When I have a food reaction, it’s not pretty. While I may not be relegated to the nearest powder room with gastrointestinal woes like some, I usually wish to be. Do you remember the round, puffy, oddly shaped faces of the Who’s in Whoville? Cute on a cartoon character, but on me...not so much. Now add to that image face a fiery red, itchy rash that people recoil from for fear of
contamination with Who-cooties. My eyes and cheeks swell and my face and neck are rashy, a bit weepy and itching unbearably. Whenever I arrive at work with a freshly mottled face, my boss is boss is always quick to point out I must have eaten something again to which I promptly come up with the witty retort of…..yup. (My snarky inner-self is meanwhile saying to those who point it out “Thank you Captain Obvious”!) Now, I’m not a particularly vein woman, but having to cross paths with every patient that walks in our door with all of the awesomeness occurring on my face makes me feel about 2 inches tall and aching to hide at home. I watch the patients eyes as they sneak peeks and I want to melt right into the floor to avoid the judgment. Never mind that it is also physically tormenting me a la the chicken pox our parents screeched at us to stop scratching. It’s little consolation to me that others also experience their symptoms primarily or exclusively through their skin, but I’m grateful that our suffering inspires research. One related bit of investigation is on “pseudoallergens”, which are the substances in various foods that elicit allergy-like symptoms even when one is not necessarily diagnosed as allergic. The primary suspects are various food additives and naturally occurring substances. The common skin disorder urticaria and its ties to pseudoallergens is being studied to find out if a pseudoallergen-friendly diet alleviated symptoms and improved quality of life for patients. In this particular study the subjects followed a prescribed diet and kept a diary for 31 days and were then admitted to the hospital for testing. Quality of Life tools were also used throughout. The results showed that one third of the participants were helped by eating a pseudoallergen-friendly diet which is encouraging news. Granted, two thirds of the population was left still searching for their triggers, but the relief of those with successful outcomes was surely immensely welcomed. Hopefully those people were able to face the world again without feeling like a carnival freak show. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2009.02130.x/full And a little further information for you: http://www.nature.com/jidsp/journal/v6/n2/full/5640039a.html
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So much is still to be learned and understood about food intolerance. While food allergy has proven testing methods, albeit with some false positives and negatives, food intolerance testing is elusive. This article from the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics addresses that no solid test for intolerance exists and therefore many patients are left with self-diagnosis and even fear that is impacting their daily lives.
This is a hot-button topic for me as I am one of those patients who tested negative for numerous food allergies, yet I have the medical records and pictures of my reactions to support that when I eat a list of foods, my face swells and becomes covered in an itchy, burning rash, and I am a miserable mess of a person. I don’t much care what the allergy tests say when the elimination and challenge results are so stunningly clear. I often long for definitive tests to make my multiple intolerances much more definitive and less mysterious, but the bottom line is if I react to it, I don't eat it, and I don't need a test to provide that information. Still, the issue of mis-diagnosis and the resulting negative impact on quality of life for some will continue until researchers can unlock an accurate test for food intolerance that rivals the relatively reputable results of true allergy testing. While I can absolutely see the side of self-diagnosis being unnecessary and having psychological impact, I am firmly planted on the side of food intolerance being a very real experience and desperately hope researchers will continue their quest for clear testing methods. Where do you stand? Overly diagnosed and self-diagnosed, or understudied medical field that just doesn’t have clear answers yet? http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/yjada/article/S0002-8223(09)01608-3/fulltext Understanding the difference in terminology is always a first step when exploring a subject. Here's a site to get you started.
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100111p52.shtml From the time I was very young I have suffered from unbearably itchy, burning eczema. My mom had to use cloth diapers on me at a time when it was not fashionable to do so because the chemicals and perfumes would cause a reaction.
Later doctors told me it was using scented laundry detergent, lotions and soaps that were the problem. I was handed one prescription after the next as my response to each diminished, but the eczema still raged leaving me with painful open fissures, particularly on my hands. |
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