What should I expect

Hi Allergy and Asthma folks! I normally post in Crohns but have posted here a couple times about my allergy to Red Dye number 40.  Recently I have been getting the same reaction (all over itchy's, warmness, red blotches, hives) after a variety of meals that do not contain red dye.  I have started keeping a diary of the meals I have before a reaction.  I was able to get a referall to an allergist for November 1st.  I am used to the whole doctors and diet thing b/c of the crohns but I like to go into each appointment informed.  I plan on filling out the forms ahead of time so we dont have to waste appointment time with that.  Ill bring the food diary.  I saw on their website that I should avoid benadryl or claritain before the appointment in case I have testing done.  Any idea of how we are going to find out what Im allergic too? Im going to call my insurance tomorrow just for a heads up in case there is anything not covered.  Also, how long can a reaction last? Can I be itchy for days from something I ate at one meal? If I am allergic to a detergeant or something can the reaction come and go throughout the day or would it be there all the time? Thanks for letting me visit and don't let my "veteran" status fool you.  Im a veteran at crohns, not allergies!!! 

Hi Fitzy :) Usually when you go see an allergist, they sit you down and you explain to them what has been happening and what reactions you get. They then will do 1 of 3 tests (or maybe all of them - but not at once). The tests are the scratch test, Epidermal test, and the RAST test. They also have a food test, but I'm not sure how that goes. They will test you for the common culprits and then probably after listening to you, test for those more "exotic" allergens. Allergists are trained to deal with any situation so if you have an allergic reaction, they will be able to help counteract that. Good luck at your appt. And I hear ya about the diet restrictions! I'm a Uc'er :)

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Regarding food allergies, about 6 months ago I had an appointment with a homepathic doctor . He drew several viles of blood and sent them to a lab to be analyzed for my tolerance to every kind of food and spice you can think of..

Well, was I surprised when I got the results a few days later. Some of the foods that I was eating on almost a daily basis came back as foods I should avoid and some that I can just have occassionaly. I thought these were foods that were healthy for anyone, but my results showed allergic reaction to cabbage, celery, broccoli, asparagus, plums and some reaction to apples, lemons, pears, pineapple and bananas.

I eliminated the foods on the avoid list completely and it a manner of days my blood pressure returned to normal, I stopped snoring at night (snoring was so bad my wife would sleep in another room) , blood sugars dropped tremendously and I feel like a new person. My energy level is up and I feel like a 20 year old.

I mentioned this to my dentist and he stated, 95 % of most peoples problems could be solved if they only knew what foods to avoid, however he stated the medical profession will never recommend that because they make money from patients being sick!!

It is a simple test and I recommed it very highly to eveyone. Could change your life for the better. I had read the book about eating according to your blood type and I did not really think that was important. The homepathic doctor said eveyone's body chemistry is different and food is the fuel. You must put the proper food in your body to realize the transformation to the necessary fuel that each person's body chemistry desires.

 

I'm also allergic to red#40. I found out that lots of foods that may not say have red 40 in them do. like fried chicken for example. I have a reaction that has been on my lip for almost 3 days now. It's dark red and very painful. Yellow #5 is a very close relative of red #40 and willl yield the same reaction in some people with a food coloring allergy. Try to cut out all food coloring for a week or so. Good luck

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Post Edited By Moderator (Red_34) : 10/21/2007 5:38:50 AM (GMT-6)