Covered In Hives

[blondebombshell]

yesterday i became covered in hives. i do not know what i ate or what to do anymore.

according to my allergist, i have no gluten allergy and i do not have celiac. i ate some fried cheesecake on sunday and had 1 mouthful of pasta. i dont know if thats what did it but this outbreak is horrible. it is ONLY on my legs. calves and thighs.

please help. my allergist did skin testing but it says im allergic to apples, melon and bananas which is complete BS. it has to do with environmental allergies supposedly.

any help would be SO appreciated.

[Mother of Jibril]

A skin test can't tell you anything about food intolerance. It's looking for IgE mediated reactions that cause your body to produced histamines (an allergic response). If your "hives" (could it be DH?) are delayed more than a few hours that's an IgA or IgG response. Only a blood test or elimination diet can tell if you're having that kind of reaction. Do you have any symptoms besides hives? Headache? Diarrhea? Constipation? Gas?

Fried cheesecake could have had wheat in the crust and been cross-contaminated by the oil (depending on the array of foods being fried at that restaurant). One mouthful of gluten pasta has more than enough proteins to make a gluten-sensitive person react.

[Josh Parker]

I have celiac disease. I have the DH reactions on my arms. It is a burning itching, and even bleeding reaction. I have discovered that I am also lactose intolerant. From my understanding, celiac disease sufferers can also be lactose intolerant. The lactose makes me have diarehha (however you spell it) and some intense rashes with itching. MSG is another thing to stay away from. It will produce headaches, fatigue, and you feel like you want to die. I don't know if everybody with celiac has the same reaction to MSG or milk, but I know that both of those are common forbidden foods for people with allergies.

Caramel coloring sometimes has wheat, depending on where it is made. Pepsi products do not use wheat in making the caramel coloring in their products according to a newsletter. I don't know about Coca Cola, but I know that Dr. Pepper has wheat. Soy sauce has wheat. Pastas, undistilled vinegars, some sauces, bread, cereals, and so on. Benedryl can help with the reactions, but I wouldn't recommend taking it unless absolutely necessary. It is best to take Benedryl at night only because of it's ability to make you drowsy.

You can take lactase enzyme pills to help digest dairy products. Just don't think that you can consume a lot of dairy because of the pill. It is an aid to digest it, but not a miracle solution. Try to eat minimal amounts of cheese or dairy products when consuming a lactase pill. The pills are cheap (about $10 for a 30 day supply). They have been working fine for me, but I can't overdo the amount of dairy that I consume. A small amount of cheese on a gluten free pizza is fine, but I would not recommend consuming a large Frosty from Wendy's.. A small Frosty is ok though. If you like Soy Sauce and cannot say, "NO," then there is a brand made by San-J. It is excellent! They sell it at Harry's Farmers Market.