Seeing an Allergist

I went to see a very nice allergist on Monday and discovered that I am allergic to the “pure” allergen scratch test which the doctor said I “cannot possibly be.  Only possible reaction is the small whelps on back.  Not enough allergen to cause a more severe reaction.”

I went in feeling pretty good; had a little bit of sinus trouble from the bite of wheat I had eaten the week before.  Within 3 hrs. after the test, I had 30 spots on the inside of my elbow and eczema on my neck.  5 hrs. all the scratch spots swelled, itchy eyes, ears, scalp.  7 hrs. sinus head ache and eczema on arm.  By 8 hrs. I was very irritable.. just ask my poor mom who got an ear full. 

I woke up at 1 AM the next morning feeling miserable with fluid in my ears, sinus head ache, itchy patches on my legs, sore joints, indigestion, icky feeling, constipation, insomnia, swollen face, foggy thinking.. all of which the allergist confirmed were allergic reactions.  When I asked him if the vials had a preservative made from corn, he said that I could have not reacted to them no one else had.. “must have been the trees or mold or something else.”  I said that the trees and mold were all there before and that the only thing I did different was to come to his office.  “I don’t know.”  I have never had all those symptoms at once and didn’t know they were all signs of an allergic reaction, so I did learn something.

He completed the second half of the testing and was happy to report that I wasn’t allergic to corn or wheat and could eat as much as I wanted.  I showed him my eczema again and said, “See this rash?  The one I didn’t have yesterday?  Remember?   I get this rash the day after I eat corn.  I have a delayed reaction.”  He said, “Don’t eat corn then.” and offered to give me a prescription for hydrocortisone for the rash.  I said, “No, thank you.  It will have something in it that comes from corn.”  He said he could guarantee that I would not react to it..

The problem is this: He only believes you can have a reaction to corn proteins; not things made from corn sugar or oil etc.  I (and others) do react to corn starch etc.  I told him how I put on a pair of powdered (corn starch) surgical gloves once and my hands turned red and swelled.  I am not allergic to latex.  He said, “Must have been something else.  Gloves have more than just latex in them.”  I told him how I reacted to Lays potato chips with corn oil.. he said “How do you know it wasn’t the potatoes?” When I told him that popcorn fumes bothered me, he said, “Take an antihistamine.”

As soon as I got out of there the second day, I took some of my herbal cleanse that I had with me in the car.  Within half an hour my eczema was improving, by the end of the day my sinus head ache was gone, and I slept much better that night.  I am still a little achy, but I have to take into account that he injected me the second day, too.  I hope to never see an allergist again.

Jenny