Tuesday 20 September 2011

how I tamed hives - salicylate free

I have recently suffered from quite a serious bout of hives (Acute Urticaria), which has put my health at the forefront of my activities.

My symptoms have been: a rash/raised itchy bumps on my back, upper arms, upper legs hands and feet .

Swelling of my lips and eyes have followed, dependant on what I have eaten.

To say it came as a shock is an understatement, as I have never suffered with any skin condition nor allergy, as I can eat anything and am only allergic to penicillin.

Thus, when the condition began, I did not know how to manage the situation.

Having researched the various on-line sites, it became clear that my skin may have been affected by:
Strong detergents in washing powders;
after shaves and shaving foam;
and deodorants.

The terpenes,limonene and linalool in these products seemed to be initiating a skin allergy, as when these products were removed from my daily routine, the hives subsided.

However, the flare-up continued and I became aware of salicylates and their effect on an individuals' health.

To say that I ate anything, especially processed meats, pickles, sauces and fast-food is an understatement. I did complement this with many fruits and vegetables and ate a balanced diet, even if full of processed foods for convenience.

The hives returned fairly quickly and the swelling of my eyes and lips was getting more frequent.

On investigating the prevalence of Salicylates in food, it became apparent that I was at the mercy of some fairly innocuous foodstuffs.

Radishes,Chorizo sausage,Ibuprofen,processed ham and, amazingly, Brown Sugar affected me the most.

All of the aforementioned are known to cause a reaction if you are Salicylate intolerant.

I attempted to keep the symptoms at bay using over-the-counter anti-histamine but to no avail.

In despair I went to my local doctor, who diagnosed acute urticaria's. He prescribed a steriod, Prednisolone, 5mg, five times a day and an anti-histamine, Fexofenadine Hydrochloride, 180mg, one a day.

An example of this combination happened today, where i mistakenly ate a meal with processed gravy mix on it and sure enough, the hives struck up quickly. This was countered by the above and the hives wen down in an hour

This formula has kept my hives at bay and if I watch what I eat, then I can detect an attack early and take a reduced dosage of steroid, and Benadryl compliments this well.

I am confident that given the plethora of advice on-line and my own efforts to follow a low-salicylate diet will bear fruit and improve my condition.

good luck with yours if you are suffering.