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Hello. I have this weird allergy when I turned 21 in college where if I eat any bread/wheat products in moderate or dense quantity (bagel, pizza, donuts) I would break out all over into hives, from head to toe, beginning on the forehead, chest, back, throat, that hits intensely.
Never had this when I was under 21...below are some issues that puzzle me with this wheat allergy, wondering if anyone has this same problem with wheat (or other food)...
1. If I eat something dense/doughy like french bread/bagel, or many slices of pizza, the reaction hits hard within 35 minutes, hives that join and I turn red, making it difficult to breathe. A claritin or benadryl will clear this up in 30 minutes after taking.
2. This allergy is wheat specific/accelerated with exercise
3. If I eat something toasty, such as a slice of toasted bread, nothing will happen. Also a basket of breaded shrimp will not cause any reaction. If I eat this same toasty small amount of bread and go exercise, bam! Instant hives (and dangerous too)
4. I drank a beer that was made with hops and a "touch of wheat" and nothing happened. I didnt know it contained wheat until later on when I looked it up for its ingredients, it was some local creation. I would have thought in liquid form this would have hit me hard, but nothing happened...dont know how much wheat was in it.
5. Once I ate an entire quesadilla and nothing happened. The next week, ate same quesadilla and broke out in 40 minutes, had to take a claritin. I was feeling kind of stressed from a long day that day. The day I didnt break out I was relaxed.
Anyone have something like this? Just wondering if you ever cured yourself or found out the reason you acquired a wheat allergy.
Test your body, go gluten free as much as you can. My grandgirl did and her skin cleared up beautifully...she's 21.. I chose to go gluten free as much as possible too and I'm close to 80...just feel better. No breads in my life, for the most part, either.
Grape Seed Ex could help you a lot in general with your allergy issues.
You should see an allergist. You're playing with fire, assuming benadryl or claritin will always work fast enough and the breathing difficulty won't get worse. Hives and difficulty breathing means two body systems are affected, meaning it's an anaphylactic reaction. That doesn't mean it will progress to anaphylactic shock, but it's a possibility and your allergist will probably want you to carry medication in case that happens.
It's not surprising that exercise makes your symptoms worse, but mention that to the allergist as well.
You should see an allergist. You're playing with fire, assuming benadryl or claritin will always work fast enough and the breathing difficulty won't get worse. Hives and difficulty breathing means two body systems are affected, meaning it's an anaphylactic reaction. That doesn't mean it will progress to anaphylactic shock, but it's a possibility and your allergist will probably want you to carry medication in case that happens.
It's not surprising that exercise makes your symptoms worse, but mention that to the allergist as well.
OP, it could be that exercising ends up being an additional metabolic "load" on your system that is already trying to handle the allergen. While exercising your heart rate is up, circulation is up, respiration rate up, everything is firing faster. If that load doesn't exist, maybe that's why your allergic response is less intense. Reactions can get more severe over time...your sensitivity can be cumulative. It could be something other than the wheat too, as you listed a variety of foods that have other ingredients. An allergist can evaluate how severe your sensitivity actually is OP. If it were me I'd be going there sooner than later!
Thank you for all the replies!! sorry, my fault, I forgot to mention that I did go to an allergest to do testing (bloodwork) and it was wheat specific plus a bunch of other stuff came up (grass/pollen/dust/cats)
Yes, it got worse over time. I did do gluten-free for 5 years straight to reset the allergy as suggested by an allergist and it did not work. He did suggest I carry Allegra (which failed to work once when I broke out after exercising) and he also wanted me to carry an epipen but if I avoid wheat I have no issues.
I really dont eat wheat/bread products daily but once in a while I do want some pizza and have to take a claritin to prevent the hives but as posted here, it may not work one day which worries me.
Doughy cinnamon rolls hit me hard the most. Croutons in a salad do nothing.
My post was also to see, out of curiosity, if anyone experiences such a weird allergy that I did not have during childhood and my teens. Usually you are allergic or not allergic as I know someone who if a peanut touches his lips he itches and swells but I can eat a slice of pizza in a cold room and not exercise and nothing will happen, so it is like an overload/cumulative.
Thank you for all the replies!! sorry, my fault, I forgot to mention that I did go to an allergest to do testing (bloodwork) and it was wheat specific plus a bunch of other stuff came up (grass/pollen/dust/cats)
Yes, it got worse over time. I did do gluten-free for 5 years straight to reset the allergy as suggested by an allergist and it did not work. He did suggest I carry Allegra (which failed to work once when I broke out after exercising) and he also wanted me to carry an epipen but if I avoid wheat I have no issues.
I really dont eat wheat/bread products daily but once in a while I do want some pizza and have to take a claritin to prevent the hives but as posted here, it may not work one day which worries me.
Doughy cinnamon rolls hit me hard the most. Croutons in a salad do nothing.
My post was also to see, out of curiosity, if anyone experiences such a weird allergy that I did not have during childhood and my teens. Usually you are allergic or not allergic as I know someone who if a peanut touches his lips he itches and swells but I can eat a slice of pizza in a cold room and not exercise and nothing will happen, so it is like an overload/cumulative.
Actually allergies wax and wane during your lifetime. You can develop an allergy at any age. It could be that you always were somewhat sensitive to wheat but less so when you were young. What will it hurt to carry an epipen if you know you'll be exercising?
Gluten sensitivity is not the same condition as having a wheat allergy. Furthermore, a product can be gluten-free, yet still contain ingredients derived from wheat. It would not harm a gluten-sensitive individual, but it could produce a severe and even deadly reaction in a wheat allergy patient. A wheat allergy patient must look for wheat-free, not gluten free and be on the lookout for hidden sources of wheat such as beer, soy sauce etc.
Heat can break down a protein. I'm guessing that the wheat products you've tolerated (so far!) have been affected by heat so your body didn't recognize them as the wheat protein to which you have already developed antibodies and therefore failed to launch the allergic reaction. Similarly, if you eat a piece of dense or fluffy bread, the outside is usually well cooked (crusty), the inside is not, it's fluffy and closer to its uncooked form.
Bottom line is don't eat this stuff! You are tempting fate. Allergies often worsen with each provocation, and, as you noted, being tired or run down can make it worse. There is also something called "food-related, exercise-induced anaphylaxis." Sounds like you've come close already. Look it up and maybe consider wearing a medical bracelet when you work out.
My post was also to see, out of curiosity, if anyone experiences such a weird allergy that I did not have during childhood and my teens. Usually you are allergic or not allergic as I know someone who if a peanut touches his lips he itches and swells but I can eat a slice of pizza in a cold room and not exercise and nothing will happen, so it is like an overload/cumulative.
I've developed a bunch of allergies I didn't have as a child. Soy, peanut, tree nut, coconut, palm, and the latex cross fruits. Some of my reactions will build on each other. For example, if I'm having asthma symptoms during the day and then I cook something that requires me to stand right by the stove and stir for a long time and that night I have sex, I'm likely to have a major allergic reaction to orgasm, but if I haven't had a day full of things that trigger my allergies, sometimes I can get through it without such a bad reaction.
In the allergy groups, they describe it as your histamine bucket. Different things will add to the histamine bucket...high pollen count outside, exercising, stress, heat, minor reactions, etc. until you get to the point where your bucket overflows (meaning a big reaction) from something that would usually only cause a minor reaction.
You should carry the epi pen. Also, Allegra, Claritin, etc. are better for taking regularly than taking when you're planning to eat the wrong thing. Benadryl will do more to treat a reaction than one of the 24 hour antihistamines. But nothing will replace the epi pen if you have a really severe reaction.
I had full blown hives almost every evening for 20 years. Besides corn, which I dropped, doctors couldn't figure it out. This was before the internet.
Years later, I found some online chronic urticaria support groups and learned a ton of information. I found that another trigger for me was pressure (delayed pressure urticaria) - example, if I stand on a ladder, hours later I will get hives/swelling on the bottom of my feet.
Hives can also be from cold, heat, sun, exercise and stress, to name a few. Mine finally went away after I divorced my ex, so I guess stress was part of it too.
Point is, it's not always just food.
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