Can anyone work out what I'm reacting to?

[BoudicanDestruction]

3 times in the last 4 days I've had reaction to something I'm eating. I get a runny nose, tingling from the tip of my nose, down to my chin, a tingling tongue, itching round my eyes and if I take an antihistamine, it goes away.

I can't work out what it is. If I list what I've eaten and reacted to, can anyone help?

Warburton's tiger bread with utterly butterly margarine

Asda frozen meatballs with Asda Bolognese sauce and cheese

and today I've just eaten Tesco sushi which is gluten free and a few of those coconut Mrs Crimbles gluten free biscuits.

I have coffee with milk in every morning which doesn't cause a reaction.

I first thought possibly gluten/wheat but what I have eaten today are specifically gluten free products.

You need to look at the ingredients for each item and see what the common ingredient is.
Maybe cook/eat from scratch then have one item and see if it does it or if it’s a coincidence. It could be a colouring, preservative or an actual ingredient.

New washing up liquid or hand wash at all? Can't find anything glaringly obvious after scanning ingredients. I'd have thought perhaps soy but not listed in meatballs and bolognese (if I'm looking at the right product)

No, nothing new like that as I have sensitive skin and have to use neutral unscented products and stick to the ones that don't aggravate my skin.
The reactions happen very quickly after eating so I definitely think it's in the food.

I recently did some testing with an allergist and found I’m reacting to a lot of things, one of which was soy. I have been really surprised to discover that soy is in so many things, including lots of gluten free products. Could be worth investigating.

Soy?

im Allergic to soya flour, any soya proteins

What kind of tests did they do?
Did you go privately or through your GP?

Mine also came on very fast & now I carry 3 epi pens

There wasn't soy in the meatballs and Bolognese.
I can't see a matching ingredients at all, unless the products had soy/wheat in and it's not on the label.

Did you go to the GP?
Im really anxious about it now

There’s soya flour in warburtons I’m sure

that’s what about killed me

yep gp when id been blue lighted to hospital!

My DH suddenly started allergy symptoms a few years ago. After a lot of trial and error it turned out to be tomatoes and potatoes (nightshade allergy). Try cutting tomato out first (read ingredients, it's amazing where it gets hidden - same with potato!) Makes eating out a challenge but he's largely symptoms free now.

I’m not in the uk and went privately to an allergist who did muscle testing. It highlighted lots of things, some were common allergens like gluten, dairy, soy and others were much more unexpected (including white rice and potatoes - which of course are also in a lot of gluten-free products). I’m basically not eating anything out of a packet just now.

Jesus, that's terrifying
I think I'm going to stick with plain unprocessed food until I can see a doctor.

I've had gastro issues for as long as I can remember and it does make me wonder if it's been due to allergies all along.

My first thought was soya as well. It’s in so many things and goes under the radar. I know you said it wasn’t in the bolognese but was it in the cheese or anything else you ate?

I would also consider egg, as many people seem to have gastro issues with it.

Keep a food diary and take photos of ingredient labels. Reactions are not always immediate so the pattern might not emerge right away.

Another possibility is that you are reacting to more than one food. I know that many children who have a milk allergy also have a soya allergy, for example.

Go to a GP for advice and a proper test. Don’t be tempted by those companies that claim to test you for everything.

Since I’ve eliminated all the things the allergist came up with, my digestion has improved massively. It’s made me realize how much I’d just been tolerating with gastro stuff for literally years

The cheese was cathedral city which is just milk.

Im going to ring the GP first thing. I'm worried about eating anything processed now.

Cross-contamination from other foods if you live with anyone? If you’re using the same prep areas, utensils ,etc?

Get a tiger loaf from Aldi / Lidl

no soya but possibly gluten.

have you cut out dairy at all? And egg? I’m intolerant to both of those and dairy. Dairy & soya are very close and normally go hand in hand x

I hadn't cut anything out except gluten today because I thought it was possibly that but still had a reaction.

I'm going to eat no possible triggers until I've been seen.

sodium metabisulphite is routinely put in meat products, such as meatballs, burgers and sausages, and my husband has developed an allergy to it which results in symptoms like yours. Could it be this?

I have gastro issues as well, honestly..

cut out dairy, egg & soya

like vegan but you can still eat meat? If you want! Going vegan cured a lot of mine but you could still have lean meat like mince, steaks, chicken, fish and add veggies, salads, potato’s.

check check check again labels.

when you have meatballs etc try & make from scratch, slimming world slag Bol & chilli recipes are dead tasty, and no jar products. I use even though I’ve not done SW for yearssss

stock up your herb / spice cupboard

lots of beans etc but I can’t tolerate lentils for some reason 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

bit more hassle but even stuff like fish cakes if you can make from scratch you’ll see benefit

gluten would be a lot of bloating etc

great dairy free cheese is Mexicana, cathedral city (has a weird smell but taste is bang on) & violife do a fab one.

the friendly vegan pod on Facebook is fab, you don’t have to be vegan. It’s fab for allergies as well. And feel free to message me! X

Cutting down on processed food will make it easier to identify a possible allergy. If you’re concerned about having a more severe allergic reaction, you could look up the BSACI allergy action plan. It details the symptoms of a moderate vs a severe allergic reaction. This might help with your anxiety and make you feel more prepared while you’re waiting for medical advice.

And food diary! X

Have you checked the additives? I have an allergic reaction to something in some soft drinks (Macdonald milkshake and sunny delight when that was a thing) and I believe it's one of the 'E' chemicals.

If you usually react to skin products, check the labels on all of them - I react to lots of washing powder / washing tablets etc.

Fairy (the absolute bastards) changed the scent of their washing tabs and I started reacting. I had no idea until I actually saw a thread about it on here. I checked the box and there it was in a tiny label I'd missed "New Scent". Wankers.

So check your stuff for any changes you haven't been aware of!