Uncommon allergies?

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Phenylketonuria. Beat that.

I have confirmed allgergies to cats (mild), alder, oak, and birch pollen, freshly cut grass, black mold, and cozmo flowers.

I have a presumed allergy to sulpha drugs after a reaction with a sulfa antibiotic. Several days into the course I broke out in hives and went to A&E. After the tests they did showed no infection or blood problems, and I confirmed no diet or chemical changes (such as a new fabric softener) they classed it as as an allergic reaction to the medication and told me to never take that class of medication again.

I also had a reaction to Biaxin, another antibiotic, but it's more related to a sensitivity to the paticular medication and I'm still able to take that class of antibiotics.

Nickle. The stuff touches my skin and it leaves a burning rash. I don't wear jewlry hardly at all, but sometimes I have to paint the top of my belt buckles with nail enamel if they're likely to touch my skin.

Other than that no uncommon ones. I suspect I have a bad reaction to alchohol and artificial sweeteners, but I'm sure it's more of a hypersensitivity to those. They are poison after all .

NIckel here too. I forgot that one. It's gotten worse over time. I used to be able to wear white gold and almost all my jewelry is white gold(which often has nickel in it for color). I don't have a single pair of earrings I can wear without my ears turning beet red and burning and itching.

That's not really an allergy... but, it beats honey for sure!

We had to learn about it in the advanced biology courses. It's autosomal recessive if I remember correctly.

Isn't everyone phenylketonuric to some extent? I know everyone reacts (even if it's not noticeably at first) to some of the main culprits like aspartame (though perhaps not the lesser ones like a true phenylketonuric would?).

I only know of phenylketonuria caused by the inability to convert phenylalanine correctly.

There is real phenylalanine in aspartame, but that's not the only thing in there. I think the other stuff is the actual centre of the controversy.

Everybody who can metabolise phenylalanine correctly is fine, as only ongoing high levels of phenylalanine cause damage to the body.

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid for everybody, because the body converts it to tyrosine. Those with PKU can have a deficit of tyrosine which would also result in yet other disorders such as albinism. (A lack of melatonin caused by a lack of tyrosine.) Too high levels = very bad, nothing = similar consequences caused in other ways.

I think phenylalanine and direct tyrosine are used in mild antidepressants (speaking of those alternative treatments about minerals, vitamins and stuff) too.

Ok: If, for whatever reason, a person without PKU would have an extremely high level of phenylalanine for a huge period of time, then there'd be damage of course too. But it is quite unlikely that this will happen to children and adults, because the person without PKU can and will metabolise the phenylalanine correctly.

I'm allergic to nickel.

Actually, I used to be allergic to red26 food dye when I was younger, but eventually got over that, but I've always been allergic to artificial strawberry flavouring; my eyes used to water and I used to get hives, but now I just get really bad stomach cramps. For the longest time, I also had a reaction to being overheated, as every time I got overheated, I would also break out in hives. I'm also allergic to pollen and get colds in the summer instead of the winter, but that's different all together. Oh and I can't drink caffinated pop... it makes me have an extremely upset stomach, so I can only drink pops without caffeine, and pop with aspartame in it is pretty much all I can usually handle.

Last edited by Carebear13 on 09 Aug 2010, 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Cat dander. One time it was so bad that hives started to appear under one of my eyes.

The most unusual allergy I've read about is an extreme sensitivity to FD&C Yellow Food Color No. 5 (tartrazine) and the artificial sweetener, sodium saccharin, in a How To (understand) book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild with Anita Uhl Brothers, M.D. It really isn't an allergy as much as the reality that, for a few persons with ADHD (not everyone), a few food additives (not all food additives) can act as undisclosed, powerful drugs for some users and cause temporary, noticeable changes in cognition, perception, energy level, and sleep. It's the most reliable book about the topic of hidden food additives and ADHD I've ever found and contains facts vs false suppositions. The one-of-a-kind book does not cure anything but it does provide numerous insights into the areas of paying attention, focus, concentration, memory, and body balance/gross and fine motor control not found elsewhere. The How To book looks at a number of FDA approved medicines like Tirend (contains caffeine - 100 mg/other ingredients), NoDoz, Bonine, Ritalin, Dilantin, and so on. The How To book increased my understanding of ADHD a little - about 5%.

I'm allergic to myself. There is a chemical in human excretions that causes me to break out in allergic reactions. I can't let sweat sit on my body for too long. When I was a baby, my mom had to change my diaper every hour or so just to be sure.