Allergy attack, worst known to human kind!

[Torrie]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

What do you mean by whole food supplement? I thought ester C was just a buffered form of vitamin C. I think rose hips is actually the most natural form of C.

I was referring to the Bioflavanoids that are in Ester-C. I think they are considered a "whole food"; that has been my understanding, but I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me. I just want to make sure that people don't use a synthetic Vtiamin C, otherwise they might not get the same results.

[helenteichroeb]

Originally Posted by gemkeeper

Travelmate, I really feel your frustration. I started out with symptoms like yours 40 yrs. ago. I always had seasonal allergies, but I mean symptoms like yours where you just feel like doo-doo!

I started to notice that it ALWAYS happened when I was doing the dishes or scrubbing with my Playtex gloves on. Viola! I was allergic - and becoming more allergic - to latex.

I woke up in the morning with the runny nose, running itchy eyes, coughing, using an inhaler, etc. I slept on a latex pillow! Check your bedding. Your pillow or mattress may be latex.

Many people are allergic to latex because of over exposure. Many hospitals are going all latex free because of the potential latex allergy reactions.

Unfortunately, my allergies escalated from there due to autoimmune diseases, including lupus. I am not suggesting that you have lupus, but allergy is an autoimmune disease. Your body pumps out histamine when a certain allergen comes in contact with your body.

Some people, like myself, may have antibodies (which cause the release of the histamines) to their own organs. I must carry an epipen with me now because I am so allergic to most foods and many environmental allergens that cause me to become anaphyllatic. This is an extreme situation, but allergies are nothing to SNEEZE at.

Take care of yourself. Find out with an allergist just what you are allergic to (skin of RAST tests) and avoid that allergen. You will feel so much better and doing something good for your health. Nobody wants to feel yucky all the time and not know what is causing it.

I hope you find the culprit and can avoid it so you feel better.

I wonder if instead of your allergies getting worse because of your autoimmune diseases, you actually developed autoimmune diseases because your allergies went unchecked. Avoiding allergens, (whatever makes you sick) and medicating the symptoms of them, (drugs) are not fixing the problem.

Imagine your allergies, colds, or other discomforts are not a disease to be gotten rid of, but it's your body's way of saying, "help me, I'm unhappy".

[jennydowdmarx]

Hey TravelMate38, this was 2 years ago.....did you ever figure out your allergy problem? My husband is suffering from the same thing now, and we can't figure it out. Was hoping you found something that has worked and could share advice with me.

thanks!

[stepka]

Originally Posted by travelmate38

I'm talking an all out assault here. Usually it starts when I wake up with a few sneezes, then the runny nose, then it hits and hits hard. I literally become incapacitated, my nose runs like a faucet, sneezing every 1 second. I feel physically drained. I can barely stand up to walk across the room as my nose runs, burns, itches like crazy and I sneeze 30 times in 30 seconds. literally 30 times in 30 seconds, it's bad! I get these attacks about once per month and I'm not sure from what. When they come on, I take 10mg clarinex, (double dose) and sinus decongestant but the decongestant does very little. The clarinex usually kicks in after about 30 hours or so.

Does anyone have any tips on how to stop these attacks faster? I'm not talking a runny nose and watery eyes here. I'm talking a total 110% azzz whoppin. Worse then the flu for those first two days. What can I do to improve these initial 2 days? I don't want to take clarinex daily as I do not believe in long term medication use.

Oh I feel your pain too--I've had problems like this all of my life. In reading your post though, I'm thinking there has to be something in your environment that you're allergic to. Do you have pets? Do you have moisture problems in your house? Are you male or female? I've never heard of allergy problems due to hormones, but the once a month pattern makes me wonder. Someone mentioned latex. Foods? Peanut butter or eggs or something you eat app. 1x/month? Shellfish? Chinese food? (MSG) Diet soda? Do you go out for drinks the night before? Beer can really set mine off, and some wines too. Microbrews and local wines do better so it must be the sulfites. I agree with the one poster about sugar--I always have fewer allergies when I eat less sugar. Pay close attn to your detergent--does this happen right after you change the sheets on your bed? I use Arm & Hammer or Trader Joes brand and don't have probs with those.

To stop an attack fast: go wash your hands thoroughly and then rub your eyes. It will get some of the stuff out of your system right away and I've stopped a bad attack in its tracks that way. Pop a couple of chewable vit C tabs and then do the neti pot. And please don't think I'm minimizing this--I've sneezed more than 30X in a row too, and then had a face too swollen to talk and my sinuses felt like they had cement in them and then had an asthma attack on top of all that. But, I haven't had anything that bad in years, and that was mainly due to the fact that I never had another cat in the house after mine died and probably my dehumidifier in the basement helps too. Oh, and don't do the neti pot if your sinuses are completely clogged--won't help and might hurt.

Another thing I've noticed about allergies is that one thing by itself won't usually set things off--it's when you get several allergens all at the same time. My g-ma has a cat and a wood burning stove and I do fine with one but not both--my 2 favorite things. Also she has a lot of mold in her basement so I never go down there ever--I don't care what she needs from down there!

[Hickory06]

I am reading on everyones suggestions here and would love to know how to cure my allergies, I believe I am going to try the Ester-C. I wake up and start the sneezing, blowing my nose, itching, sniffing, pain in my nose, I take Clarinex, then a few hours later a Zyrtec, I spray my nose throughout the day with flonase, and sinus buster spray that has capician, nettle eycalyptus. I go through boxes of tissue, hankies, I sneeze everywhere and there is not a spot in my house, car & including my children that has not been covered in snot, my kids run when I get the sneeze look, then to top off my day, I end up in bed with vicks all over my nose and 3 benedryls later. I have been like this for over a year, I have seen allergist and ENT doctors, I have received allergy shots since 1994, I have taken everything including tying singular, pure flax oil, local honey, nothing works and my husband is now concerned that here soon as I graduate college I wont be able to hold a job as my allergies are dibilitating my life. But, after reading these inputs here, I do not eat vitamin C foods, I eat salads and vegetables, but rarely drink OJ, I am not a fan of fruits and I dont take Vitamins because I eat balanced with lots of veggies, but maybe it is the citrus vit. C. if anyone has any info, please post, I am considering to look into sinus surgery, but really dont wont to do that.