advice please - of all things, he seems to be allergic to

[LayAllYourLoveOnMe]

his saxophone reed !

Can I seriously tell the doctors this?
DS had an incident last year during his sax lesson where both his legs felt itchy. They became a little red, it was soon relieved with a standard anti-histamine. I spoke to a GP on the phone who said it sounded like an allergic reaction to something he had ingested.

Last night DS told me it has happened several times since whilst playing sax and he thinks it's because he's blowing really hard.
It seems to me it's more likely he's inhaling something really hard.

The only allergen I can think of here is the wooden reed which is no doubt treated with all sorts of chemicals.

Does this sound as bonkers to you as it does to me? Will it sound bonkers to the doctor?
needless to say I would rather he didn't have to stop playing sax and am wondering if he should take an antihistamine before he plays (this is the sort of thing I can ask the doctor if it doesn't sound too crazy)

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

When DS1 started playing guitar, after a while he was very red in the face, itchy nose and runny eyes.
It turned our he was allergic to the cat at the house of the guitar tutor.

Allergen do not need to be ingested. They can be in the environment. When we went to see an allergist , she insisted in removing the trigger as if exposition continues it can get worse and worse.

We stopped going to the tutor's house but that same year, DS1 developed asthma and let me tel you the first asthma attack - when we had no clue he had asthma - was so scary, I thought he was going to die.

Allergies are serious, and I would ask to identify the trigger.
Try to keep a log of where it happens, at what time of the day - after dark? Anti histamine in the body are lower at night ? what the reactions are, itchy only or hives?

I am not sure about the culprit being the reed, as the first symptom would be itchy lips or swelling. Does he touch the case with bare skin (between trouser and sock) when preparing the instrument or holding it in the bus between his legs?
Does he wear a band uniform trouser? What was he wearing when it happens?

Or it could be something a lot more simple:
The fact that it happens when blowing really hard makes me think about exercise induced urticaria. One thing histamine does in the body is dilate the blood vessel , so it could be as simple as controlling more the blowing and warming up to it?

That is very helpful
Off to look up exercise induced urticana

Could he try a synthetic reed?

yes I think that's a logical move Waltzing - cheapest thing to change!