What are you or your family allergic to?

[peanutbuttermilkshake]

I have really awful dermatitis all over my face and arms which GP thinks is caused by an allergen but is reluctant to send me for allergy testing as says it’s not very accurate (anyone have any info on this? should I be pushing for this?)

Pretty sure it’s something I am either eating/drinking or passively coming into contact with (like dust or something) rather than something I’m using on my skin as it persists even when I’m applying no products. He has recommended cutting certain things out to see if it changes but I have no idea where to start as there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it appears.

So I thought if I had a few answers on here I could try cutting out some of the things that appear most frequently to see if it’s one of the most common allergens.

Would be very grateful if you could tell me what you or DC/DP are allergic to! Thank you very much.

We have 3 people with different intolerances in our family l, one is wheat intolerant, The other is soy (and yeast) and the 3rd can’t eat any nuts.

The nut intolerant one is violently sick if they eat nuts or used cutlery that someone else has used to cut something nutty.

The wheat one bloats up and has huge spots/blisters all over her body is she eats anything with wheat in (including sweets/crisps/some ice cream).

And the 3rd has face swelling when eating anything with soya in and bad stomach problems if they eat yeast.

We had to pay privately to get tested but it’s worth the cost as I never would have thought of wheat- I would have thought gluten which would have limited her diet more than it needs to be.

Interested in any responses about the accuracy of testing as I haven't had a medical test.
I had a food sensitivity test in a local health food shop and it came back for nightshade (pepper, paprika, aubergine, cayenne, tomatoes etc) and dairy. That could be an option for an idea of where to start cutting things out?

Thanks both! I wouldn’t have considered wheat either @Floralchicken like you say I would’ve just thought gluten as a whole. Just googled and read that wheat can be the cause of persistent eczema.

Will look into the food sensitivity test @movingonbackwards as like you say, it’d be good to have a starting point!

Although I’d be devastated if I had to cut out paprika, peppers and tomatoes! How do you cope

Let me tell you- it is a nightmare! But at least knowing what causes it allows you to decide whether to take the risk on a particular day

Yes- my daughter always had bad eczema but since cutting out wheat it’s cleared up

DD1 - dairy
DD1 - dairy, soya and coconut

My mum was allergic to a lot of things - her pin prick allergy tests really were impressive - but her weird ones were guinea pigs (very violently, she couldn't be within a metre of them), tomato plants, and wet dogs. But her eczema never went away, and she had a massive flare at menopause

Caffeine

Years ago I saw a dietician who diagnosed food allergies using an acupressure technique.

I had the food sensitivity test done. Pineapple went off the scale on the machine. Carrots, celery, red wine, yeast, eel, mutton, grapefruit, mixed nuts and many more were on my list.

I'm currently pregnant and accidentally ate some carrot the other week. My intolerance of carrots has been exacerbated by pregnancy and cause quite severe stomach cramps where there would normally be minimal change.

Thanks all, a lot of food for thought (literally!) - those of you who have had testing or whose DC have had testing, was it blood or pinprick? I’ve even seen some online saying they can do it with your hair but an interview with a doctor on BBC said that it’s rubbish so many options!

Your GP needs to send you for testing.

Dermatitis probably means patch testing. It’s a miserable week long test, but so worth it if it ends up revealing allergens.

Not all of these came from patch testing, but I’m allergic to
Penicillin
Latex
Balsam of Peru
Benzoic acid
Fragrance mix I
Cinnamon
Tomatoes

These are a mix of contact, ingestion, and airborne allergens. The severity differs with each.

My son (toddler) is allergic to nuts, sesame seeds and kiwi.
There was a long list of things included in his skin prick tests, which I assume are the most common allergens. It might be specific for children only, but here we go:
Dermatophagoides Pteronyssinus
Dermatophagoides Farinae
Storage Mites
Betulaceae
Birch
Rape
Ragweed
Mugwort
Dandelion
Yeast mixture
Cladosporium
Aspergillus
Alternaria Alternata
Feather mixture
Rabbit
Hamster
Guinea Pig
Horse
Dog
Cat
Mosquito
Latex
Cow's Milk
Hen's Egg
Cod
Shrimp
Chicken
Peanut
Almond
Brazil Nut
Walnut
Hazelnut
Cashew Nut
Pistachio
Sesame seed
Tomato
Soya
Lupin Flour
Maize
Wheat Flor

DS and DD are both have skin allergies if they consume artificial sweetener. DS also allergic to eggs and several pollens which causes hospital admission if not managed.

I'm allergic to Latex.

DH is allergic to common sense!

@MixedUpFiles thanks for the info on patch testing, I will push for this. Did it take a lot of convincing with your GP? My DM did some reading for me and mentioned Balsam of Peru. It sounded like you’d be screwed because it seems to be in everything, do you find it really difficult to avoid?

Oh and my doctor did test me for celiac and while we waited for the test results had me go gluten free. Going truly gluten free is very different than giving up bread and pasta. It means eliminating many commonly available sauces and seasoning. It means you can’t have food that has been cross-contaminated. So if you do want to test if it’s celiac, make sure you do the elimination diet properly.

Types of pollen at different times of year. Not a big problem now like it was when I was young, I had some horrible hay fever back in the day. My son gets it a bit.

Mosquito/bug bites. My daughter and I are allergic.

Piriton.

I’m in the us so it’s easier to get tests done. I was also covered in red sores over about 90% of my body.

As for avoiding balsam of Peru, You have to read the labels on everything. Basically you have to make sure what you are buying is 100% fragrance free. This is not the same as unscented. In fact if it is unscented, it probably has balsam of Peru in it as a masking fragrance. Thankfully we have the internet now and can order things online. There is a company that makes a fragrance free toothpaste, it tastes awful, but it’s better than plain baking soda. The day I got my diagnosis I had to throw out pretty much everything in my house including many “sensitive skin” products. That’s why it’s so important to know exactly what you need to avoid. The labeling isn’t super-precise, but if you don’t at least have an idea of what you are allergic to, you really haven’t got a hope of eliminating it. There is an app called Skin Safe that is a helpful place to start.