Food alergy ??

[FroggyinArk]

Has anyone here ever developed a food alergy later in life?

DW is 40, and Monday morning about 4:30 am she woke up scratching and itching. We gave her benedryl all day yesterday and it kept her from itching for a few hours at a time, then today, it was worse. I took her to the drs office and the nurse pratcioner started asking what she had eaten in the last 48 hours that might have been different from her normal diet, because it was either a medicinal alergy, or food alergy to make her itch all over like that.

Now everything she had eaten was things we have eaten occasionally for years. Sunday supper was manwich's and fries, followed by a cherry pie, monday we had burgers , the nurse said it was probably a reaction to the tomatoes or a spice, and that it was normal for alergies to just start one day and maybe later just stop,


So my question is has this ever happened to anyone else???? dw scratched so much yesterday her ears started to bleed and so did her wrist, Just a worried hubby

 

[Megster]

yep (well I'm only 18), but I used to eat shrimp and i LOVED it. Then two christmases ago I had some and got really sick (I'll save you the details). I figured it was just food poisoning so I had some about a month later and the same exact thing happened. I'm terrified to eat any kind of shellfish now

 

[RadioNate]

Did she take any ibuprofin (advil/motrin) I go a serious case of hives in Dec. They lasted nearly 4 weeks and we never did really pin point a trigger but ibuprofin is a leading suspect.

Food allergies tend to pass quickly and hopefully her's will it's no fun itching like crazy.

 

[LisaR]

I ate crab for years. DH and I used to drive to S.C. yearly just to hit the all you can eat crab places. Never had a problem. One night I was eating crab legs and my throat swelled up. I had to be rushed to the ER. After that episode, I stayed away from crab but still ate shrimp and lobster without any problems. Two years later, it happened again after eating shrimp. Now I can't have any shell fish at all.

Lisa

 

[cynsaun]

Shellfish for me, too. I used to only get a horrible migraine when I consumed anything with anchovies in it (worchestshire sauce is one.) But, my allergy has crossed over to the point that I can't even be in the same room with seafood, as I breakout in head to toe hives and get a horrible migraine.

Look at the ingredients of Manwhich. Maybe there is something in there that got to her.

Good luck!!

 

[luv2nascar]

allergic to sulfa drugs/sulfities like in wine and shrimp
my mom is too

 

[FroggyinArk]

lol manwich: tomatoes, dried onions, garlic, peppers, andspices, so unless it was the spices and btw we eat manwich about every 2 months,,,,,,

 

[cynsaun]

You know, it could be environment related. Things may be starting to bloom there, and she is having a reaction to that.

Or, could you be using a new soap?

 

[FroggyinArk]

they said environmental was unlikely due to it being all over, and nope same soaps same detergent, same everything,,lol

 

[MrsKreamer]

My best friend just became allergic to pecans. Growing up here we eat pecans all the time. One day she just became allergic.

 

[BWVDenise]

Trying to figure out an allergic reaction can drive you crazy. I had one last summer that basically ruined the entire summer for me and the allergist says I may never know for sure what it was. I'll just keep taking my Zyrtec because I don't want to go through that again! Best wishes to your dw and I hope you can figure it out.

 

[Sparx]

I developed an allergy to mangos. Well, it was actually a develped allergy to poison ivy and oak, and the doctor said that if I was allergic to that, I would be allergic to mangos. Does that count?

 

[OK!]

It hasn't happened to me (thank goodness!), but a former coworker of mine developed a severe shellfish allergy a few years ago. She used to go to the casinos every week on whatever night one of the restaurants there had all-you-can-eat crab legs (she'd grown up in Boston and had been eating them all her life) and then suddenly one week she got horribly sick after eating them. I think she tried eating them once or twice more, hoping against hope that it had just been food poisoning or something, but after having the same results each time, she's now unable to eat any type of shellfish at all.

 

[mom2boys]

Could still be envirnomental. Take her a allergist if it doesn't go away. She can be tested for all sorts of allergies.
I have a nasty reaction to ladybugs. DS2 shares my reaction. It took a couple of years to pinpoint it - and lots of strange looks & misdiagnoises from doctors. Finally went to a full board ceritified allergist. The ladybugs swarm our house every Fall - it is horrible. DS was standing on the porch one day trying to shoe the bugs away and his eye swelled shut. That is the exact reaction I have - the first time it happend was right after I started wearing contacts so I made the mistake of going to optomotrist - he was CLULESS. Physicans Asst. at GP at least recognized it as an allergic reation. DS's pediatrican never heard of an allergic reaction to ladybugs. Allergist had read recent studies on the subject - unfortunately the serum is hard to come by and he hasn't been able to test me.

 

[OK!]

allergic to sulfa drugs/sulfities like in wine and shrimp
my mom is too

Ah, another sufferer. I almost died from a severe allergic reaction to a sulfa drug when I was in 9th grade. When I started getting sicker just after having started taking the drug, the doctor thought that it might be a matter of the dosage not being high enough to be effectively treating the illness for which the drug'd been prescribed, so if I took just a little bit more, I'd start to see some improvement. Instead, what happened was I started having problems with my lungs, extreme fatigue (one night, I woke up terribly thirsty but laid in bed debating for 45 minutes whether or not I'd be able to get up and make it out to the kitchen), terrible nausea (the only thing I could force down was Ted Drewe's frozen custard....mmmmmmmmmmmm ; even the smell of anything else had me barfing), a fever of 106 degrees for 4-5 days, and, eventually, a hideous rash all over my body. There were some other gross things that happened that I don't remember, but according to my mom, it's just as well that I was unconscious when a lot of that was going on, because I would've been horrified. Yick.

Ever since then, every time I see a doctor, I make sure they list "SULFA!" in my file under the list of my known allergies. Yes, with the exclamation point.

 

[ElizK]

Yep, about 7 yrs ago I had a reaction to shrimp. I've eaten a LOT of shrimp in my life. It was all of the sudden. My mouth, chin, and neck become itchy, and I cough a lot. Fairly mild reaction, but with food allergies, as I understand, the reaction becomes more severe with each exposure. I can no longer eat cantelope or honeydew melon, either. Same reaction. (as a side note... melons are a member of the ragweed family... I'm so very very allergie to ragweed).

Cannot take penicillin either. My whole body became red and swollen last time I took it. No hives. DH and I were driving between Ft Worth and Houston. Guess that could have gone badly.

 

[PamOKW]

I'm also among the shrimp sufferers. Shrimp, lobster, crab were my favorite foods. One night I got itchy, then got hives like poison ivy all over my body. It was very weird but it took 2 trips to the ER, one to the doctor and over a week for it to clear up. I had to take Zyrtec (the Benadryl wasn't working well enough) and Prednisone. Not sure if lobster and crab will do it too but I'm not touching any shellfish!

 

[Mrs.Milo]

It's very common for allergies to flare up suddenly. A good allergist would be a good place to start, and I would expect them to ask you to keep a food diary for a couple weeks. Three years ago I became allergic to lots of things at once; shrimp, chicken, lots of foods, pollen, and it all made my throat swell. It took awhile but the allergy shots helped, as did getting out of my work place, which was full of toxins, and which I think triggered it all in the first place. (it was a tire shop, ever notice how over-powering the smell is?) Anyway, hang in there, eventually it will get better, good luck!

 

[cynsaun]

I can no longer eat cantelope or honeydew melon, either. Same reaction. (as a side note... melons are a member of the ragweed family... I'm so very very allergie to ragweed).

That is the same with me! I can't touch it, or I break out in a really itchy and painful rash from exposure!

I didn't know it was part of the ragweed family!!

 

[rascalmom]

I am very allergic to fish and shellfish. As a child, it was only codfish. Over about the past 10 years I've gotten where I couldn't eat anything that swims!

Manwich has Worcestershire sauce in it, which is made from anchovies. It took me the longest time to figure out all the hidden things that contain fish. BBQ sauce is usually a no-no, but I can use a few of the bottled kinds.

I also can't take vitamin supplements. Seems many of them use ground oyster shells or seafood processing by-products as a source of calcium and zinc.

My first symptom that I've had an exposure is itching. Usually worse around my ears, scalp and hands. I don't get hives. GI distress & my mouth & throat start to swell. I keep benedryl with me at all times! Symptoms don't last very long after I get the benedryl in me - my body has it's own way of "eliminating" to irritant.

Your wife's symptoms do sound like something that happened to me when I was a kid. My mom changes laundry detergent & then washed my bedsheets. I itched all over.