Morning!
I thought today would be a good day to give an update on what’s going on with my eczema. On September 11th/12th I started a pretty limited diet. You can read more about what I originally decided to stop eating here.
After doing this for a couple of weeks, I have found out some things by trial and error. When I encounter something I shouldn’t eat, I basically have an immediate flare. My spots get very itchy, my face gets red and burns and my lips get itchy/tingly.
I figured out gluten/wheat, soy, vinegar, almonds (not sure about other nuts) and beans don’t affect me or my eczema. I’ve been having those things in minimal amounts. I still can’t decide about eggs, but if I only have 1-2 every couple of days it seems to be fine.
I’m not sure about dairy because I haven’t had ANY since I started.
The fruits and veggies that seem to be especially bothersome EVEN cooked are: carrots, zucchini, tomatoes (although tomato sauce is fine, I’m guessing because it’s cooked for so long), apples and eggplant. This basically (besides the apples) is my entire summer diet. I ate all of those things multiple times a DAY and never realized I was having a reaction. Also I may have a reaction to honey, but I’m not totally sure.
I kind of can’t believe all those foods are giving me such a reaction (denial) but every time I eat one of them, I flare up. It’s SO crazy. I still haven’t tried avocado, but maybe in a few weeks I will.
When I’m home, this diet feels fine. I don’t really notice a difference. When I’m out/out to eat it’s pretty frustrating. My face was on fire this past weekend when I was at a wedding. I had a couple pieces of eggplant (stupid I know) and I think it was from that…but I’m really not totally sure. I also had dessert (cake) and other random foods.
In addition to avoiding these foods, I’ve been taking 1 tbsp of raw, organic (Bragg) apple cider vinegar, 2x a day. I’ve also been taking 3 probiotic pills a day, a multivitamin, 2 fish oil and 2 reishi pills (2x) a day. (Typically, I take 1 probiotic, multivitamin, 2 fish oil.)
For me, this was 100% brought on after pregnancy. I had occasional eczema, but like I said it ALWAYS cleared up within days of going light on dairy. To help my spots go away I’ve been using my perscription cream and during the day sometimes I’ll put either apple cider vinegar mixed with water (1:1) on it, or glycerin mixed with witch hazel (also 1:1). I basically HATE using the steriod cream, but I want these spots gone.
So that’s that. I had no clue that so many people have oral allergy syndrome (like Dorothy). It’s pretty comforting. The thing I wonder about is if I can eat these foods over the winter, since it’s not allergy season. After a month or two I plan on testing out these foods, 1 at a time and seeing how it goes. I also will talk to the allergist about it when I go on the 15th.
I figured since I’ve found so many people who are dealing with this, I’d write about my experience. Please share any experiences you’ve had!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I hope your face feels better soon!!! And hopefully it’s a smooth transition to winter foods!
What an adventure, and it looks like a long one. Thanks for sharing your experience. We experience the same with all our OAS patients and it seems that the most tedious thing to do is to keep track of all the foods you get exposed to. We have just published a guest post on our blog about a newly App that helps you in the process of tracking your foods. Check it out, we’d love to hear your opinion http://www.florida-allergy.com/2013/09/27/allergy-journal-new-food-allergy-app/