Hives, lower back pain. K-cups to blame?

[justnotsure]

First of all, thank you in advance for creating a forum to share...

I'm at a stage where I'm just not sure what I'm allergic to...and it's very frustrating. It seems to be something in Keurig K-cups and after I stopped using them my hives went away within 2 days and my lower back pain was gone in about a week. I researched ingredients and the only thing I can narrow it down to is propylene glycol. I'm also suspicious of it because the only other time I had hives was several years ago after taking aspirin. In that case, like this one, it took several weeks before they occurred. Then I realized that the aspirin might have been coated with propylene glycol -- the only other common , ingredient. Maybe it never was the aspirin, but the coating?

Anyway, after being hive-free for over a week, today i had one pop up and also noticed that asthma-sort-of-feeling with my chest and throat. I did have a piece of cake last night -- was it propylene glycol in that?

Maybe it's something else all together??? But, I feel strongly that the K-cups are to blame. Other forms of coffee, caffeine are no problem.

I'm hesitant to spend a lot of money at an allergist because I feel like they won't be able to give me a definitive answer.

Thank you for listening and I appreciate any and all comments or questions.

[findtheanswernow]

I saw something similar happen to my son after taking Tylenol. He had some kind of flu bug and I gave him Tylenol for a most five days to combat high fever. His face became terribly red and blotchy and turned to sandpaper. Fast forward several months and he started on a daily prescription medication. Saw the same thing happen with his face. Have now discovered that the majority of all medicine is coated with PG.

We did have patch testing done (because he’s got SO many skin issues) and it showed he is allergic to PG. along with fragrances, foaming agents and various other things. At least validates to me that I wasn’t crazy.

Re; cake - canned frosting has PG.

It’s everywhere!

Laurie

[kerrykuzak]

Coffee can be a problem for glycol allergy people, especially with any flavorings added and the decaf process. I only drink organic coffee. Most processed foods have PG used somehow---especially packaged items like cake mixes where PG works to keep moisture in the product. Many, many pharamaceuticals use PG and PEG in some capacity. Finding a good compound pharamacy is a must. If you would like more information about where PG can be found, e-mail me at [e-mail] I have written a paper entitled "Living with a PG/PEG allergy" which I can send you.

[findtheanswernow in reply to kerrykuzak]

Re: cake mixes. Would PG be listed as an ingredient on the label?

[kerrykuzak in reply to findtheanswernow]

PG must be listed in most food items, but there are exceptions like ALL conventional ice cream where PG is used as an emulsifier and does not have to be listed because it is an "industry standard". Also: anything "modified" has the potential of PG being used in the process of modification; "natural flavors" can mean PG because they contain 50 - 100 ingredients; produce (especially if coming from a distance) can be sprayed with PG to prevent fungus growth; spices can be sterilized with PG; PEG is used in the processing of sugar beets; nearly all carbonated beverages contain PG because it inhibits bacteria growth and evenly distributes fatty acids for flavor consistence; PG products are used extensively with cows (used in their feed to prevent freezing; ketosis treatment, etc.); and the list goes on... As far as pharmaceuticals are concerned, PG/PEG will be labelled even if it is part of the coating; it should be labelled on personal care products, but there are also many chemically similar items that are connected with PG (things like glycerin, sodium laureth sulfate, etc.) that require avoidance by me; and ALL conventional cleaning products are suspect because labelling is not required. Go natural whenever possible.

[gothchiq]

If the cake was made from a mix, then there was propylene glycol in it. That right there is probably it. If it was from a bakery, it was also made from a commercial mix and has glycols. Commercial icings and all food colorings also contain PG. Eat no cake that was not made from scratch and that contains colorings.