash when I eat them now. I reckon I ate too many and triggered something in my body to reject them.

thecfarm · December 07, 2011, 06:27:54 AM

Try another allergist? They should of found something. Maybe do more testing.I mean do a longer,broader test. I'm lucky when it come to food,but don't mention trees,pets,inside dust,pollen,grass,weeds and all the other stuff too. They took a lot of vials of blood out of me. I was getting concerned and asked them about it. ;D

Mooseherder · December 08, 2011, 07:59:25 PM

There are Shrimp available without sulfites.
They cost a couple dollars more per lb. but are a good alternative to not eating them.

WDH · December 08, 2011, 08:05:53 PM

Quote from: thecfarm on December 07, 2011, 06:27:54 AM
I'm lucky when it come to food,but don't mention trees,pets,inside dust,pollen,grass,weeds and all the other stuff too.

And grits

.

DanG · December 08, 2011, 09:21:04 PM

Glen, that's good to know. To tell the truth though, it has been about five years since I learned the likely cause of my sudden-onset shrimp allergy, but I haven't been able to bring myself to try one. I got so bloomin' sick, I almost get sick again just thinking about it!

Mooseherder · December 08, 2011, 09:50:52 PM

When we used to live in Pompano and had our boat we would do some shrimping once year when they were running. I had spot lights on the ends of PVC pipe that were slid into the rod holders.
They lit up the water pretty good. Those were some mighty good shrimp and a blast dip netting on the surface.

Can you do that up in the Gulf waters?
I don't blame you for staying away from them though if they make life miserable.

DanG · December 09, 2011, 09:04:58 AM

I've never tried to catch them with a dip net, but have caught them with a cast net, many years ago. For about 30 years, I thought it was an allergy to the shrimp themselves, so I quit trying for them. I live too far from the salty pond to make it practical, now.

Raider Bill · December 09, 2011, 09:38:39 AM

Quote from: Mooseherder on December 08, 2011, 09:50:52 PM
When we used to live in Pompano and had our boat we would do some shrimping once year when they were running. I had spot lights on the ends of PVC pipe that were slid into the rod holders.
They lit up the water pretty good. Those were some mighty good shrimp and a blast dip netting on the surface.
Can you do that up in the Gulf waters?
I don't blame you for staying away from them though if they make life miserable.

I've done the same thing here on the Gulf side the only difference was we threw cat food out on the water first to help draw them in a bit more.
Now I just ride up to the fishing docks in Tarpon Springs and buy them off a returning boat.

WDH · December 09, 2011, 08:29:05 PM

A shrimpin' boat ???. Makes me think about Bubba Gump.

Mooseherder · December 09, 2011, 08:34:24 PM

Big Shrimping on the History channel reminds me of Bubba.
It's a great show.

WDH · December 09, 2011, 08:53:08 PM

I know one fellow that calls them "skrimps".

I thought to skrimp was to be tight with money :D.

SwampDonkey · December 10, 2011, 05:14:01 AM

Doug, it might be wheat gluten. I'm no expert, but I know darn well that preservatives are one of the root causes for allergies. Why are there allergies to peanut butter now? When I was in school everyone wanted a peanut butter sandwich over any meat sandwich. ;D

In fact, some years ago, maybe a couple generations back, lobster was poor man's food and peanut butter was for rich folks. On the peanut butter scene here, I only buy the natural. I can't get my head around taking out the peanut oil to add crisco type fat back in the "regular" stuff. Seems like a big fraud to me. :

Store bought bread isn't fit to eat neither. ;)

Just got a box of candy chocolate for Christmas that has more stuff in it than I care to have in my system. So the ravens will be getting a little snack. :D

MMM, had some nice broiled kippered herring for supper last night.

Roxie · December 10, 2011, 06:57:08 AM

Doug, any allergies that your wife had as a child that she supposedly outgrew, can come back at any time.

It breaks my heart, but I have developed an allergy to almonds, too. It doesn't seem to mean much when you pass an allergy test anymore. My grand daughter tested allergic to peanuts two years ago, but today tested negative.

It does make you feel helpless when they can't pinpoint an allergy, but my experience has been that if I get that itchy feeling in my mouth ONCE from a food, I don't push it further.

WildDog · December 10, 2011, 03:37:16 PM

Great progress on the BP and Cholesterol Doug.

QuoteMy grand daughter tested allergic to peanuts two years ago, but today tested negative

That's great news, how old is your GD now Roxy. My 5yr old is allergic to peanuts, one little taste on the tip of his tounge last year had his lips blistering in a couple of minutes. What is it with these peanuts, growing up I never new any kids with allergies aside from bee stings. ???

I hope there is something in what Dang says about sulphur. I used to catch prawns with a hand net and tilly lamp, never had a problem eating them, then a couple of years ago had a feedof shopbought ones,my throat swelled up, lumps like half golf balls came up over my body and the whites of my eyes started to swell over my pupils. I went to bed thinking I wouldn't wake up in the morning.

We had the ambulance out to the farm for Maggie our 15mths old on Wednesday evening, she had a temp of 40deg C , was given penicilin for a viral infection and had a reaction, spots, pimples and laboured breathing.

Ianab · December 10, 2011, 04:00:06 PM

Relevant article in the paper today.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/6121257/Medical-profession-blamed-for-allergic-increase

QuoteProfessor Julian Crane, of the University of Otago's Wellington asthma and allergy research group, said food allergies had "increased hugely" in the past 20 years because of guidelines telling parents not to give some foods to their children, or at least to delay them.

"Probably that is exactly the wrong thing to do, because it turns out that things go better if you swamp the immune system and give it a chance to get used to allergenic foods. Then you don't get allergies. If you go back 30 years it was rare to see a kid with a peanut allergy, yet now it's one of the commonest reasons, and why the hell should that be?"

Allergies are weird things. I'm not downplaying them or anything, if you do have a bad reaction to something it can certainly be dangerous. The article talks more about the increase in allergic reactions, which may be related to people NOT exposing children to potential allergens when they are younger. Doesn't help if you are already allergic to something, but my kids get given pretty much anything edible that they feel like eating.

Ian

Den Socling · December 11, 2011, 10:37:32 AM

One of my grandsons started having bad reactions to peanuts when he was 2 or 3 years old. That is about as young as you can get. And you can't ignore a situation where your grandson's throat starts swelling shut. It's very scary.
When he was tested for allergies, one strange think that came up was Ash trees. ???