Food Sensitivity

If you have or suspect you have a food allergy, whether it's an allergy to dairy, wheat, fish, shellfish, nuts or something else, ask our medical experts all your questions here.

Moderator: talkhealth

Locked
2 posts
duckshell
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:47 am
Quote

by duckshell on Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:10 am

Food Sensitivity

I've suffered from food sensitivity as an adult for the last 12 years. My sensitivities are to gluten, dairy and soya. I've managed them through watching what I eat, but not cutting the relevant foods out completely, because that only seems to make it worse. Initially I tried abstaining for 6 month period. This didn't help. I now detox for shorter periods. The sensitivities manifest mostly thorough sinus related symptoms. I have noticed that sinus infections are becoming worse, and that my symptoms are turning into infections more quickly. I have been on two lots of antibiotics in the last 6 weeks. My doctors don't seem to relate the two, but I know that it's eating the wrong foods which trigger them. I've tried acupuncture and other forms of alternative therapies and have sensitivity tests every few years to see if there are any other irritants that I need to be aware of. I seem to have recently developed a sensitivity to mayonnaise. I don't know whether there are other forms of alternative therapy available, if I should be insisting that the doctors send me for further testing or if I just need to live with it. Any advice would be welcome.

User avatar
Dr Joanna Lukawska
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 11:56 am
Quote

by Dr Joanna Lukawska on Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:48 pm

Re: Food Sensitivity

Hello
Again it is very difficult to advise without seeing you in the clinic, however I shall try my best.
The symptoms you describe (sinus problems) are unlikely to be due to IgE mediated food allergy. However the fact that you suffer from frequent sinus infections may well be related to a problem within the immune system. It is possible to aquire immunodefficiency in our adulthood and this can only be assessed by a qualified Immunologist. Some Immunologists work very closely with Allergists and some perform allergy tests in their clinics so they could look at your immunoglobulins as well as any possible allergies at the same time. Frequent sinus infections may also signify a structural problem within this area hence an ENT referral could be helpful.
You did not describe your reactions to mayonnaise, generally IgE mediated food allergy can demonstrate by: anaphylaxis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdomominal pain, runny nose, runny eyes, skin rash, shortness of breath. However isolated nausea or any of the other symptoms in isolation (except for anaphylaxis) may or may not be related to allergy. General rule of the thumb: the more of the above symptoms occuring at the same time the closer to the consumption of the food, the more likely it is they were provoked by food allergy. Also in case of IgE mediated Allergy, once the allergen is removed from the diet and the acute event has been treated, patient gets better. I do hope this help. All the best, Joanna
Dr Joanna Lukawska
Clinical Research Fellow & Specialist Registrar in Allergy

Locked
2 posts