Post by EelKat on May 13, 2011 13:48:03 GMT -5
I was thinking about allergies today, and thought I should share this story with other in case some one else out there is having a similar problem figuring out what they are allergic to.
As a teen I wore makeup like a drag queen (my best friend, childhood baby sitter, and mentor IS a drag queen so stands to reason I tried to look like him). But I kept getting really sick.
When I was 17 I ended up in the hospital and the doctor said I had the symptoms of a bee sting allergy, like I had been stung by 100 bees asked how long has this been going on? I told him it comes and goes and had done so most of my teen years. He said I had an allergy, but to what he did not know. It was assumed I had a food allergy.
I was about 21 when I had a major "azhma attack" only I don't have azsmah! My lungs closed up and I could not breath, but that time I knew what had triggered it: lipstick. I had just bought a new lipstick from Avon (I was an Avon Rep) it was one of those all natural" types and within seconds of putting it on, the attack happened. Than something occurred to me: was I sick only when wearing makeup?
I started "testing" my makeup wearing just one thing at a time and yes - it was the makeup - every time I put make up on with in an hour I became sick with these "bee allergy" symptoms. I noticed too that cheaper $1 store brands did not effect me the way expensive "all natural" brands did. Something in the "all natural" types was literally killing me and so by the time I was 27 years old I had done away will all make up all together because I was unable to determine what the ingredient was that was causing the problem and did not dare risk my health for the sake of beauty.
In the years since than my "attacks" have been rare and few, but do reoccur on occasion indicating that I am still in contact with my allergy trigger. Both in food and in my yard, as I was having minor attacks when out in my garden as well, as after eating a meal.
When I was 34 a huge attack happen just after Christmas, and left me bedridden for over a week. I was told it looked like a nut or seashell allergy and asked to try to remember what I had eaten - just after Christmas dinner? I'd eaten a lot of things, none of them on my daily diet. I wrote down what I ate that week and tried to isolate the problem.
After that I wrote down everything I ate and compared it to the first list. Butter/margarine turned out to be a trigger, sometimes, and unable to isolate what the ingredient was causing the problem it turned out just about the only brand of margarine I was no allergic to was Parkey, so all other brands went out and I was getting sick less often.
It was becoming clear that I was allergic to an ingredient used in a lot of different foods, most make-up products, and was growing in my yard. Than last year another major attack, like the one I had had when I was 34 occurred, and this time I knew what did it: and it turns out it is a nut allergy.
In my normal eating I was getting trace amounts of this item, in using margarin I was getting higher amounts of it, in wearing make up I was getting saturated in it, in my garden I was not only growing it, I was growing LOTS of it, and twice near Christmas time each time I had had major attacks triggered by actually eating the whole item itself, some thing I rarely eat anytime other than Christmas. My dad buys nuts and seeds just before Christmas and they are a part of a Christmas tradition, we have them every year: a bowl of mixed nuts and a bowl of sunflower seeds.
In my last attack I had not eaten all day. I was watching a movie while waiting for dinner to cook, and sat down and ate several handfuls of sunflower seeds and within minutes was sent into one of the worst attacks yet.
And suddenly it all made since: I checked the ingredients of all those make up packages (which I had saved all these years trying to isolate the trigger) and sunflower oil was in every one of them.
I went to the store and checked the margarines: yep, sunflower oil in every one of them. Cookies, breads, crackers that had made me sick, all had sunflower oil or seeds.
And than I look out at my garden; row after row of sunflowers and birdfeeders packed full of sunflower seeds.
Now I check ingredients of everything before I buy it - sunflower oil is in EVERYTHING - my diet has changed, but so has my health.
Funny thing was this all started because I wanted to wear "all natural" makeup thinking it would be better for my health! It turns out all natural make up could have killed me!
As a teen I wore makeup like a drag queen (my best friend, childhood baby sitter, and mentor IS a drag queen so stands to reason I tried to look like him). But I kept getting really sick.
When I was 17 I ended up in the hospital and the doctor said I had the symptoms of a bee sting allergy, like I had been stung by 100 bees asked how long has this been going on? I told him it comes and goes and had done so most of my teen years. He said I had an allergy, but to what he did not know. It was assumed I had a food allergy.
I was about 21 when I had a major "azhma attack" only I don't have azsmah! My lungs closed up and I could not breath, but that time I knew what had triggered it: lipstick. I had just bought a new lipstick from Avon (I was an Avon Rep) it was one of those all natural" types and within seconds of putting it on, the attack happened. Than something occurred to me: was I sick only when wearing makeup?
I started "testing" my makeup wearing just one thing at a time and yes - it was the makeup - every time I put make up on with in an hour I became sick with these "bee allergy" symptoms. I noticed too that cheaper $1 store brands did not effect me the way expensive "all natural" brands did. Something in the "all natural" types was literally killing me and so by the time I was 27 years old I had done away will all make up all together because I was unable to determine what the ingredient was that was causing the problem and did not dare risk my health for the sake of beauty.
In the years since than my "attacks" have been rare and few, but do reoccur on occasion indicating that I am still in contact with my allergy trigger. Both in food and in my yard, as I was having minor attacks when out in my garden as well, as after eating a meal.
When I was 34 a huge attack happen just after Christmas, and left me bedridden for over a week. I was told it looked like a nut or seashell allergy and asked to try to remember what I had eaten - just after Christmas dinner? I'd eaten a lot of things, none of them on my daily diet. I wrote down what I ate that week and tried to isolate the problem.
After that I wrote down everything I ate and compared it to the first list. Butter/margarine turned out to be a trigger, sometimes, and unable to isolate what the ingredient was causing the problem it turned out just about the only brand of margarine I was no allergic to was Parkey, so all other brands went out and I was getting sick less often.
It was becoming clear that I was allergic to an ingredient used in a lot of different foods, most make-up products, and was growing in my yard. Than last year another major attack, like the one I had had when I was 34 occurred, and this time I knew what did it: and it turns out it is a nut allergy.
In my normal eating I was getting trace amounts of this item, in using margarin I was getting higher amounts of it, in wearing make up I was getting saturated in it, in my garden I was not only growing it, I was growing LOTS of it, and twice near Christmas time each time I had had major attacks triggered by actually eating the whole item itself, some thing I rarely eat anytime other than Christmas. My dad buys nuts and seeds just before Christmas and they are a part of a Christmas tradition, we have them every year: a bowl of mixed nuts and a bowl of sunflower seeds.
In my last attack I had not eaten all day. I was watching a movie while waiting for dinner to cook, and sat down and ate several handfuls of sunflower seeds and within minutes was sent into one of the worst attacks yet.
And suddenly it all made since: I checked the ingredients of all those make up packages (which I had saved all these years trying to isolate the trigger) and sunflower oil was in every one of them.
I went to the store and checked the margarines: yep, sunflower oil in every one of them. Cookies, breads, crackers that had made me sick, all had sunflower oil or seeds.
And than I look out at my garden; row after row of sunflowers and birdfeeders packed full of sunflower seeds.
Now I check ingredients of everything before I buy it - sunflower oil is in EVERYTHING - my diet has changed, but so has my health.
Funny thing was this all started because I wanted to wear "all natural" makeup thinking it would be better for my health! It turns out all natural make up could have killed me!