It's been exactly one week since the last allergy flare up occurred, and since I stopped using that cream. The good news is that the skin on my face and neck are no longer lumpy and it seems to have gone back to normal, but there's still a tiny bit of a rash that spread to my ears; It isn't visible but it itches from time to time and I can feel that the skin is dry and flakey when I touch it.
So what did I do to get back to normal? Not a lot really. Time seems to be the best to get over these allergic out bursts, which isn't something you want to hear if you've just had an allergic reaction like mine. I've found that if I can find the cause and eliminate it immediately, then roughly a week later, I'm back to normal.
I did start really watching what I ate though. I was very strict with making sure that I ate absolutely nothing that I thought would even be remotely contaminated with ingredients that I have to avoid. This also included limiting the amount of soy, which is usually a key ingredient in many gluten-free foods. My meals were therefore kept simple, especially when eating out: Plain steaks (i.e. no sauces), baked or roast potatoes, plain rice, roast beef, roast or steamed vegetables, and lots of fresh fruit. At home, I continued to make sauces from fresh ingredients to add to my meals.
I also avoided caffeine completely, as I've found that when my body goes through an allergic reaction, any caffeine, however small, further stimulates my already over stimulated adrenalin glands, making the entire allergic reaction much worse. I've been drinking herbal teas instead, plus the usual water and fruit juices.
I haven't put any cream on any of the skin that was irritated. It started to get a bit on the dry side as it was getting better, but I'd rather it dry than red, blotchy, raised and itchy. Longer warm showers always makes my irritated skin feel better. No changes to the standard shampoos or soaps either. I should probably also mention that I don't bother following any special facial skincare routine - no special facial scrubs, no fancy cleaners, no toners, and no creams. Straight soap and water works for me. I use the same Perfect Potion soap for my face as I do for my body. I should also point out that most of those facial cleansers, toners, etc., are laced with sulphites, benzoates and other nasties. I have tried them in the past, and it was on my last attempt that I ended up with all of my allergies really flaring up for the first time ever. That was last year, which brings me to where I am now. (I'll have to do a separate post on all of the things that I do use in the bathroom... with photos.)
It's the Australian Food Allergy Awareness Week this week. Tomorrow night on Twitter, there will be an allergy chat at 9pm (AEST). Apparently Australia has one of the highest prevalence of food allergy in the world. From where I'm sitting right now, that doesn't surprise me. I'll be joining the chat as I'm definitely interested on what others have to say on the topic and what tips there are out there for dealing with allergies.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
When allergy symptoms reappear
This is the part of my allergies that I hate: When the rash
reappears and I can’t figure out what happened to make it appear. Two days ago,
I had a small itchy spot on my neck. Nothing big enough to worry about. This
morning, I woke up to bumpy skin all over my neck and face, and over the side
of my right hand (from the bottom of my thumb to my wrist). My neck’s a bit
itchy but I’m resisting the urge to scratch it. Thankfully, you can’t really
notice the bumpy skin on my face, and my shirt collar covers up most of my
neck. However, I now need to figure out what happened to result in this
reaction and this is the frustrating part, so let’s see if I can work it through
here and now. (This will give you a good indication of what I go through.)
Two Sunday’s ago, we went and ate at a food court that I’m
not familiar with. The only thing relatively safe for me to eat was either hot chips
or a made-to-order rice noodle stir fry. I considered just eating chips but
couldn’t find a place where the oil that they deep fried the chips in was
relatively clear of other foods that may have had preservatives in them. In the
end, I passed on that, and opted on the stir fry. I ordered the chilli basil
beef, with rice noodles and absolutely no egg. This is usually okay, but I knew
that it wasn’t quite right after the first few bites. It was greasy and it
tasted like there was butter or remnants of egg in there. (There’s always a
chance that pans and cooking utensils aren’t cleaned properly between making
meals.) I didn’t finish eating my stir fry. It tasted wrong and I’d rather be
hungry than suffer with an allergic reaction. A few hours later, I noticed that
the skin around my lips were bumpy, which is a tell-tale allergy symptom for
me. From then on, I made sure that my soy intake was kept to a minimum and that
any food I ate was 99.99% safe. (100% safe if it was something I made at home.)
I also made sure that I didn’t make any changes to my soaps, toothpaste,
shampoo, etc.
Before the last Sunday came around, I developed an itchy patch
at the base of my right thumb, on the outside of my hand. Within a day it dried
and cracked, leaving an open slit, in the crease of my skin there. The following
day, an itchy patch on my right wrist, just in the same line as my thumb,
appeared. That’s generally a sign for me, that my liver is having trouble processing
the chemicals, so I knew something was wrong. At this point in time, I assumed
that it would be another week before I’d go back to normal.
Here’s where I think I went wrong: The skin on my hand,
where the itchy dry patches developed, kept cracking because they were so dry,
so I applied a Vitamin E cream. The cream contains a natural preservative, but
it didn’t state what that preservative would translate to in chemical terms. I
took a risk and applied the cream on my right hand and neck. I did this daily
as it offered relief. After a few days, I used it on my face too, specifically
around my lips. That now brings me to today and the lumpy skin I now have.
I think it’s the cream, so I didn’t use it today. The skin
on my hand doesn’t look as bumpy as it did this morning, but it’s sometimes
hard to tell if I’m seeing straight or not. Just in case though, I’m continuing
to monitor everything I come into contact with. I’ve also cut out coffee for
the time being, as I’ve found that it can overstimulate my adrenalin glands
which are generally in overdrive when I’m going through an allergic reaction.
Today, I’m drinking rosehip tea and water. I’ve eaten fresh fruit, potatoes and
some meat (that I know is free from preservatives). I’ll probably keep dinner
simple too – maybe some vegetable gluten free pasta with pesto. I’d like to say
that I’ll give myself some extra quiet time and head to bed early, to help my
body recuperate, but I’m a mother to two little kids, so that isn’t going to
happen. I am however, going to try to take things easy this week, steer clear
of that cream and see how I do. I’ll be sure to let you know in my next post.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Health & Beauty Products
When you really start looking into it, sulphur is in almost everything, including health and beauty products. My problem is that if it's not sulphur that's an ingredient, it's a benzoate, and if I had to pinpoint the moment in time when I started to suspect that these two ingredients were causing my acute allergic reaction, it was around the time when I had just changed facial cleansers. I don't think that this was the only cause of my somewhat sudden allergy, but it was the one thing that did change, so that where my suspicions started.
I'm not a chemist and I'm not that knowledgable on chemical ingredients and how each one might react with the other (at least, nothing past the high school chemistry level), so I just assumed that if I could find the ingredients that were in my new facial cleanser that wasn't in my other beauty products, I could narrow down the allergy cause. This exercise took weeks because in the end, it was all variants of sulphur and benzoates, not just the typical SLS or benzoic / benzyl whatever. I remember spending every morning checking for any allergic reaction - whether that meant my skin getting better or worse, because usually it was the most different first thing in the morning. My eyelids were and still are, one of the first to show any allergic reactions, where they will either get slightly dry and bumping, followed by itchy, or they will puff slightly. (Needless to say that on some days, I couldn't tell if they were getting better or worse, as I had lost track of what they should look like.) I gradually started removing products and waiting a day or two to see what the result would be. I removed and changed, absolutely everything - soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, all makeup, moisturisers, etc. The dermatologist I saw strongly recommended that I use the "soap free" washes but guess what? Those have the ingredients that I had already suspected by that stage. I searched all the mainstream brands, including all the eczema soaps and washes, and I was unable to find any brand that I could safely use. (Note that by this stage, I was very exhausted with all the trial and errors, and being able to find anything I could use.) In the end, I just used the one natural soap that I had been using for the past few years, for my body and hair. This was the baby soap in the Perfect Potion range, which was also the only soap that I could use on my kids when they were babies. (My daughter had very sensitive skin, and although it's still sensitive, it's no where near as bad.) However, at this stage, I had not bothered to change my toothpaste because it was the same one I'd been using for years, so I didn't see any reason to; But then I noticed something interesting: Although the skin on my face was clearing up, there was still a slight puffiness on my eyelids. It was then that I checked my toothpaste, and sure enough, because it's a mainstream brand, it had sulphur in it. So I ditched it and went searching for toothpaste without sulphur and benzoates.
This is where the health food store can be your best friend (as can the internet). Although my local supermarket stocks one version of one brand of natural toothpaste that I can use, the health food store has a good handful to choose from, although many don't taste too good. For kids, there's a great flavour range from the brand Snappy Jaws which I buy for my kids so that I can help them wash out their toothbrushes (otherwise I wouldn't be able to touch it).
The health food store is also the place where I find my shampoo, because here's the catch: Although there are shampoos on the market claiming to be sulphur free, they seem to mean SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate) free, so they'll contain other variants of sulphur, such as sodium lauryl sulfoacetate or sulfosuccinate. The herbal shampoos have these too, but although they're derived naturally, I still can't touch them. If there's no sulphur content, there is almost always a benzoate present, or if not, there will be wheat or something else I can't touch. It's frustrating to say the least. As I write this post, I have not yet found a shampoo that I can use that is nice on my hair, and by nice, I mean a shampoo that doesn't feel like it strips my hair dry. I've stopped bothering with conditioners as they generally contain a benzoate as the main preservative.
For makeup, I ditched all those mainstream brands and sadly had to throw out all my expensive makeup. Even the lipliners would react with my lips, leaving a bumpy, itchy red line after even 30 mins. I now only use mineral makeup and my personal preference is Inika, as it is what I would term real mineral makeup, as it doesn't have any of those chemical ingredients that I'm allergic to. I don't use any fancy facial cleansers - I just use my soap from Perfect Potion. There are a few in their range that I found I can use, although my preference is their baby soap. (Note that a lot of the products from Perfect Potion contain benzoates as the preservative, so you need to check the labels.)
For hair products such as hairspray, gels, creams, etc., you'll have to check all brand labels, as the only one I use is a hair fixing cream by Garnier Fructis. From memory, this was the only product at the time, that didn't contain any allergic ingredients, and it was only one product in their entire range.
On to nails... I don't often paint my nails but when I do, I only use Butter London. Their range is free from harmful / toxic ingredients used in mainstream nail polish, not to mention that most nail polish contain benzoates! I've only just found some nail polish remover from one of my local chemists, that's free from benzoates too. One is by Mavala (Swiss brand) and the other is Swisspers Nails (which is nail polish remover pads).
There is also a few liquid hand wash soaps that I've found that I can use. (I cannot use the ones found in public bathrooms, so I carry my own.) At home, I'm currently using the Natural Instinct Hand Wash, which I use in a pump soap dispenser. The whole family use it, so it saves me from trying to ensure that there is no cross contamination from products I can't touch.
I haven't bothered to change my toilet cleaner, as I don't come into skin contact with that. There are a few natural bathroom cleaning products available in supermarkets, but my husband has taken on the task of cleaning the bathroom regularly with mainstream products.
In the kitchen, I use the dishwasher whenever possible, but also have a natural liquid soap that I can use to hand wash the dishes. (I use to use gloves, but found that the rubber irritated my skin, especially if my hands had any allergic rashes on them already.)
I haven't changed my laundry detergent, although I do use a liquid as I find that I'm more likely to come into skin contact with the powder laundry detergents. I use Omo Sensitive. For stubborn stains, I use a eucalyptus pre-wash stain treatment. (Sorry - can't recall the brand name, but I've found it in both Coles and IGA.) I haven't found myself scratching after being in contact with clothing that's been washed, or to different fabrics.
I can't really recommend any moisturisers yet, as I have found that my skin doesn't need a moisturiser like it use to, before I cut out all the things that I'm (now) allergic to. My recommendation here, would be to visit the health food store to see what they have, rather than the chemist, as the chemist will typically stock products that contain harmful ingredients. (I also haven't found any moisturisers in Perfect Potion that don't have benzoates as the preservative, but you may want to try the Wotnot Baby Lotion.)
Another product that I can think of that needs to be included in this post, is sunscreen. I use Wotnot. It's the only sunscreen that I have found that my daughter can use, and although it's a little on the greasy side, it works. (I have literally tried every sunscreen on the market with my daughter when she was a toddler, and every one of them gave her a skin rash that would break her skin, making it look like she had dragged herself along a gravel road.) I use the Wotnot sunscreen for the whole family.
I'm sure that there is a benzoate in perfumes, but I haven't looked into that yet, so stay tuned. I haven't found any noticeable reaction to my current perfume, for the moment. As for deodorants, well, this is going to sound strange, but I don't use one anymore. Why? Simply because I've found that I don't sweat as much as I use to, since I cut out all the products that I reacted to. I'm sure this has to do with the chemical reaction in my body, but like I said at the start, I'm no chemist, so I really have no idea. I'm just going with what works for me.
I'm not a chemist and I'm not that knowledgable on chemical ingredients and how each one might react with the other (at least, nothing past the high school chemistry level), so I just assumed that if I could find the ingredients that were in my new facial cleanser that wasn't in my other beauty products, I could narrow down the allergy cause. This exercise took weeks because in the end, it was all variants of sulphur and benzoates, not just the typical SLS or benzoic / benzyl whatever. I remember spending every morning checking for any allergic reaction - whether that meant my skin getting better or worse, because usually it was the most different first thing in the morning. My eyelids were and still are, one of the first to show any allergic reactions, where they will either get slightly dry and bumping, followed by itchy, or they will puff slightly. (Needless to say that on some days, I couldn't tell if they were getting better or worse, as I had lost track of what they should look like.) I gradually started removing products and waiting a day or two to see what the result would be. I removed and changed, absolutely everything - soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, all makeup, moisturisers, etc. The dermatologist I saw strongly recommended that I use the "soap free" washes but guess what? Those have the ingredients that I had already suspected by that stage. I searched all the mainstream brands, including all the eczema soaps and washes, and I was unable to find any brand that I could safely use. (Note that by this stage, I was very exhausted with all the trial and errors, and being able to find anything I could use.) In the end, I just used the one natural soap that I had been using for the past few years, for my body and hair. This was the baby soap in the Perfect Potion range, which was also the only soap that I could use on my kids when they were babies. (My daughter had very sensitive skin, and although it's still sensitive, it's no where near as bad.) However, at this stage, I had not bothered to change my toothpaste because it was the same one I'd been using for years, so I didn't see any reason to; But then I noticed something interesting: Although the skin on my face was clearing up, there was still a slight puffiness on my eyelids. It was then that I checked my toothpaste, and sure enough, because it's a mainstream brand, it had sulphur in it. So I ditched it and went searching for toothpaste without sulphur and benzoates.
This is where the health food store can be your best friend (as can the internet). Although my local supermarket stocks one version of one brand of natural toothpaste that I can use, the health food store has a good handful to choose from, although many don't taste too good. For kids, there's a great flavour range from the brand Snappy Jaws which I buy for my kids so that I can help them wash out their toothbrushes (otherwise I wouldn't be able to touch it).
The health food store is also the place where I find my shampoo, because here's the catch: Although there are shampoos on the market claiming to be sulphur free, they seem to mean SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate) free, so they'll contain other variants of sulphur, such as sodium lauryl sulfoacetate or sulfosuccinate. The herbal shampoos have these too, but although they're derived naturally, I still can't touch them. If there's no sulphur content, there is almost always a benzoate present, or if not, there will be wheat or something else I can't touch. It's frustrating to say the least. As I write this post, I have not yet found a shampoo that I can use that is nice on my hair, and by nice, I mean a shampoo that doesn't feel like it strips my hair dry. I've stopped bothering with conditioners as they generally contain a benzoate as the main preservative.
For makeup, I ditched all those mainstream brands and sadly had to throw out all my expensive makeup. Even the lipliners would react with my lips, leaving a bumpy, itchy red line after even 30 mins. I now only use mineral makeup and my personal preference is Inika, as it is what I would term real mineral makeup, as it doesn't have any of those chemical ingredients that I'm allergic to. I don't use any fancy facial cleansers - I just use my soap from Perfect Potion. There are a few in their range that I found I can use, although my preference is their baby soap. (Note that a lot of the products from Perfect Potion contain benzoates as the preservative, so you need to check the labels.)
For hair products such as hairspray, gels, creams, etc., you'll have to check all brand labels, as the only one I use is a hair fixing cream by Garnier Fructis. From memory, this was the only product at the time, that didn't contain any allergic ingredients, and it was only one product in their entire range.
On to nails... I don't often paint my nails but when I do, I only use Butter London. Their range is free from harmful / toxic ingredients used in mainstream nail polish, not to mention that most nail polish contain benzoates! I've only just found some nail polish remover from one of my local chemists, that's free from benzoates too. One is by Mavala (Swiss brand) and the other is Swisspers Nails (which is nail polish remover pads).
There is also a few liquid hand wash soaps that I've found that I can use. (I cannot use the ones found in public bathrooms, so I carry my own.) At home, I'm currently using the Natural Instinct Hand Wash, which I use in a pump soap dispenser. The whole family use it, so it saves me from trying to ensure that there is no cross contamination from products I can't touch.
I haven't bothered to change my toilet cleaner, as I don't come into skin contact with that. There are a few natural bathroom cleaning products available in supermarkets, but my husband has taken on the task of cleaning the bathroom regularly with mainstream products.
In the kitchen, I use the dishwasher whenever possible, but also have a natural liquid soap that I can use to hand wash the dishes. (I use to use gloves, but found that the rubber irritated my skin, especially if my hands had any allergic rashes on them already.)
I haven't changed my laundry detergent, although I do use a liquid as I find that I'm more likely to come into skin contact with the powder laundry detergents. I use Omo Sensitive. For stubborn stains, I use a eucalyptus pre-wash stain treatment. (Sorry - can't recall the brand name, but I've found it in both Coles and IGA.) I haven't found myself scratching after being in contact with clothing that's been washed, or to different fabrics.
I can't really recommend any moisturisers yet, as I have found that my skin doesn't need a moisturiser like it use to, before I cut out all the things that I'm (now) allergic to. My recommendation here, would be to visit the health food store to see what they have, rather than the chemist, as the chemist will typically stock products that contain harmful ingredients. (I also haven't found any moisturisers in Perfect Potion that don't have benzoates as the preservative, but you may want to try the Wotnot Baby Lotion.)
Another product that I can think of that needs to be included in this post, is sunscreen. I use Wotnot. It's the only sunscreen that I have found that my daughter can use, and although it's a little on the greasy side, it works. (I have literally tried every sunscreen on the market with my daughter when she was a toddler, and every one of them gave her a skin rash that would break her skin, making it look like she had dragged herself along a gravel road.) I use the Wotnot sunscreen for the whole family.
I'm sure that there is a benzoate in perfumes, but I haven't looked into that yet, so stay tuned. I haven't found any noticeable reaction to my current perfume, for the moment. As for deodorants, well, this is going to sound strange, but I don't use one anymore. Why? Simply because I've found that I don't sweat as much as I use to, since I cut out all the products that I reacted to. I'm sure this has to do with the chemical reaction in my body, but like I said at the start, I'm no chemist, so I really have no idea. I'm just going with what works for me.
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Chocolate
Chocolate. I've never been a big fan of it, but when an event like Easter rolls around, you feel a bit left out if you can't enjoy an Easter egg with the rest of the family. (Assuming you celebrate the event.) This Easter, I had almost accepted the fact that anything related to chocolate that I could eat, wouldn't be chocolate as I use to know it before my allergies flared up last year. I had been purchasing the Sweet William range of chocolate from the grocery store, which never really tasted like chocolate as I remembered it, however I wasn't about to buy regular chocolate and wait for my allergic reactions to the milk (and sometimes egg and wheat) content.
I did check a few online health food stores and other blogs and found that any Easter chocolate for allergy sufferers were few and far between, and all were rather average. I guess most were on the market to stop any kids with allergies, from missing out. Then I found (or rather stumbled upon) Kinnerton, who are a UK confectionery company. They had a luxury dark chocolate Easter egg with a chocolate block as well in the one package, which I happily purchased for myself from David Jones. It was dairy free, nut free, gluten free and egg free. Jackpot for me!
On mid-morning on Easter, when the rest of the family cracked open their Easter eggs, I pulled out my own. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about how it would taste and I was more than pleasantly surprised when the chocolate tasted like the most divine and normal chocolate that I ever ate. Although I savoured every little piece of that chocolate egg, I gave my husband (who does not share the bulk of my allergies) a tiny piece to try. He wrinkled his nose at the offering at first, as I think we'd both class him as a chocolate connoisseur of sorts, who prefers fine dark chocolate and nothing that would try to impersonate real chocolate. After some insistence, he tried the chocolate and happily stated that it tasted like regular, normal, good quality dark chocolate. Needless to say that I had to hide the rest of my chocolate so that I would be able to eat more of it the following day.
The only downside is that since Easter, I have not been able to find any more of their chocolate in stores. The Australian Kinnerton site list several stores in Australia where you can buy their chocolate, but I have not been able to find the same allergy range. I'll keep searching, but in the meantime, I have found that if I look for raw chocolate (sometimes labelled organic chocolate), then there usually isn't any dairy content. However, as I don't often eat chocolate, I've yet to try the ones that I've bought. When I do, I'll add to this post.
I did check a few online health food stores and other blogs and found that any Easter chocolate for allergy sufferers were few and far between, and all were rather average. I guess most were on the market to stop any kids with allergies, from missing out. Then I found (or rather stumbled upon) Kinnerton, who are a UK confectionery company. They had a luxury dark chocolate Easter egg with a chocolate block as well in the one package, which I happily purchased for myself from David Jones. It was dairy free, nut free, gluten free and egg free. Jackpot for me!
On mid-morning on Easter, when the rest of the family cracked open their Easter eggs, I pulled out my own. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about how it would taste and I was more than pleasantly surprised when the chocolate tasted like the most divine and normal chocolate that I ever ate. Although I savoured every little piece of that chocolate egg, I gave my husband (who does not share the bulk of my allergies) a tiny piece to try. He wrinkled his nose at the offering at first, as I think we'd both class him as a chocolate connoisseur of sorts, who prefers fine dark chocolate and nothing that would try to impersonate real chocolate. After some insistence, he tried the chocolate and happily stated that it tasted like regular, normal, good quality dark chocolate. Needless to say that I had to hide the rest of my chocolate so that I would be able to eat more of it the following day.
Avoiding sulphur
Out of all the things that I'm allergic to, sulphur seems to be the most difficult to work around. Avoiding ingesting sulphur generally means to avoid all dried fruits, vinegar, wine, or any food that contains these ingredients. I'm sure that this list is not exhaustive either, as I seem to find more and more products with the sulphur preservative (typically 223, but can be anything in the preservative range of 220-228). If you think about handling this in the simplest form, you'd eat fresh fruit rather than anything dried, avoid vinegar or anything preserved, and avoid wine. When cooking, you can generally substitute any ingredients that are not suitable, but how do you substitute dessicated or shredded coconut? I'm not one for buying a whole coconut and shredding the "meat" myself, and coconut cream doesn't work if you need the coconut to be dry. So, over the past few months, each time I've gone to the supermarket or health food store, I've looked for shredded coconut that does not contain sulphur. All the regular brands contain sulphur, which is incredibly frustrating, as sulphur is the preservative used to, well, "preserve" the coconut. I also tried Googling it, but I never came up with any results.
Being the persistent person I am, I searched the grocery store shelves again tonight and I found it! It was an expensive small packet of organic coconut flakes, but as it's the only one I've found since I started looking months ago, I bought it. The brand? Honest to Goodness. I'm not one to generally buy organic products just because they're organic, but this one won me over as it clearly stated on the front "no added sulphur". The brand prides itself in having nothing artifical - so that means no preservatives, colours, additives, flavours or sweeteners, and it's not GMO. (The coconut flakes taste fantastic too, and I was tempted to just eat a good handful before putting them into the pantry.) They have a decent range of products available online too, if your grocery store don't stock their products. For more information, go to the Goodness website. They're based in Sydney; I'm not sure if they can ship internationally, as I haven't checked.
Before you head over to that site though, I must warn you that their products may have traces of gluten in it, so if you're highly allergic to gluten, then you may have to avoid their products. Thankfully, I don't react as badly to traces of gluten, as I do to traces of sulphur.
So now I can go back to making things like coconut slice for myself and my family. If only I could find a substitute for cheese, because making a pizza without cheese just doesn't hit the spot.
Being the persistent person I am, I searched the grocery store shelves again tonight and I found it! It was an expensive small packet of organic coconut flakes, but as it's the only one I've found since I started looking months ago, I bought it. The brand? Honest to Goodness. I'm not one to generally buy organic products just because they're organic, but this one won me over as it clearly stated on the front "no added sulphur". The brand prides itself in having nothing artifical - so that means no preservatives, colours, additives, flavours or sweeteners, and it's not GMO. (The coconut flakes taste fantastic too, and I was tempted to just eat a good handful before putting them into the pantry.) They have a decent range of products available online too, if your grocery store don't stock their products. For more information, go to the Goodness website. They're based in Sydney; I'm not sure if they can ship internationally, as I haven't checked.
Before you head over to that site though, I must warn you that their products may have traces of gluten in it, so if you're highly allergic to gluten, then you may have to avoid their products. Thankfully, I don't react as badly to traces of gluten, as I do to traces of sulphur.
So now I can go back to making things like coconut slice for myself and my family. If only I could find a substitute for cheese, because making a pizza without cheese just doesn't hit the spot.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Introduction
Welcome to my first blog post.
The aim of this blog is to reach out to others who may also be suffering from allergies that may be perhaps similar to mine, and to let you know that despite what I have been told by some medical professionals, my allergies have only surfaced in the last year.
I'm a female in my mid-30s. I have lived (and still live) a lifestyle that I would consider healthy. I walk wherever possible, I eat well, I don't smoke, I drink maybe a glass of alcohol twice a year, I work and love what I do, I'm happily married and am a mother to two wonderful children. Normal and healthy, with no known allergies; But something changed in 2011 that resulted in severe allergic reactions. The allergic reactions spanned 6 months. When it was at its worst, my eyes were pretty much swollen shut, I had itchy red rashes over my face, around my neck, down my back, the inside of my elbows, and on the tops of my hands. At its worst, I saw the inside of ER at my local hospital. It wasn't pleasant.
I was put on steroids to control the allergic reaction and told to rest. I was quizzed on whether I was stressed about anything or if anything in my life had changed recently, to justify my body reacting suddenly this way. The only thing stressing me was that my face looked like an uglier version of Will Smith's character in Hitch, and I didn't know why.
I started analysing everything I came in physical contact with, starting in the bathroom with the soaps, shampoos and cleansers. I struggled to find any common ingredient between them, that may be making me react badly.
I saw a dermatologist. That was no help. I saw an allergy specialist and had a blood test, where I came up as positive to a few things that I didn't know about, but more importantly, the foods and chemicals I suspected by that stage, that I was allergic to, I wasn't tested for. I had a long consultation with a dietician.
Throughout all of that, I was told that it's impossible to develop food allergies this late in life, but that I'm clearly reacting to "something", and it's probably a level of intolerance. My instincts told me to listen to my own body and try what I thought was right, and after listening to everyone else's advice for 6 months, to just attack this the way I think I need to. So I did, and I found something interesting:
I'm allergic to sulphites. Even a trace of it will start a rash. Sulphites are in most things. Sulphur is a common ingredient in cleaning agents and it's a preservative in foods. In its natural form, sulphur is in eggs. I'm allergic to eggs. If I eat one, my eyes swell up. I'm allergic to whey, so that means no dairy, unless I can find milk, butter and cheese without whey, which I don't think is possible. I'm allergic to benzoates, which make my skin paper thin and create open sores. The allergy test showed that I'm allergic to wheat, but I use to avoid that anyway because I use to bloat after eating it. (More on that in another post.) I also avoid gluten for similar reasons. I need to limit my intake of soy, specifically soy milk, because a rash will appear if I have too much.
If I avoid all of the above, I'm okay, but it's not easy to do.
After speaking with other people, I've found that I'm not alone here with my allergies nor with it "appearing" later in life. Allergies to food and chemicals seem to be on the rise, with many people not bothering to get tested for specific allergies, but have rather figured it out themselves (usually by an elimination type diet) and have managed the allergy by avoidance. This process is simple if you're reacting to one or two things, but in my case it was harder to determine because there were so many things, and to be honest, I'm still on the lookout for anything else to add to my list of things to avoid.
Anyway, through this blog, I'm hoping to share my experiences and journey with you. I'll outline how things use to be and also my reasoning behind some of the decisions I've made about food and chemical avoidance.
I'll be happy if I can help even a handful of people avoid going through some of the pain that I've had to. I'm also hoping that if you show similar symptons to food and chemicals, that you'll stop and take note, and avoid the horrible allergic reactions that your body can go through when it just hits overload.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a medical professional and I am not trained in anything related to food, diet, additives, chemicals, etc. I'm just your everyday person who is living through food and chemical allergies that I've recently been made aware of, through severe body reactions. This is my story.
The aim of this blog is to reach out to others who may also be suffering from allergies that may be perhaps similar to mine, and to let you know that despite what I have been told by some medical professionals, my allergies have only surfaced in the last year.
I'm a female in my mid-30s. I have lived (and still live) a lifestyle that I would consider healthy. I walk wherever possible, I eat well, I don't smoke, I drink maybe a glass of alcohol twice a year, I work and love what I do, I'm happily married and am a mother to two wonderful children. Normal and healthy, with no known allergies; But something changed in 2011 that resulted in severe allergic reactions. The allergic reactions spanned 6 months. When it was at its worst, my eyes were pretty much swollen shut, I had itchy red rashes over my face, around my neck, down my back, the inside of my elbows, and on the tops of my hands. At its worst, I saw the inside of ER at my local hospital. It wasn't pleasant.
I was put on steroids to control the allergic reaction and told to rest. I was quizzed on whether I was stressed about anything or if anything in my life had changed recently, to justify my body reacting suddenly this way. The only thing stressing me was that my face looked like an uglier version of Will Smith's character in Hitch, and I didn't know why.
I started analysing everything I came in physical contact with, starting in the bathroom with the soaps, shampoos and cleansers. I struggled to find any common ingredient between them, that may be making me react badly.
I saw a dermatologist. That was no help. I saw an allergy specialist and had a blood test, where I came up as positive to a few things that I didn't know about, but more importantly, the foods and chemicals I suspected by that stage, that I was allergic to, I wasn't tested for. I had a long consultation with a dietician.
Throughout all of that, I was told that it's impossible to develop food allergies this late in life, but that I'm clearly reacting to "something", and it's probably a level of intolerance. My instincts told me to listen to my own body and try what I thought was right, and after listening to everyone else's advice for 6 months, to just attack this the way I think I need to. So I did, and I found something interesting:
I'm allergic to sulphites. Even a trace of it will start a rash. Sulphites are in most things. Sulphur is a common ingredient in cleaning agents and it's a preservative in foods. In its natural form, sulphur is in eggs. I'm allergic to eggs. If I eat one, my eyes swell up. I'm allergic to whey, so that means no dairy, unless I can find milk, butter and cheese without whey, which I don't think is possible. I'm allergic to benzoates, which make my skin paper thin and create open sores. The allergy test showed that I'm allergic to wheat, but I use to avoid that anyway because I use to bloat after eating it. (More on that in another post.) I also avoid gluten for similar reasons. I need to limit my intake of soy, specifically soy milk, because a rash will appear if I have too much.
If I avoid all of the above, I'm okay, but it's not easy to do.
After speaking with other people, I've found that I'm not alone here with my allergies nor with it "appearing" later in life. Allergies to food and chemicals seem to be on the rise, with many people not bothering to get tested for specific allergies, but have rather figured it out themselves (usually by an elimination type diet) and have managed the allergy by avoidance. This process is simple if you're reacting to one or two things, but in my case it was harder to determine because there were so many things, and to be honest, I'm still on the lookout for anything else to add to my list of things to avoid.
Anyway, through this blog, I'm hoping to share my experiences and journey with you. I'll outline how things use to be and also my reasoning behind some of the decisions I've made about food and chemical avoidance.
I'll be happy if I can help even a handful of people avoid going through some of the pain that I've had to. I'm also hoping that if you show similar symptons to food and chemicals, that you'll stop and take note, and avoid the horrible allergic reactions that your body can go through when it just hits overload.
Disclaimer: I am in no way a medical professional and I am not trained in anything related to food, diet, additives, chemicals, etc. I'm just your everyday person who is living through food and chemical allergies that I've recently been made aware of, through severe body reactions. This is my story.
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