Allergies

[Ernie S.]

Wednesday morning, I took my tractor up to the back of my property to get some fill for a project. I got a bit side tracked and decided to uproot a couple of trees that I had to negotiate around to get to the sand bank.
In the process, I disturbed a yellowjacket nest and got stung 3 times.
No big deal, right?
Wrong! I am highly allergic to bee stings and have been hospitalized several times since childhood for severe reactions.
I swung the tractor around, shifted to high range and boogied back to the house a couple hundred yards away. I came in the house and told the wife I had been stung. She is aware of my allergy, but had never seen my reaction.
First, I handed her an EpiPen and her reading glasses so she could read the instructions and then grabbed a bottle of liquid Benadryl I keep in the medicine cabinet.
The normal dose is a tablespoon, I swigged down a healthy shot, knowing how quickly I can react. Take it from me, anaphylaxis is no fun at all.
Thankfully, due to my quick action, I had almost no reaction to the stings, certainly nothing more severe than a non-alergic person would experience.

Those of you that have never been stung, or have kids that may possibly be allergic should keep Benadryl on hand. I recommend the liquid form.
Had I been stung on the face or neck, in 15 minutes, my throat could have been so swollen that swallowing a pill would be difficult. The liquid form also gets into your system faster than a capsule.
Different people may react in slightly different ways, but typically, the reaction would start with localized swelling at the site of the sting, kind of like a mosquito bite but over a larger area. If that happens watch very carefully. The next sign, typically is hives (smallish itchy bumps on the skin) that usually show up first at the inside of the elbow, inside of the knee, arm pit or genitals. NOW is the time for Benadryl. Don't wait for the next sign which would be full body hives because once you get there, you are dangerously close to anaphylaxis which could affect breathing and circulation.
If you know you or your child have allergies that could cause anaphylaxis, PLEASE see your doctor and get a prescription for an EpiPen and learn how to use it.
The reaction could come on so suddenly that you might never make it to a hospital.
About 10 or 12 years ago, I was lying in bed watching TV with my ex. We were sharing a jar of cashews (I LOVE cashews). After a few minutes, I noticed the inside of my elbows was itching. I didn't pay too much attention, though I did mention it to my lady.
She is a nurse, so she went into that care giver mode and was watching me like a hawk. Within 3 minutes, I was gasping for breath and my pulse was, damn sounded like a machine gun in my chest!
She jumped out of bed, ran to the medicine cabinet and jammed this thing in my thigh. Within 3 minutes, I was breathing normally, my pulse had slowed and the hives were gone.
If I had had to wait 10 minutes for an ambulance and more time for a dose of Epinephrine, it's likely that I wouldn't be typing this out for you.

PLEASE! Next time you're at the pharmacy, pick up a bottle of liquid Benadryl. It might just save your life.
The only downside to Benadryl is it will make you drowsy. Don't drive after taking it. The plus side is I got a nice nap Wednesday afternoon.

 

[strollingbones]

great suggestion with epi pens running 200 bucks .....i dont get the price on that...

 

[Valerie]

Glad you're OK Ernie! One of my brothers had a severe allergy to bees, so I know just what you're talking about... Been there, done that!

 

[peach174]

great suggestion with epi pens running 200 bucks .....i dont get the price on that...

Most Health Insurance pays for most of that, especially for allergic reactions that can save your life.
Most range anywhere from 62.00 to 82.00.
I pay 10.00 for mine, the insurance pays for the rest of it.

 

[Foxfyre]

I don' suffer from any dangerous allergies, but many in my family, including my husband and daughter-in-law are so affected sometimes they are positively miserable to the point of being really ill and incapacitated. Our daughter has occasional asthma attacks. My sister was not expected to survive childhood because of severe allergies, but a change of location out of East Texas and to the dryer climes of New Mexico allowed her to survive quite nicely.

It does seem that there are many more allergies than there used to be though. Is it our environment? Our diet? Lifestyle? What?

 

[Ernie S.]

great suggestion with epi pens running 200 bucks .....i dont get the price on that...

Nor do I, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
For me, at least, a quick shot of Benadryl seems to stave off a more severe reaction.
I thought it was information that might be useful.

 

[9thIDdoc]

I don' suffer from any dangerous allergies, but many in my family, including my husband and daughter-in-law are so affected sometimes they are positively miserable to the point of being really ill and incapacitated. Our daughter has occasional asthma attacks. My sister was not expected to survive childhood because of severe allergies, but a change of location out of East Texas and to the dryer climes of New Mexico allowed her to survive quite nicely.

It does seem that there are many more allergies than there used to be though. Is it our environment? Our diet? Lifestyle? What?

Evolution. More people with severe allergies living to have children.

 

[Foxfyre]

I don' suffer from any dangerous allergies, but many in my family, including my husband and daughter-in-law are so affected sometimes they are positively miserable to the point of being really ill and incapacitated. Our daughter has occasional asthma attacks. My sister was not expected to survive childhood because of severe allergies, but a change of location out of East Texas and to the dryer climes of New Mexico allowed her to survive quite nicely.

It does seem that there are many more allergies than there used to be though. Is it our environment? Our diet? Lifestyle? What?

Evolution. More people with severe allergies living to have children.

Well that is an interesting theory, but why wouldn't Mr. Foxfyre's family be plagued with the same allergies that he suffers? They don't. Why wouldn't our children have the same allergies he suffers? They don't either. Nor does our granddaughter. You could very well be right, given the huge anomalies that exist in much of nature, but I tend to think the evidence is probably still out on that.

 

[Ernie S.]

I believe it has a lot to do with diagnosis. What used to be called a "sickly child" now has food allergies. Some "retarded" children are now called autistic.

 

[waltky]

Pesticides may be causing rise in allergies...

Pesticide Suspected in Rising Food-Allergy Cases
December 07, 2012 : Food allergies are on the rise globally, and a new report says the culprit could be increasing worldwide exposure to dichlorophenols, chemicals used in agricultural pest-killers and in the chlorine used to disinfect drinking water.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allergies to foods such as milk, wheat, peanuts, soy and shellfish shot up 18 percent in the United States between 1997 and 2007. Other studies have shown that environmental pollution is on the rise. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York suggest there is a link between the two trends.

They analyzed health data from the 2005-2006 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in which more than 10,000 Americans took part. The researchers identified more than 2,500 individuals with measurable levels of dichlorophenols — chemicals found in pesticides and chlorinated water — in their urine. The study team, led by allergist and immunologist Elina Jerschow, narrowed their sample down to 2,200. Out of this group, Jerschow says, 411 of the subjects had some sort of food allergy. “People who had high levels of dichlorophenols were about 80 percent more likely to have allergic sensitization to foods than people who had low levels of dichlorophenols in the urine," she said.

The team found that more than a thousand of the participants had an environmental allergy that was not linked to the chemicals. There’s evidence that people with protected immune systems, which have not been challenged by foreign substances, are ultimately more likely to develop allergies. Jerschow thinks that may help explain her study's findings. “If you think about people who have a lot of allergies, they may be particularly prone to keep the environment specifically clean," she said. "And so they may use more bactericidal agents and more insecticides and pesticides and that’s how they can have more levels of dichlorophenols.”

People are exposed to dichlorophenols not only through tap water, but handling fruits and vegetables, according to Jerschow, who says pesticide residues on farm produce may be a greater source of exposure to the chemicals than tap water. Allergic reactions from food range from a mild rash to anaphylaxis, a systemic reaction that can lead to death within a few minutes. An article by Elina Jerschow and colleagues on food allergies and dichlorophenols is published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Source

 

[waltky]

Couple of items on fast food...

Fast food may be behind surge in asthma, allergies
Wed, Jan 16, 2013 - A diet of fast food and takeaways may be behind the steady surge in children’s asthma and allergies affecting the UK and other developed countries, according to a study.

An international collaboration of scientists has found that young teenagers in particular are nearly 40 percent more likely to have severe asthma if they eat burgers and other types of fast food more than three times a week. For children aged six to seven the risk increased by 27 percent. Children eating fast food were also more likely to get severe eczema and rhinitis — a condition where the nose blocks or runs and the eyes become itchy and watery. The scientists, from New Zealand, Spain, Australia and Germany as well as Nottingham in the UK, say their study could have “major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally” if the link they have found turns out not to be coincidence, but causal.

The good news was that eating fruit appeared to protect young people from asthma and allergies. Eating three or more portions a week reduced the severity of the symptoms by 11 percent among teenagers and 14 percent among younger children. The research, published in the journal Thorax, part of the BMJ group, came out of a large collaborative project called the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), which involves nearly 2 million children in more than 100 countries, making it the biggest of its kind. Fast food — the authors specifically mentioned burgers only because it was the reference to fast food that most people would understand — was the only food type associated with asthma and allergies across all age ranges and countries.

The authors said that “such consistency adds some weight to the possible causality of the relationship.” However, they said more research would be needed to discover whether fast food is definitely a problem. The fast food link was stronger among teenagers than among the young children, which the authors suggest may be because adolescents have more independence, money and control over what they eat. The paper says a link between fast food and asthma and allergies is biologically plausible. It could be “related to higher saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium, carbohydrates and sugar levels of fast food and possibly preservatives.”

In the teenagers, eating butter, margarine and pasta was also associated with asthma symptoms. Studies which involve asking people about their diet can be problematic, because people either forget or tailor the truth. Professor Hywel Williams, from the center of evidence-based dermatology at Nottingham University, said recall over the 12 months of the study was more likely to be inaccurate than biased and this would tend to dilute any association between fast food and asthma, rather than the reverse. “Now if there was a widespread belief already out there that fast foods are ‘bad’ for allergies, then you could say the data was simply reflecting such prior prejudices/beliefs, but we are not aware of any such widespread prior belief,” he said.

Fast food may be behind surge in asthma, allergies - Taipei Times

See also:

Horsemeat found in beef burgers on sale in UK and Ireland
15 January 2013 - Horse DNA has been found in some beef burgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has said.

The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire. It said they posed no health risk. The burgers were on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they were on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl, and Aldi. The FSAI said the retailers have stated that they were removing all implicated batches of the burgers. A total of 27 products were analysed, with 10 of them containing horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.

'Unacceptable'

Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco. In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA. The chief executive of the FSAI, Professor Alan Reilly, said that while the findings posed no risk to public health, they did raise some concerns. "Whilst, there is a plausible explanation for the presence of pig DNA in these products due to the fact that meat from different animals is processed in the same meat plants, there is no clear explanation at this time for the presence of horse DNA in products emanating from meat plants that do not use horsemeat in their production process," he said.

"In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horsemeat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger," Professor Reilly added. "Likewise, for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable." Tesco's group technical director, Tim Smith, said his company was informed of the test results by the FSAI on Tuesday and they "immediately withdrew from sale all products from the supplier in question".

'Extremely serious'

In Tesco's case, two frozen beef burger products that are sold in both the UK and Ireland were found to contain horse DNA. In a statement, Mr Smith said: "The safety and quality of our food is of the highest importance to Tesco. We will not tolerate any compromise in the quality of the food we sell. The presence of illegal meat in our products is extremely serious." He added that Tesco was "working with the authorities in Ireland and the UK, and with the supplier concerned, to urgently understand how this has happened and how to ensure it does not happen again". "We will not take any products from this site until the conclusion and satisfactory resolution of an investigation," the statement said.

'Concern'

 

[Missourian]

I also break out with the hives about once every six months from an unknown allergic reaction.

When I get a spell, it almost always first manifests in the same spot, on my right hip.

For me, the hives itch like a sombitch, and scratching both aggravates and spreads them.

Since they almost always start in the same place, I can catch them early and arrest their propagation.

I take two Benadryl capsules...biting down on them to accelerate dispersal.

 

[Foxfyre]

I also break out with the hives about once every six months from an unknown allergic reaction.

When I get a spell, it almost always first manifests in the same spot, on my right hip.

For me, the hives itch like a sombitch, and scratching both aggravates and spreads them.

Since they almost always start in the same place, I can catch them early and arrest their propagation.

I take two Benadryl capsules...biting down on them to accelerate dispersal.

Now that is interesting. Ten day ago or so I developed a mysterious rash that was a bunch of raised bumps on my forearms to just above my elbows, a little bit on my thighs, across my lower back. They itched like crazy but eventually shrunk with dark little crusts. I initially thought it was just another form of psoriasis and used my meds for that to treat it and it pretty much went away. But I also didn't discount the possibility of a food allergy and did some research and developd some suspicions about sucralose (Splenda) that we use a LOT in lieu of. I did cut out the Splenda just in case that was the problem.

So a few days ago I gradually started reintroducing the Splenda, and wham the rash is back. Immediately stopped it and the rash is subsiding. I have to believe it is a problem.

 

[Missourian]

I also break out with the hives about once every six months from an unknown allergic reaction.

When I get a spell, it almost always first manifests in the same spot, on my right hip.

For me, the hives itch like a sombitch, and scratching both aggravates and spreads them.

Since they almost always start in the same place, I can catch them early and arrest their propagation.

I take two Benadryl capsules...biting down on them to accelerate dispersal.

Now that is interesting. Ten day ago or so I developed a mysterious rash that was a bunch of raised bumps on my forearms to just above my elbows, a little bit on my thighs, across my lower back. They itched like crazy but eventually shrunk with dark little crusts. I initially thought it was just another form of psoriasis and used my meds for that to treat it and it pretty much went away. But I also didn't discount the possibility of a food allergy and did some research and developd some suspicions about sucralose (Splenda) that we use a LOT in lieu of. I did cut out the Splenda just in case that was the problem.

So a few days ago I gradually started reintroducing the Splenda, and wham the rash is back. Immediately stopped it and the rash is subsiding. I have to believe it is a problem.

Could be, although...when my spell subsides (usually after two hours with treatment, roughly four hours without) the hives disappear completely like they were never there. Nothing remains but normal skin. (after a little reading, I found that it is common for some sufferers to have welts crust over)

And the itching is like that of the worst poison ivy...so intense it cannot be ignored.

I've learned to rub instead of scratch. For me, scratching increases the both the size of the individual welts and the area that they affect. They start small, like mosquito bites, but can get as large as silver dollars.

After looking at some images, it seems there are lots of different patterns, configurations, colors and sizes of hive welts.

What I get starts out like this:

And expands to look like this when scratched:

 

[Foxfyre]

Well I have an adversion to doctors except in extreme cases, but whatever is causing hives I do believe needs attention because it can be quite serious. But if cutting out Splenda/sucralose corrects my problem, that's an easy fix. (Though I really like it as a sweetener as it takes so little of it.)

 

[Ernie S.]

BUY SOME LIQUID BENYDRIL, Foxy. Please! It is quite common for allergies to get worse with each reoccurrence.

 

[Ernie S.]

And thanks, Walt for waking up this thread.

 

[syrenn]

And thanks, Walt for waking up this thread.

i am surprised that when working out doors you don't carry your epi pen and the benydril with you.... and you should you know.

 

[syrenn]

I also break out with the hives about once every six months from an unknown allergic reaction.

When I get a spell, it almost always first manifests in the same spot, on my right hip.

For me, the hives itch like a sombitch, and scratching both aggravates and spreads them.

Since they almost always start in the same place, I can catch them early and arrest their propagation.

I take two Benadryl capsules...biting down on them to accelerate dispersal.

Now that is interesting. Ten day ago or so I developed a mysterious rash that was a bunch of raised bumps on my forearms to just above my elbows, a little bit on my thighs, across my lower back. They itched like crazy but eventually shrunk with dark little crusts. I initially thought it was just another form of psoriasis and used my meds for that to treat it and it pretty much went away. But I also didn't discount the possibility of a food allergy and did some research and developd some suspicions about sucralose (Splenda) that we use a LOT in lieu of. I did cut out the Splenda just in case that was the problem.

So a few days ago I gradually started reintroducing the Splenda, and wham the rash is back. Immediately stopped it and the rash is subsiding. I have to believe it is a problem.

i highly suggest you see your doctor ff.

 

[Foxfyre]

I also break out with the hives about once every six months from an unknown allergic reaction.

When I get a spell, it almost always first manifests in the same spot, on my right hip.

For me, the hives itch like a sombitch, and scratching both aggravates and spreads them.

Since they almost always start in the same place, I can catch them early and arrest their propagation.

I take two Benadryl capsules...biting down on them to accelerate dispersal.

Now that is interesting. Ten day ago or so I developed a mysterious rash that was a bunch of raised bumps on my forearms to just above my elbows, a little bit on my thighs, across my lower back. They itched like crazy but eventually shrunk with dark little crusts. I initially thought it was just another form of psoriasis and used my meds for that to treat it and it pretty much went away. But I also didn't discount the possibility of a food allergy and did some research and developd some suspicions about sucralose (Splenda) that we use a LOT in lieu of. I did cut out the Splenda just in case that was the problem.

So a few days ago I gradually started reintroducing the Splenda, and wham the rash is back. Immediately stopped it and the rash is subsiding. I have to believe it is a problem.

i highly suggest you see your doctor ff.

If I don't figure out what's causing it, I will. But so far, so good. If the fix is simply stopping consumption of sucralose, that's pretty easy to do.