Chemical sensitivity - anyone??

[hotandbothered]

Has anyone got this/ heard of it? I am having a really tough time allergy-wise and it's been suggested that I might have this.
I keep having strange 'allergic' type feelings but no swelling/hives etc. But I feel really sick, hot/cold,numbness in face, etc. I had this on Saturday after taking some mouthwash. I'm getting scared to try anything which has any additives/preservatives in. I'm scared to eat anything with nuts,sesame,sulphites in case I have a reaction. In fact I'm scare full stop now. Anyone got any ideas how to deal with it. My gp is hopeless. Allergy clinic in a year!

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No-one?

Is it possible that you are having hot flashes and it's nothing to do with allergies.
You can start having hot flashes when you are peri-menopausal which could be 10 to 15 years before menopause.

I have both severe food allergies and have had perimenopausal hot flashes and they do feel somewhat the same in the beginning. Just that the allergies end up in an anaphylactic reaction while the hot flashes are controllable with hormones (got put on the pill and it pretty much got rid of them).

Thanks for that idea - no-one so far has suggested it could be that but will query it. Spent this am in A&E which was pretty scary. General feeling is it could be environmental. I am having bloods taken which will show if I am particularly allergic at the moment, also a chest xray. Then I'm going to stay with my parents for a week or so to get some rest and see if I improve out of our old rundown house! Will let you know if this helps! Thanks again

Sorry to hear this hotandbothered.

Am for you that you have to wait a year for allergy clinic!

I know. I'm feeling a bit panicked that it's a year wait for the allergy clinic - anyone been privately and know how much it costs? Not that we could afford it. Dr at hospital suggested moving house - do you think they write a prescription to cover the costs of that?!

Are you using a new skin cream/body lotion H&B?

You symptoms are familiar to me.. I have experienced it twice. I seem to have developed an allergy to almond oil (I think.. either that or Vit E but not sure this is likely?) that is often in skin creams.

Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that... Have just started new shampoo and conditioner... Will stop using it. Oh and used aftersun as moisturiser at same time as mouthwash - will go and check ingredients.
Does that mean you don't eat almonds too Shinyhappy?

Any ideas on jumping the allergy clinic queue?

I have had fairly good success at cutting clinic lines, by calling them on a regular basis (once a week) and asking if they have any cancellations. Once you have the referral from the doctor and are on the waiting list, they are generally pretty happy to move you up if they have a cancellation. If you call the clinic and are really nice to the secretary and find out what day they have clinics on and when people generally call for cancellations and then ask if you can call back on that day. Or even better ask the secretary to put you down as being available to come at the last minute for an appointment. (Don't completely rely on them to make the call, though).

I have always avoided almonds because I don't like them but I must occasionally ingest them in things with no noticeable ill effects. However sometimes you can have a 'contact' type of allergy to things that have no obvious effect when eaten.

Have you thought about getting an allergy test at a health food shop? I don't know how much they are.. or how accurate.

Lots to think about here. Thank you for replying - good to know I am not alone

I'm resurrecting this old thread as I did a search to see if there were any old threads containing the words "Chemical sensitivity" as I've been told I may have this condition and wondered if any other Mumsnetters have experience of it. Also wondered how the original poster got on. I get numbness and headaches and nausea in the presence of certain products- air fresheners, solvents in floor polish, etc.

Coochy, I used to get a wheezy chest and headaches from some cleaning products.

I've never gone for a test though - I just avoid them.

It's tough when i don't know what it is that's creating my symptoms. Sometimes I have been able to narrow it down; like those bloody cardbpard tree air fresheners lots of people hang in their cars. i get dizzy and sick. Sometimes I feel this way and can't isolate what product is causing it. Symptoms can last for a few days. I may try to get sent to an allergy clinic though the original OP said she had a years wait to go to one!!

bump

Just me then, I guess. Ho Hum.

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You are not alone! I react when near people wearing certain perfumes, some washing powders, petrol fumes if there's a build up but OK in "normal" traffic, there used to be gas fires in church and that was awful although I have no problem cooking with gas with the extractor fan on, air fresheners (I can't go into my friend's house as she uses a lot all the time because she has a dog), and the list goes on! If I avoid all the triggers I feel absolutely fine. My problems started after an extremely heavy course of antibiotics - I also developed food intolerances (get joint pain if I eat corn, for example, digestive problems with gluten) and this chemical sensitivity. There is a suggestion that it can be caused by candida - which would fit in with my starting after antibiotics.

Flamingtoast- thanks for your post. What is the reaction you get from these things? Headaches? I feel really foggy headed and a bit nauseaus. We had to check for carbon monoxide at home cos my symptoms sounded like that. Do your symptoms linger even after you'vve got away from whatever it is you reacted to? Mine seem to take a day to fade. Have you had any treatment? (not sure if any treatment exists)How did you figure out what was going on?

I find the symptoms (headache, feel sick, feel down, sometimes dizzy) last for about twelve hours, sometimes less. I drink loads of water and that seems to help get rid of it more quickly than when I didn't drink loads of water! Because I did have symptoms that could be attributed to candida I don't eat refined sugar at all - though I do eat fruit without trouble - I don't know whether that has helped but I think it has. I worked out what was happening through observation -i.e. I realized that the feeling ill came on in certain situations. I'm not sure an allergy clinic would help becase it's not a true allergic reaction - I've never tried to get it looked at because I think my doctor would just think I was neurotic if I told him!

It's a shame we think that other people will think we're neurotic because of it. i feel the same; like everyone is assuming I'm just imagining my symptoms. I'm reluctant to tell anyone cos I assume they'll privately be thinking I'm just a loony tune!