-Penicillen (actual anaphylaxis as a child)
-Erythromycin (not an actual allergy, but I get ulcers on my mouth, tongue, throat, hands and feet. It’s a side effect that I’m not curious to repeat).
Since Erythromycin is the antibiotic of choice for people who are Penicillen allergic, I have serious problems. The last time I needed an antibiotic, I was given a cephalosporin. 10% of people who are allergic to Penicillen are also allergic to Cephalosporins, but my options are limited so it was decided to go for it. They had me sit in the doctor’s office for an hour with an epi-pen beside me, in case I went into anaphylaxis. I didn’t, so I’m guessing I’m not in that 10%.
-Dust and mould spores. I can’t vacuum without using a Salbutamol inhaler first, although I’ve never actually had an asthma attack. I get wheezy and breathless in some old buildings too.
Allergies run in my family. Between my mother, aunt, sisters and I we’re allergic to antibiotics, cow’s milk protein, yeast, gluten and cypress pollen.My aunt and sisters have all the food intolerances, my mother and I have the dust, pollen and all of us have antibiotic allergies.
The outdoors. I’m allergic to pollen, trees, grass, and mold, making April through October pretty miserable. It doesn’t get any better indoors, because I’m allergic to cats, dogs, and dust.
I don’t know for sure if I’m allergic to penecillan, but since pretty much everyone on my mom’s side is allergic, I’m not taking any chances.
All metals except gold and sterling silver(I think). Being the stubborn fool that I am, I still wear jewlery that I’m allergic to, even though it makes me red and itchy.
Peaches and chocolate. Fortunately, the chocolate allergy is mild and now I almost never notice when it makes me itchy.
Raw tomatos made me break out in red blotches around my mouth as a kid, but I seem to have outgrown that.
Self-tanner is a biggie nowadays. Last time I used it, I had an itchy rash in the crook of my elbows that made me look like I’d been shooting up.
Late in their lives, I think I was developing an allergy to our guinea pigs. One of them liked to snuggle under my chin, and in his latter years, I would itch like mad after.
Oh, yeah, and the summer I was 10 I developed this vile cough that nobody could figure out - wasn’t sick, no bronchial problems, etc. The only theory was cottonwood trees, but I don’t remember the rationale behind it - the only thing I can think is that it’s the KS state tree so they were freaking everywhere, and thus the most logical culprit. Only time it happened, though.
Meds: sulfas, whatever class duricef is, whatever class biaxin is, codeine, vicodin, sudafed, thimerosol (preservative) – doctors love me!
Food: pineapple, kiwi, celery (in large doses)
Bugs: more than usual reaction to mosquitos, and scarring from fire ant bites (not usual)
Traditional Allergens: mold and corn or soybeans - never figured out which, maybe smoke
Misc: adhesives in bandaids, certain types of makeup, most metals other than platinum & titanium, various soaps & deoderants
Bizarre Stuff: solution used to process microfiche
For those of you who’ve mentioned chronic hives…get your thyroid levels checked. Sometimes chronic hives are a symptom of early hypothyroidism, according to the medical literature. In my case, I get a bunch of different types of hives, but they’re all less of a problem when my thyroid levels are on target.
Ragweed, oak pollen, mold (many kinds), dustmites, horsehair, feathers.
For those of you in the US with seasonal allergies, let me recommend this link:
If you know what you are allergic to, you can sign up for free daily email alerts that let you know what the pollen levels are. Mine kick in in the spring for oak (and a few other trees) then let up for July through mid-August when ragweed kicks in. The email service has been reliable and on the money for the past 3 years. It’s helpful if you’re like me and for the first week or so you’re thinking “I wonder why I’m feeling so yukky???”
Cats, and to a lesser extent, dogs. I have certain friends whose houses I simply won’t enter because they allow their pets inside and I start sneezing within minutes.
**UrbanChic ** - I had NO idea my allergies had a name - my lame doctor has never helped me figure out what’s going on. Good thing I opened this thread!
I too have hay fever - I’m allergic to many types of pollen, freshly cut grass, etc etc … but what has always baffled me has been my many food allergies/sensitivies, which didn’t start until I was 20 -
raw apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, red grapes, cherries, plums
raw potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.
nuts - especially walnuts and almonds
Once any of these are cooked, I can usually eat them without problems. No-one I know believes me, they all know I’m a fussy eater anyway, and figure I’m just making up these allergies to get out of eating fruits and veggies.
Little do they know how frustrating it is - apples used to be my favourite food, and I miss their crunchy, yummy goodness …
When I was very wee, like under 3, I was allergic to tomatoes. I outgrew that, thank og.
I’m allergic to the sun, but not in a photic sneeze reflex type of way. If I go out for a while without sunscreen I get little itchy hives the size of a dime. They go down after a day and end up a dry little circles that flake off and leave a little white spot on my tan skin. If I get a little sun but not a lot, it will skip the hive and go straight to the flaking skin–I can get this from the sun on my arm through the car window driving to work. This started when I was about 16 and is TOTALLY ANNOYING.
I developed an allergy to my rats after having them for over a year. I couldn’t give them up, so I sucked on an inhaler pretty constantly untill they died. I wish I could get ratties again, tho.
My little (almost 21 year old) brother just developed a fruit allergy. If he eats any fruit he gets puffy.
I’ve had any number of people look at me oddly because I’m hugely allergic to aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, acetominaphen and all of their ilk. They trigger an especially exciting autoimmune response in me - sort of like people with bee sting allergies.
Also most perfumes and marijuana.
At least my allergies are easy enough to avoid for the most part.
I feel lucky that I have grown out of all my childhood allergies*, except for one – strawberries. Hives around and IN my mouth, very unpleasant. A doctor once told me that it was technically the strawberry seeds to which I am allergic, but I’m not about to start fussing around with de-seeding a strawberry to see if that’s the case.
*I like to tease my mom and say I wasn’t really allergic to all that stuff growing up, that I was allergic to HER, because they went away around the time I went to college. Ha, I’m such a good kid.
