Question of the Day, Wednesday March 30th

AbbysMom · Mar 30, 2016

It looks like our friend Cool Cat is still taking some time away from the site. My thoughts are with him as he continues to mourn the loss of King Milky. :heart2: I'll post a question for today.

I just went for allergy shots this morning, so today's question is -

Are you allergic to anything?

I am not allergic to any foods, although I've had an an odd reaction after having a few specific soy products. I'm not allergic to any medication that I know off. Environmental allergies though? I've got 'em all. :lol3:

Cats, Dogs, dust, ragweed, trees, grasses, mold.....you get the idea. :lol3:

sivyaleah · Mar 30, 2016

Seasonal allergies. I take Zyrtec daily from about March through November. It's controllable as long as I take it.

I also developed an allergy to a particular type of anesthesia used in dental work. Can't remember what it is off-hand (I keep meaning to call the dentist so I can write it down).

I don't deal with with certain families of antibiotics - the ones ending with "mycin" but this may just be more of an intolerance, not an actual allergy. I request something other to be sure.

I have had some problems with cats through the years but luckily neither of ours is an issue.

Oh and mango skin! It has a chemical in the same family as poison ivy. Bad, awful hives on my face if that oil touches the skin so I totally avoid eating it unless it's a mango lassi, prepared by someone else and sipped through a straw.

micknsnicks2mom · Mar 30, 2016

no seasonal type allergies and no food allergies here, but i am allergic to some medications. the most important one being sulfa, because that's the 'standard' medication used to treat cellulitis (which i'm prone to developing).

these days i try to avoid any and all medications as much as possible. and i've been using a mixture of tea tree and eucolyptus essential oils, in a 'carrier' of fractionated coconut oil, as a disinfectant when needed.

louann jude · Mar 30, 2016

I am allergic to most antibiotics and grass. I love the summer time but the smell of fresh cut grass gives me a migraine.

MoochNNoodles · Mar 30, 2016

Yes. I could be worse off; but I have enough.

I have seasonal allergies. Which aren't as bad as they were years ago; but if I travel to a different area in the spring I am a mess. I actually went off seasonal allergy meds for a few years. My new doctor thinks doing that could be behind my fluid issues in my ears. So now I'm on 2 kids; indefinitely.

I am allergic to a few foods: avocados, kiwi, things prepared with MSG. I'm also allergic to bees, the antibiotic Minocin, and I've reacted to lotions in the past. As a toddler I coudln't tolerate sunscreen. (My DD has this issue on her face especially.)

I've had one reaction that the cause was unknown. I was covered in hives from head to toe. It took 2 steroids on top of benadryl to get the reaction to go away. It started near my armpit at work in the morning. That afternoon I walked into the office my boss (a Neurologist) and his Medical Assistant shared and she literally gasped and pointed at the same time I felt those hives crawl right up my face. When the doctor saw me a few minutes later he was like " You NEED to go be seen." I've never had such fast service from my family doctor. I called them up and told them who I worked for and what he said and they were like "Come right in!!"

But seriously; i looked so bad people were staring at me in Walmart while I wandered around waiting for my prescription to be filled.

My DH had to help me cover myself in calamine lotion just to get relief. I took the next day off of work but ended up going back after that because it distracted me from the itching!! It was nice that I wore scrubs to work there.

Oh I forgot; I'm also sensitive to some metals. That breaks me out in eczema.

Willowy · Mar 30, 2016

I sneeze and wheeze in the spring :lol3:. I don't know exactly what I'm allergic to, I just take a Zyrtec every day and call it good.

I don't think I'm actually allergic to foods or medications (as in an actual histaminic reaction), but I have a lot of intolerances. I can't eat oranges too often or get the juice on my skin. I have a reaction to the juice on my skin with most fruits actually. Irritation or allergy? I don't know. Same with sunscreen---if I get it on my face it burns! There are a few kinds I can use on my face but i have to be really careful.

inanna · Mar 30, 2016

I too, am allergic to mango skin. Found that out the hard way.

I've also got a severe shellfish allergy, can't even touch it, and cross contamination with surfaces will cause a reaction. I'm also allergic to most artificial sweeteners and I'm lactose intolerant. All my allergies seem to be food related, although a suspect a mild cat allergy (can't let fur build up ANYWHERE or my eyes tear up). I also suspect I'm allergic to poison ivy since I reacted to mango skin. Luckily, I've managed to avoid it.

Winchester · Mar 30, 2016

I am allergic to every over-the-counter pain medicine known to man. Advil, Aleve, Execdrin for Migraines, Bufferin, Tylenol, Halls Lozenges, aspirin, baby aspirin, etc. Also to Accupril, Lisinipril (for high blood pressure). You name it, I'm allergic to it. My face swells up....sometimes my lip will swell, sometimes I will swell up around my eye area, sometimes it's around my chin. One night, my throat started to swell; that scared me. The allergy came on very quickly a few years ago. I have Epi-pens and cannot travel without them. I also have a note from my doctor that if I need to go to the ER for the allergy, they are to do certain kinds of bloodwork; I carry that note in my wallet all the time.

I tried different kinds of Advil, different kinds of Tylenol and am allergic to all of them. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away; I would take a couple Advil tablets around 9:00 in the morning, for example, and around 3:00 in the afternoon, my lip would start to itch like crazy and then it would start to swell. A couple Benedryl and about 3-4 hours later, the swelling would start to go back down.

I also get terrible migraines (complete with auras) and cluster headaches and can't take anything at all for the pain. Nothing. I pretty much live with the pain and when it gets too bad, then I go to bed with cold compresses on my head. One day it felt like my head was going to explode; I wrapped the belt to my bathrobe around my head tightly, anything to try to stop the pain. Went to a migraine specialist, but she said that because it's not so bad that I can't function, she couldn't help me....she's more interested in people who can't function normally because of the migraines. Also went to two allergy specialists for some kind of help; they just said, "Well, don't take anything that you think you're allergic to!" Um, yeah, thanks for that. The problem is that it's prohibitively expensive to test for something like this and my insurance won't even talk to me about paying for it.

One night we had gone for groceries and I was buying fresh produce. Evidently, there was something on something that I had handled because, on the way home, the bottom of my lip started to itch and til we got home, it was all swollen. It looked like somebody punched my mouth. I took some Benedryl and about three hours later the swelling started to go back down and I was fine again.

It's frustrating to have to deal with this. It's a shame, too, because Execdrin for Migraines used to give me some relief from the migraines, but I can't take it anymore.

sivyaleah · Mar 30, 2016

Winchester said:
I am allergic to every over-the-counter pain medicine known to man. Advil, Aleve, Execdrin for Migraines, Bufferin, Tylenol, Halls Lozenges, aspirin, baby aspirin, etc. Also to Accupril, Lisinipril (for high blood pressure). You name it, I'm allergic to it. My face swells up....sometimes my lip will swell, sometimes I will swell up around my eye area, sometimes it's around my chin. One night, my throat started to swell; that scared me. The allergy came on very quickly a few years ago. I have Epi-pens and cannot travel without them. I also have a note from my doctor that if I need to go to the ER for the allergy, they are to do certain kinds of bloodwork; I carry that note in my wallet all the time.

I tried different kinds of Advil, different kinds of Tylenol and am allergic to all of them. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away; I would take a couple Advil tablets around 9:00 in the morning, for example, and around 3:00 in the afternoon, my lip would start to itch like crazy and then it would start to swell. A couple Benedryl and about 3-4 hours later, the swelling would start to go back down.

I also get terrible migraines (complete with auras) and cluster headaches and can't take anything at all for the pain. Nothing. I pretty much live with the pain and when it gets too bad, then I go to bed with cold compresses on my head. One day it felt like my head was going to explode; I wrapped the belt to my bathrobe around my head tightly, anything to try to stop the pain. Went to a migraine specialist, but she said that because it's not so bad that I can't function, she couldn't help me....she's more interested in people who can't function normally because of the migraines. Also went to two allergy specialists for some kind of help; they just said, "Well, don't take anything that you think you're allergic to!" Um, yeah, thanks for that. The problem is that it's prohibitively expensive to test for something like this and my insurance won't even talk to me about paying for it.

One night we had gone for groceries and I was buying fresh produce. Evidently, there was something on something that I had handled because, on the way home, the bottom of my lip started to itch and til we got home, it was all swollen. It looked like somebody punched my mouth. I took some Benedryl and about three hours later the swelling started to go back down and I was fine again.

It's frustrating to have to deal with this. It's a shame, too, because Execdrin for Migraines used to give me some relief from the migraines, but I can't take it anymore.

Good lord. That's awful. I used to get terrible migraines (menopause seems to have cured them, thankfully) and can't imagine not being able to take anything to halt them. What a difficult way to live

sivyaleah · Mar 30, 2016

Inanna said:
I too, am allergic to mango skin. Found that out the hard way.

I've also got a severe shellfish allergy, can't even touch it, and cross contamination with surfaces will cause a reaction. I'm also allergic to most artificial sweeteners and I'm lactose intolerant. All my allergies seem to be food related, although a suspect a mild cat allergy (can't let fur build up ANYWHERE or my eyes tear up). I also suspect I'm allergic to poison ivy since I reacted to mango skin. Luckily, I've managed to avoid it.

I found out the hard way also. When I was living in Florida, my neighbor had a huge mango tree that used to spill it's fruit into our yard. The first summer I was there, I walked around with a terrible rash around my mouth for months. Years later, when I had moved back to the northeast, I put 2 and 2 together after eating a mango; it had been a long time since I'd had one at that point (mangoes were not so easy to find up there in the 1980's). Who knew?

artiemom · Mar 30, 2016

AbbysMom said:
It looks like our friend Cool Cat is still taking some time away from the site. My thoughts are with him as he continues to mourn the loss of King Milky.

I'll post a question for today.

I just went for allergy shots this morning, so today's question is -

Are you allergic to anything?

I am not allergic to any foods, although I've had an an odd reaction after having a few specific soy products. I'm not allergic to any medication that I know off. Environmental allergies though? I've got 'em all.

Cats, Dogs, dust, ragweed, trees, grasses, mold.....you get the idea.

I am allergic to so many things!

Similar to your allergies...

cats, dogs, ragweed, spring grasses, dust, mold, oak pollen, cigarette smoke gives me an asthma attack. The same with some perfumes in the 'grassy' scents.. And Tresor Perfume---shudder...instant asthma attack and headache!

I am also sensitive to one group of medicines; for High BloodPressure~~~the Calcium Channel Blockers. Those drugs swell up my legs! and could possibly give me a severe allergic reaction if I have them again.

Mamanyt1953 · Mar 30, 2016

Penicillin, that's the big, scary one. The one that sends me into anaphylactic shock. Sensitivities to all opiates. Some food sensitivities, but not actual allergies (I can't eat liver without sever gastric upsets, and have to limit coconut meat). NO allergies to animals, so far.

The fun part is that I have over 400 pollen and air borne allergies. I really do NOT like spring, summer and early fall.

Kat0121 · Mar 30, 2016

Mild seasonal allergies

Bananas

angels mommy · Mar 30, 2016

Winchester said:
I am allergic to every over-the-counter pain medicine known to man. Advil, Aleve, Execdrin for Migraines, Bufferin, Tylenol, Halls Lozenges, aspirin, baby aspirin, etc. Also to Accupril, Lisinipril (for high blood pressure). You name it, I'm allergic to it. My face swells up....sometimes my lip will swell, sometimes I will swell up around my eye area, sometimes it's around my chin. One night, my throat started to swell; that scared me. The allergy came on very quickly a few years ago. I have Epi-pens and cannot travel without them. I also have a note from my doctor that if I need to go to the ER for the allergy, they are to do certain kinds of bloodwork; I carry that note in my wallet all the time.

I tried different kinds of Advil, different kinds of Tylenol and am allergic to all of them. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away; I would take a couple Advil tablets around 9:00 in the morning, for example, and around 3:00 in the afternoon, my lip would start to itch like crazy and then it would start to swell. A couple Benedryl and about 3-4 hours later, the swelling would start to go back down.

I also get terrible migraines (complete with auras) and cluster headaches and can't take anything at all for the pain. Nothing. I pretty much live with the pain and when it gets too bad, then I go to bed with cold compresses on my head. One day it felt like my head was going to explode; I wrapped the belt to my bathrobe around my head tightly, anything to try to stop the pain. Went to a migraine specialist, but she said that because it's not so bad that I can't function, she couldn't help me....she's more interested in people who can't function normally because of the migraines. Also went to two allergy specialists for some kind of help; they just said, "Well, don't take anything that you think you're allergic to!" Um, yeah, thanks for that. The problem is that it's prohibitively expensive to test for something like this and my insurance won't even talk to me about paying for it.

One night we had gone for groceries and I was buying fresh produce. Evidently, there was something on something that I had handled because, on the way home, the bottom of my lip started to itch and til we got home, it was all swollen. It looked like somebody punched my mouth. I took some Benedryl and about three hours later the swelling started to go back down and I was fine again.

It's frustrating to have to deal with this. It's a shame, too, because Execdrin for Migraines used to give me some relief from the migraines, but I can't take it anymore.

Oh, that is terrible! Have you tried any aromatherapy for your migraines? I have a really great book of essential oils that is full of recipes for different things. I use it more than any other book, ever! I'll be glad to look somethings up if you want, just send me a pm.

angels mommy · Mar 30, 2016

I have seasonal allergies trees seem to be the worst for me. I used to be allergic to cats, but Angel fixed that!

As far as food, I have a dairy intolerance, but I love cheese, so when I do eat it, I just take a few lactaid pills. Back when everything was coming out in soy, I learned that soy was worse for me. Soy made me look pregnant! ... NO Thanks!! (Because it still had the estrogen's, but just plant ones, instead of animal, & for women, that's where it goes!) So I use almond milk.

Boris Diamond · Mar 30, 2016

I used to be allergic to, well, it seemed like everything. I did not eat in a restaurant of go on vacation for 20 years. Could not visit most people's homes.

Now I have much less allergies. Mold is bad. Every fall I am ill from it. Tree pollen can get me. The worst is alcohol. If someone puts alcohol in food and I eat it, I get a three day in bed migraine headache.

allmykitties · Mar 30, 2016

I have seasonal allergies, and I'm also allergic to nickel. (I have broken out in hives from wrist to elbow from the back of a wristwatch -- I don't wear watches anymore).

MoochNNoodles · Mar 30, 2016

Winchester said:
One night we had gone for groceries and I was buying fresh produce. Evidently, there was something on something that I had handled because, on the way home, the bottom of my lip started to itch and til we got home, it was all swollen. It looked like somebody punched my mouth. I took some Benedryl and about three hours later the swelling started to go back down and I was fine again.

My Aunt told me that she has to wash all thick skinned produce down because she found out it's something sprayed on them that she is allergic to. I'm talking melons and things like that. i think she goes so far as to soak some. She doesn't react if she does that! I'm guessing its a pesticide that she reacts to. She suggested that when I developed the avocado and kiwi allergies. Although I don't know how you wash down a kiwi well. I miss those!!

betsygee · Mar 30, 2016

sivyaleah said:
Good lord. That's awful. I used to get terrible migraines (menopause seems to have cured them, thankfully) and can't imagine not being able to take anything to halt them. What a difficult way to live

Ditto that! My hubby used to get cluster headaches and even though OTC pain meds didn't help a lot, they helped some. I don't what he would have done if he couldn't take anything.

I have horrible allergies to tree pollens--of course, it's to the pines, oaks and cedars that surround our house...

muffy · Mar 31, 2016

betsygee said:
Ditto that! My hubby used to get cluster headaches and even though OTC pain meds didn't help a lot, they helped some. I don't what he would have done if he couldn't take anything.

I have horrible allergies to tree pollens--of course, it's to the pines, oaks and cedars that surround our house...

I had cluster headaches off and on for 10 years. The pain was so bad I wanted to kill myself. There was nothing I could take that would help.

Question of the Day, Wednesday March 30th

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