New allergies or sensitivies as we age?

[JoeWras]

I am 70 and allergic to peanuts, I was allergic as a child and almost died because there were no tests to tell what I was allergic to. Finally my mother figured it out. I had to be very careful at school, no epi pens then. I could not eat anything at friends houses or at parties, etc. You might not have heard about kids with peanut allergies because those kids were sick and dying and no one knew why. I am glad they have now figured it out and publicize it so kids don't have to go through what I did.

Yes, I think we lost some kids early because of this.

On the flip side, however, parents should be aware enough to try to get their kids exposed to various foods, carefully. If they are not ever exposed, they may never be able to enjoy certain foods for life.

From the NIH:
https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-early-exposure-is-key-to-prevention/

There’s an entirely new strategy emerging now! A group representing 26 professional organizations, advocacy groups, and federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has just issued new clinical guidelines aimed at preventing peanut allergy [1]. The guidelines suggest that parents should introduce most babies to peanut-containing foods around the time they begin eating other solid foods, typically 4 to 6 months of age

 

[harllee]

Yes, I think we lost some kids early because of this.

On the flip side, however, parents should be aware enough to try to get their kids exposed to various foods, carefully. If they are not ever exposed, they may never be able to enjoy certain foods for life.

From the NIH:
https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/01/10/peanut-allergy-early-exposure-is-key-to-prevention/

65 years ago when I almost died from a peanut allergy not much was know about it. I was exposed early on to peanuts, we ate a lot of peanut butter in my house. My mother says I kept getting sick and she finally figured out it was peanuts. So at least in my case it was not that I was not exposed. Maybe I was exposed too much to peanuts.

 

[JoeWras]

65 years ago when I almost died from a peanut allergy not much was know about it. I was exposed early on to peanuts, we ate a lot of peanut butter in my house. My mother says I kept getting sick and she finally figured out it was peanuts. So at least in my case it was not that I was not exposed. Maybe I was exposed too much to peanuts.

No. You have the allergy. Reading up on this, the new guidelines are not meant to "solve" the allergy problem. It is unsolvable for the 1 to 3% of the population who have the issue. The guidelines are to help prevent sensitivity to those who don't have the allergy.

 

[DayDreaming]

I got a double whammy! Lactose and Fructose intolerant. Diagnosed earlier this year after a few years of misdiagnosis.

What did it take to get correctly diagnosed?

I'd had stomach issues for years, finally went to a gastroenterologist who sent me for a bunch of tests which didn't show anything wrong, so doc concluded "IBS, eat more fiber". But during the test for lactose intolerance, I was clearly having a reaction to the liquid I had to drink, and I was sure the doc would have said I'm lactose intolerant. When I told my doctor about this, she said she just gets a positive or negative from the test, so maybe I'm borderline lactose intolerant. Anyway, I immediately started avoiding most dairy and my problems went away.

 

[eytonxav]

I have no idea what I am allergic to, but do more sneezing and have more sniffles than anytime in my life. I have heard that taking a statin can effect congestion.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Well there's the theory that we are not "exercising" our immune systems enough. I'm not sure if this has merit or not. If it does, I guess we all need to eat some dirt, roll in ashes, and perhaps visit the local sanitary canal for a swim.

Eating Boogers May Boost Immunity, Scientist Suspects

A Canadian biochemist is making waves with a new theory that picking your nose -- and eating it -- may be an evolutionarily-backed way to boost your immune system's protective powers.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eating-boogers-may-boost-immunity-scientist-suspects/

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Researchers have been able to stop peanut allergies in mice with a gut bacteria commonly wiped out by childhood antibiotics - A gut microbe that stops food allergies | Science | AAAS

Can Gut Bacteria Protect Against Nut and Other Allergies? Researchers are learning that the rich colonies of bacteria present in the digestive tract influence the body’s systems far more than previously thought. A review of more than a hundred studies reveals the role gut bacteria plays in our susceptibility to food allergies....Due to dietary changes and other environmental factors, the microbiomes of individuals in Western countries are generally less diverse and contain fewer of these anti-allergy bacteria than they did previously, leaving us more susceptible to developing allergies. https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/gut-bacteria-protect-nut-allergies/

 

[JoeWras]

Eating Boogers May Boost Immunity, Scientist Suspects

A Canadian biochemist is making waves with a new theory that picking your nose -- and eating it -- may be an evolutionarily-backed way to boost your immune system's protective powers.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eating-boogers-may-boost-immunity-scientist-suspects/

NOT an Onion article either!

 

[BGold]

Two years into retirement, I found myself itching all over. All beneath the skin’s surface (not dermatitis). Through a process of elimination I found that I’m allergic to gluten/wheat. Sheesh! I used to have whole wheat toast since forever - no problem. Now, my skin crawls if I consume anything with gluten, and it’s amazing how so much of foods, supplements, and medications use gluten as fillers?!

 

[Turbo29]

Well there's the theory that we are not "exercising" our immune systems enough. I'm not sure if this has merit or not. If it does, I guess we all need to eat some dirt, roll in ashes, and perhaps visit the local sanitary canal for a swim.

I remember reading an article where an immunologist said, "Get your kids cats and dogs and make them play outside in the dirt... so they get exposed to lots of worms. Then they won't have allergies later."


May have been on to something:


Allergy, Parasites, and the Hygiene Hypothesis

 

[harllee]

Two years into retirement, I found myself itching all over. All beneath the skin’s surface (not dermatitis). Through a process of elimination I found that I’m allergic to gluten/wheat. Sheesh! I used to have whole wheat toast since forever - no problem. Now, my skin crawls if I consume anything with gluten, and it’s amazing how so much of foods, supplements, and medications use gluten as fillers?!

You have my sympathy. I have a similar problem with dairy. Itching, hives and if I have a lot of dairy, my mouth swells. Dairy is in tons of foods etc also.

 

[JoeWras]

I remember reading an article where an immunologist said, "Get your kids cats and dogs and make them play outside in the dirt... so they get exposed to lots of worms. Then they won't have allergies later."

May have been on to something:

Allergy, Parasites, and the Hygiene Hypothesis

Cool. I was reluctant to point to any pop publications. This is from Science, and most of us can only read the synopsis, but interesting non-the-less.

50 years ago, we didn't have antibacterial soap, and mom shuttled us all outside. We played in a lot of grime. In my area of the city, that likely included a good amount of rat droppings about. It is definitely different today. However, we also didn't get bed bug bites or even mosquitos much since they carpet bombed the city with DDT.

I don't think it is outlandish to consider the idea of early life "exercise" for the immune system. We all learned a bit about T-cells during the pandemic, and apparently this paper goes in depth about it. The immune system is like any other bodily system, most of which benefit from "use it or lose it."

Now back to my topic about getting sensitive later in life. I wonder if some of that early exercise actually comes back to bite us later in life when our immune system suddenly "remembers" and goes nuts on every little pathogen we encounter.

 

[Dash man]

What did it take to get correctly diagnosed?

I'd had stomach issues for years, finally went to a gastroenterologist who sent me for a bunch of tests which didn't show anything wrong, so doc concluded "IBS, eat more fiber". But during the test for lactose intolerance, I was clearly having a reaction to the liquid I had to drink, and I was sure the doc would have said I'm lactose intolerant. When I told my doctor about this, she said she just gets a positive or negative from the test, so maybe I'm borderline lactose intolerant. Anyway, I immediately started avoiding most dairy and my problems went away.

My gastroenterologist had be take these at home tests that were sent to my by a special lab. I would drink a special liquid, then wait the designated time, them exhaled deeply into these tubes and sealed them. There were four different tests for lactose, fructose, glucose and something I don’t remember. The results were a high sensitivity to fructose and moderate sensitivity to fructose. The glucose test tests showed results consistent with my fructose intolerance.
They were expensive, about $200 each and not covered by Medicare.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I noticed the DH's grandparents, my grandparents and DH's father all grew up without refrigerators. For most of history people didn't have refrigerators, and many still do not have them today. So why do we get food poisoning if we leave out milk or eggs? My grandmother used to have milk and eggs delivered by the milkman. It just sat on porch for hours unrefrigerated if she wasn't at home at the time.

 

[harllee]

I noticed the DH's grandparents, my grandparents and DH's father all grew up without refrigerators. For most of history people didn't have refrigerators, and many still do not have them today. So why do we get food poisoning if we leave out milk or eggs? My grandmother used to have milk and eggs delivered by the milkman. It just sat on porch for hours unrefrigerated if she wasn't at home at the time.

Maybe one of the reasons that people did not live very long in the those days is because they did not have modern hygiene like refrigeration and pasteurization and they did die of food poisoning without knowing the cause. Children did have allergies back in the old days and many of them died and no one knew the cause.

 

[braumeister]

In Europe you will never see eggs refrigerated.

Here is a good explanation of why:
Why Europeans don't refrigerate their eggs

 

[Out of Steam]

My new sensitivity/issue is dry eyes, just in the past two months.

 

[aja8888]

In 30 years of living in Texas, this has been the worst year for allergies for me.

 

[steady saver]

i just found out on Friday that i have an allergy to formaldehyde. What the heck.

i've been miserable, itching to the point i can't sleep and at times burning, red blisters. i was initially diagnosed with severe eczema then had patch testing done and she says, nope, it's a severe formaldehyde allergy.

do you know how many products contain formaldehyde releasers? I have spent the last 2 days rewashing EVERYTHING - clothes, bedding, linens...I was using Costco's Kirklands Free and Clear detergent and it is the ONLY thing in my house that has a formaldehyde releasing chemical in it. We are pretty "green" with our cleaning products and personal care products and that's where she wants me to start. But it's also in some paper products though it's hard to get good info on things like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues...

I have to eliminate all of this stuff, at least for a few months, but the major culprit is from our house renovation that we just completed at the farm. This is for a guest house/B &B that we planned to live in while we had renovations also done on the main house because we had JUST decided to start the process of moving to the farm. Construction materials are full of formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers. So I'm feeling pretty crushed at the moment...not sure how/if this is all going to work. I'd planned to paint the family room in the city house this weekend b/c the sheetrock repair is done. But that's on hold b/c latex paint has formaldehyde in it...

Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

i just found out on Friday that i have an allergy to formaldehyde. What the heck.

i've been miserable, itching to the point i can't sleep and at times burning, red blisters. i was initially diagnosed with severe eczema then had patch testing done and she says, nope, it's a severe formaldehyde allergy.

do you know how many products contain formaldehyde releasers? I have spent the last 2 days rewashing EVERYTHING - clothes, bedding, linens...I was using Costco's Kirklands Free and Clear detergent and it is the ONLY thing in my house that has a formaldehyde releasing chemical in it. We are pretty "green" with our cleaning products and personal care products and that's where she wants me to start. But it's also in some paper products though it's hard to get good info on things like toilet paper, paper towels, tissues...

I have to eliminate all of this stuff, at least for a few months, but the major culprit is from our house renovation that we just completed at the farm. This is for a guest house/B &B that we planned to live in while we had renovations also done on the main house because we had JUST decided to start the process of moving to the farm. Construction materials are full of formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers. So I'm feeling pretty crushed at the moment...not sure how/if this is all going to work. I'd planned to paint the family room in the city house this weekend b/c the sheetrock repair is done. But that's on hold b/c latex paint has formaldehyde in it...

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I don't know about formaldehyde specifically, but many of the Organic Acid tests available these days will tell you if you are low or high in amino acids, vitamins or minerals needed for your detoxification pathways. This test I took has a section on toxin and detoxification markers - Metabolomix+ Sample report with add-on tests 0321 (gdx.net)

 

[big-papa]

Yep, immunity to allergens isn't a lifelong condition.

When I moved to central TX in 1985 I heard all about how terrible "Cedar Fever" was every winter. (Actually it is caused by the Ash Juniper, which pollenates between mid-December and mid February.) Never bothered me - until 20 years later when it did. Miserable stuff.

I moved to Austin in 1984. Yup, it took me 30 years of living in Austin before Cedar hit me. Still pretty mild. Oak Pollen is probably the worst one for me and is something I never experienced growing up in Louisiana.

 

[steady saver]

I don't know about formaldehyde specifically, but many of the Organic Acid tests available these days will tell you if you are low or high in amino acids, vitamins or minerals needed for your detoxification pathways. This test I took has a section on toxin and detoxification markers - Metabolomix+ Sample report with add-on tests 0321 (gdx.net)

Thanks, I appreciate that. I've done the Organic Acids test and others in the past. They are helpful tools for sure.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Thanks, I appreciate that. I've done the Organic Acids test and others in the past. They are helpful tools for sure.

If you don't think that would be helpful to run again, there are also tests for toxic chemicals - GPL-TOX Profile (Toxic Non-Metal Chemicals) — Great Plains Laboratory. We haven't run these yet ourselves as we have a lot to deal with from the panels we ran so far, so I don't have any direct experience on how helpful they are.

 

[teachme]

I've been able to reverse some of my issues already, like mold allergies and salicylates sensitivities, just from correcting the issues on the tests.

Pardon the sidebar but would be interested in seeing your notes if you're open to sharing. Do not hesitate to DM me.

 

[zaqxsw]

I just thought it was the beer... Thank goodness it must be something else.