Chemical Sensitivities/Food Allergies

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The realm of food allergies, ME, multiple chemical sensitivities life in a bubble stuff scares me more than anything because its such a vague illness with no definite treatment. A few years ago I would have dismissed it as hypochondria but recently a test revealed an allergy to milk and sugar. Maybe I don't have AS just loads of allergies. I keep having days when I am just floored by nausea, dizziness, earache and the noise and light sensitivity is worse. I think the trigger is solvents and alcohol in perfume and cosmetics. Its becoming really debilitating, has anyone else experienced this type of thing.

The perfume section of stores will nearly knock me off my feet and make my eyes water and I start sneezing. I usually end up closing my eyes and holding my breath and hoping no one darts out in front of me if I am forced to walk past these aisles.
I have been known to leave a line if someone with too much perfume is near me. I usually have to leave the building for a bit as it lingers oh so well.
I have to use perfume free detergents for washing my clothes or I get all itchy.
I am also mildly allergic to milk and pretty allergic to shellfish. Just someone microwaving some shrimp in the next room is enough to set me off.
I have some other seasonal allergies, but have not bothered to find out what they are although they have been getting worse the last few years.
I consider myself lucky compared to what my mom is allergic to.

Having allergy attacks will pretty much worsen any condition a person may have.

To a certain extent,yes,I do have allergies and unusual sensitivities,but not as severe as you are dealing with.It's hard as an adult to separate all symptoms from their exact causes.I do think it is possible that symptoms of AS could resemble other issues,and vice versa.

Practically speaking,do your best to isolate and remove exactly what is causing you trouble,and work with helpful professionals who can give you tools and knowledge to manage the symptoms and the anxiety.I know anxiety can be as bad as other symptoms.

Best of luck to you.Please let us know what you discover.

Be careful you get good testing. I had a bogus allergy test once from a quack. It said I was allergic to half the planet as far as I could tell. But it wasn't real. There are a lot of fake tests out there.

I do have allergies, just not nearly as many as the fake tests show (and not the ones the fake tests show).

Sounds like me. Besides the clothes detergent, I have to use Tom's of Maine Natural deodorant, and am bothered by some soaps. Most "chemical" smells burn my throat (I'm having trouble with the new curtains in the living room

I do wonder if there's any connection between these type of allergies and AS, or if they're just completely random unrelated things.

Last edited by Wolfpup on 29 May 2007, 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Immunology is such a complex topic. I must admit it is facinating. I know what you mean about the whole topic being hard to understand. I had allergy testing when I was young, and it said that I'm illergic to pollin and ragweed and alot of other environmental things. It also said I was allergic to animal fur.. But now that I'm 24 I have two cats and I have NO symtoms... how weird is that .
I am staring to really understand that we aspis have alot of differences that cover all sorts of areas not just social emotional isssues but immune, neuro-sensory and even sexual issues.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it really is PERVASIVE- covering all areas of the person.

If you had a test that said you were allergic to animal fur, then it was a mix of common animals. You might be allergic to dogs or horses, but not cats. I'm allergic to cats, but not dogs. I have a ton of allergies, including food and environmental. Strangely, food allergy tests come back negative to everything, but I clearly react. My environmental allergies show up in tests. I am also sensitive to a lot of things, mostly fragrances, and have sensitive skin. I also use Tom's of Maine deodorant. I make my own soap w/ olive and castor oil only. Sometime I put in a tiny bit of essential oil, but usually it's unscented.

Wish I could say I haven't "been there". I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue & FMS about 5? years ago, but was sick since having my son in 1999...spent about 3 years just trying to get an answer as to what the he$$ was wrong with me. I didn't really believe in either one...until I got sick.

2001, was when I really hit bottom, didn't even go out of the house much for over a year, I didn't drive, was afraid to...nausea, dizziness, allergies, low-grade fevers, muscle spasms, pain, barely climbed the stairs, I had no energy...nothing.

The improvements came, although it was so gradual at times I didn't notice, the first three years I would say without a doubt were the worst...this year is the best I've been in a long time, I still have bad days, bad weeks, but nothing like it was...I can still function.

No fragrances, I use mostly natural cleaning products, I am really careful in what I use or bring into the house chemical-wise. Careful with the food I eat...it's helped.

I dismissed AS too...kept saying maybe it's just the allergies, the illness. But I had all the traits, my parents had all the traits...long before I ever got sick. I wonder if being an Aspie made me more susceptible to developing this, did it make me "overload" more quickly? I was stressed out around people, stressed out if someone disrupted my daily routine, etc...add alot more stress and what happens?

Or on the other hand I wonder if being an Aspie made it easier to deal with...I never sank into the depression that so many sink into because they miss socializing, they feel so alone...I could never socialize to begin with, and I was fine with being alone...all I ever felt was anger over the fact of being sick.

It seems all the autistics I've run across have some allergies of varying kinds. I didn't discover I had an allergy until about 5 years ago, to grass. It gave me asthma attacks. My son is allergic to grass, alfalfa, cats and one dog. He's not allergic to our dog, no matter how dirty or clean. But this other dog he would immediately break out and go ballistic. And it didn't matter if he had a bath. weird
And yes, it seemed to exacerbate his "autistic" traits. (appearing deaf, mimicking)

It's like being the canary in the coal mine. I get dizzy, light-headed, and breathing difficulties around formaldehyde. Which doesn't sound very common, EXCEPT new clothing is doused with it, as is new fabric, wood, certain glues, and whatnot. This was passed down to me from my mum, who would break out in a rash if she used nail polish that contained formaldehyde. I detest clothes shopping anyway, and now The Missus will purchase several shirts, and bring them home for me to look over. Much easier.

This sounds like me when I'm around the perfume section of stores. I'm also really sensitive to soaps and
detergents. I am allergic to milk, to cats, and to just about anything that blooms.

Wow Fresco, I've never heard of an allergy to sugar!!

Could that be what's in new curtains? My mom bought new curtains for the living room, and I *HAVE* to have the windows open or it builds up. Almost instantly starts hurting my throat, etc. She just acts oblivious to it and is mad I have the windows open.

Yep had an ALCAT test and it revealed a sensitivity to sugar, cows milk,cucumber, carrots and bananas

You could spend a small fortune on supplements and therapies for allergies etc and there are many cowboys out there willing to take your gullible cash! There's a good book by Natasha Campbell-McBride which investigates the link between digestion and neuro problems. She backs up her theories with some sound scientific facts but I for one am very reluctant to conclude that autism is caused by gastro-intestinal problems/diet. But shes no quack: MD, neurologist and dietician. The gist of it is that a lack of good bacteria in the gut prevents the absorption of key nutrients and facilitates neurotoxins getting into the bloodstream. She advocates a simple diet of meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables, no need to buy extra pills and supplements just eat liver and lots of pre-biotic foodstuffs. There's just one thing don't eat any sugar (bar fruit and honey) err or grains rice, oats, potatoes, wheat. Needless to say I have not followed this diet. Some have and it has had incredible results. The authors son went from low functioning to high.
Also she has a theory that light/sound sensitivity is caused by a Clostridia type bacteria in the gut that produces similar toxins to tetanus which then enter the blood/brain barrier. Still can't quit me coca-cola and Tunnocks tea cakes though.
Anyway!!

I have had rashes on my forarms and chest off and on for years.It usually goes away after a week or so.About 4 months ago I was put on wellbutrin to try and quit smoking and had a very bad reaction.....itching in soles of feet and palms of hands that was nonstop and only went away with cortisone for 10 days.Since then,I seem to react to everything.The hands and feet thing hasnt returned but I will get a few small bumps,anywhere on my body and my whole body will itch.The only relief is taking a soap free bath with scrubbing my skin and then covering all skin surfaces with calamine lotion...which doesnt get rid of the bumps but seems to anesthatise my skin for a while.This reaction will last a few days to a week....then a break...then return again.

I work with a lot of chemicals(cleaning)and 30-100 dogs a night and do know I react to some of their urine(had an instant flaming rash on my forarm when it came in contact with some urine)....

I am wondering two things........did the initial reaction to Wellbutrin cause my body to become hyper-sensitive now?What test do you reccomend.I have heard the patch tests(which sound horible and inconvenient,how can anyone sleep with them on?When I itch I scratch until I bleed,the pain is much better then itching),are often inaccurate...giving false positives and negatives.

I also know I am alergic to chlorine and get very rashy after swimming(also hypo-thyroid and dry skin)but water has a lot of chlorine in it(I can smell it,yuck)anyway to avoid this with a water filter for shower attachment?(I live in an apartment).


Any advice would be appriciated.I am finnally going to get medical coverage soon and want to get some relief from this as "itching" has caused an incrediable amount of sensory over-load and is effecting my mood alot.