When I was very little, I had this weird allergy. I’d eat a certain food and my lip would swell up. Gross, right? Well, we could never figure out what caused it because it wasn’t very consistent. I remember thinking it might be strawberries, chocolate or cheese. It came and went when I was a kid. I remember once about 6th grade my lip was SO BIG my mom took a picture of it. (I will NOT be sharing that online. *shudder*) The first day of 8th grade my lip was swollen (hello, self-esteem). Then it kinda went on hold until college. And it came back with a vengeance. My whole mouth would swell, including my tongue. YUCK.
(Is this TMI?)
Anyway, the next time it happened was about 5 or 6 years later when we lived in Orlando. But this time it was worse. I’d get hives all over my body, my lips would swell, my fingers and you could see the poison in my body through my skin. So gross.
Finally I went on one of those allergy-elimination diets. You eliminate the seven most common allergic foods from your diet and then slowly add them back one by one to see which one affects you. And we realized it was dairy. I wasn’t lactose-intolerant. Just allergic to milk.
Hmm.
So, I stayed off dairy for a long time. Read all my labels. Drank soy. And then it just went away. I’d randomly eat something that had dairy in it and it wouldn’t affect me. So, I figured it was gone.
And it was.
Until yesterday.
Asa woke up at about 4am and what do I notice first? The bags under my eyes? No. The freezing cold floor? Nope. My swollen lip? YES.
What is up with that?! What kind of allergy comes and goes? Do I have to cut dairy again? *sob* Please, say it isn’t so!!
Have you ever heard of something like this?
Oh, have I! My dad has lots of allergies and has even stumped his highly-acclaimed allergist who’s been on CNN, etc. He has always been allergic to bananas, but supposedly if you’re allergic to bananas you should also be allergic to apples. But of course, he’s not. About 12 years ago he had tendonitis in his elbow and went to get a cortisone shot. He went into anaphylactic shock at the doctor’s office and he did the whole dying thing and they brought him back to life. They think he was allergic to a preservative in the shot. Ever since then he’s had on-again-off-again allergies. He’ll eat something one day and be fine, but he’ll eat it again the next day and his tongue and throat will swell up and he’ll break out in hives. He has an epipen, but he refuses to use it, so he keeps tons of chewable Benadryl around (the clear kind, mind you, because he’s allergic to the pink kind). Basically, you should see an allergist and get tested and probably get an epipen. At least keep Benadryl on hand. One bad reaction is all it takes!
OK. That was the scariest comment ever, Steph! YIKES.
There’s some sort of food, or spice within certain foods that whenever I eat it will cause me to break out in hives, have swelling in my throat, make me pretty ill to my stomach. I however, have not been able to figure out what in the world it is that I’m allergic to. I’m lactose intolerant, so this allergy has nothing to do with dairy b/c I never eat it. I’ve had the reaction from french fries, Japanese cuisines, beef mixed with veggies (that I ate the night before and was fine with), and other random things. Maybe one day I’ll be able to make a connection between them. Sorry to hear your allergy is back. Hang in there!
Could it be stress related? I tend to break out in hives during stressful seasons of my life (despite not always being mentally stressed)… my body’s way of coping and processing stuff going on I think.
You definitely need to be assessed by an allergist or ENT to try to specify what it is that causes the reaction. As someone before shared, it can become life-threatening and you will definitely need an Epi-Pen if that occurs (I am a pharmacist, I don’t just play one on the blogs). Most food allergies can be determined by a simple blood test (just did this with my older son).
On the other hand, my father went for years with a condition that could only be “diagnosed” as unexplained hives. Fortunately for him, these were only on his hands and/or torso and did not affect his lips/tongue/airway, etc. After years of testing and treatment (enough steroids and antihistamines to bring down King Kong), the conclusion on the cause was stress. STRESS. He now only has flare-ups periodically.
Please see someone…
did you eat It. sausage Pizza?
That is wild! So sorry for your bizarre ailment! 🙂
Peeking in with a hi!
So sad that the allergy is giving you trouble again! I hope doctors can help you out. Allergies can be a pain and life threatening, too.
Hey Amanda!
I spotted you on FB and had to come by your blog to say “hey”.
It’s good to see you again.
This exact scenario happened to my mom with celery. The doctor explained that we have an allergen beaker in our bodies, and once it gets full, we have a reaction. Her celery allergy beaker was really big, so she would only have a reaction when she went on a diet and ate celery as a snack and with every meal.
I happen to know (because of my daughter’s allergy) that it is really easy to have a LOT of dairy in your diet and not really know it. Dairy hides in the strangest places. Over the holidays you could have filled up your dairy beaker, and it’s just beginning to over flow.
I would agree with those who advised seeing a doctor, but I think he’ll probably tell you the same thing they told my mother – in moderation, you should be fine.
I have similar issues. Several years ago my tongue, lips, or bottom of my feet would randomly swell. I went to the doctor several times and they suggested I keep a journal. We could never figure out what it was. It only happened for about a year. Then last year I was eating sushi and started getting that tingly feeling in my mouth and throat. I got scared and jumped up from dinner and went to the store to get some Benadryl. I swigged the liquid Benadryl and went back to the restaurant. Thankfully, my husband drove b/c I was about drunk off Benadryl on the ride home. I was such a mess! Now I keep Benadryl in the glove box. You just never know when something like that is going to happen.
Well, I was going to say I’d never heard of anything like that and it was just some quirk especially for you…but I just read all the responses and I guess I was wrong. 🙂
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