Allergies

Allsorts: do you know for certain that pollen is the only thing you are allergic to?

People can be allergic to practically everything, and the symptons you describe sound like mine.

I am not allergic to pollen, so I can't advise there, but I am allergic to formaldehyde which is used as a preservative in cleaning agents, shampoo, probably make--up as well, and certainly was used in nail varnish, plus house paint and varnish. It is also used in making a large range of synthetic fibres.

I itch madly if I am stupid enough to wear polyester, sit beside someone whose soap, makeup etc. makes me sneeze, so I would suggest you start by going through your wardrobe and only wear natural fibres for a month, making sure that you wash your clothes in evironmentally friendly and allergy tested laundry detergents and never, if you dry them in a tumble dryer put sythetic fibres in at the same time.

If wearing only natural fibres doesn't help (presuming that you know you are not allergic to wool!) then try checking colouring agents and preservatives in food and cut out anything that has too many additives, and preferally any vegetables that have been grown using artificial fertilezers.

It is a long hard road, and you will need to keep lists of what you have discarded temporarily from you wardrobe or your diet.

Unfortunately, if you use perfumed soap powder, fabric softener and toiletries you will need to wash your clothes at least three times before there will be no traces of these things left in them,

However, if it is perfume, additives etc. that you are (also) allergic to, it will pay to go through this infuriating "treasure hunt".

Forgot to say: wash your washing machine on the hottest cycle without any clothes in it, and only washing soda or vinegar in the soap tray before you start the great wash of your clothes and bed linen, and clean the filter of your dryer well too.

I take an antihistamine almost every night. I buy them from Home Bargains

Dear Allsorts,
Do you have a silver birch near your home? Apparently a lot of people are allergic to these.
Which antihistamine do you take?

My eyes are allergic to the preservatives put in eye medication and contact lens products, so have to ensure everything is preservative free. This used to mean a prescription, but recently this has changed and i can buy preservative free eye medication in Boots.

I am also allergic to a lot of chemicals used in skin care products, but i do not know which. As a result I have a small set of products i know will not irritate my skin and this is all I use.

I used to have really severe allergic rhinitis, but this has eased up in recent years. Itching is limited to my chin.

I am also allergic to pennicillin, which is a real pain in the proverbial.

There are allergy tests you can take privately. The best is supposed to be the ImmunoCAP ISAC Specific IgE blood test There is also one called Sensitivity Check. You'd have to research which was the best, but maybe worth a try.

Local Honey

It’s awful, people don’t realise how constant sneezing and itching gets you down, nothing help, I will get some nose drops though and try those. Thank you.

Same here for the back itching no explanation for it at all. I keep a back scratcher by my chair in the living room. I have rhinitis with is like hay fever all year around but worse in the summer. I get a nasal spray for it on prescription Nasonex.

I cannot tell you the amount of times I have requested the drops and been told by the doctors receptionist it’s not hay fever season. I have told her in no uncertain terms it’s not hay fever! I am probably wrong but growing up our house was surrounded by wheat fields I always thought it was the cause.