BarneyGrubble
(Beethoven and Latina singer fan in Ottawa)
21
Allergies can begin at any time in life. About 20 years ago, out of the blue, I started breaking out in very severe hives. I would some days wake up with my face twisted and deformed. On one occasion after I ate jujubes, my chin became extremely hard with swelling. I went for allergy testing (the test with 30+ drops of liquid on the forearm that are then scratched.) I was declared food-allergy free and left to fend for myself, itching like crazy.
Once, when I went to a clinic for an antihistamine shot, the doctor asked me if I realized that the hives could have been caused by stress. At the time I thought he was crazy; I’m not so sure about that anymore.
After about 6 months of itching, I went to see an environmental doctor who had helped my wife with a problem. He put me through eight hours of allergy testing, at the end of which he announced to me that I was allergic to rice, beef, and coffee, things I was very used to eating. So I stayed away from those three things, and the hives stopped. Avoiding them was a bit inconvenient, but I did get to replace coffee with hot chocolate
Several years down the road I was told by another allergist that you should challenge your body from time to time with foods to which you are allergic. So I gradually did, and got rid of all the allergies.
I react to some sausages and some cured meats, and if I have too much bacon or salami. My other triggers are commercial frozen foods, like frozen lasagnas or breaded chicken, unwashed vegetables at restaurants (the tomatoes for burgers, lettuce for burgers, mesclun mix, baby arugula in salads).
If it’s a nitrate/sulphite issue, similar salts could be in both Knorr packets and Italian sausage.
Might also be cumulative- the Knorr packet in combination with any other processed stuff over the past day or 2.
No insight except to say that I have a similar reaction when eating some Mexican type foods - my head pounds and I feel dizzy, sound kind of reverberates - almost as if I am suddenly very intoxicated. Sometimes I am physically ill. I have never been able to isolate the cause, but I have learned to recognize the early onset of symptoms, so I stop eating. Oddly this has happened mostly at restaurants but has happened twice at home and I have not used novel ingredients so my guess is something that happens to a new(?)/old(?) spice or with some particular combination. Good luck! I hope you dont have to eliminate anything you really enjoy!
I can now safely and, I might add, with a sense of relief report that some of the leftover broc & hollandaise were consumed for lunch to no ill effects. Halle-freakin-lujah! I like both & would’ve hated to go without from now on.
