We have a regular stream of posts where members discuss allergy issues. Sometimes, quite often, starting since being diagnosed and treated with a thyroid disorder.
For that reason, this seems relevant.
‘It’s one of the great mysteries of our time’: why extreme food allergies are on the rise – and what we can do about them
More and more youngsters are experiencing serious reactions to everyday foods – and even our pets are suffering. We meet one family who lost a son to anaphylaxis and ask what can be done
Bee Wilson
Sat 15 Jul 2023 10.00 BST
When five-year-old Benedict Blythe woke up on the morning of 1 December 2021, he was excited that Christmas was coming. He came downstairs to open the first box in his Advent calendar containing a plastic springy frog and a dairy-free white chocolate (Benedict was allergic to milk, along with many other foods including soy, sesame, eggs and nuts). It was Benedict’s first term at school – Barnack primary in Stamford – and he loved it so much that back in September, he had cried when he learned that there were no classes at the weekend. That morning, he went off cheerfully to school with a small packet of dairy-free McVitie’s Gingerbread Men for snack time. He seemed happy and healthy when he arrived but by the afternoon, he was dead, having collapsed with anaphylaxis.
interesting article thanks for posting. My daughter has a peanut allergy and her university did not take it seriously (even though she told them and put it in her medical information for the trip) when she went on her field trip abroad, even the tutor in charge of her group ate peanuts near, her along with most of the students, shocking- luckily she has to ingest peanuts for a reaction and she takes her own precautions.
It may be that I'm having a comprehension problem but was this actually answered by anything other than guesses? E.g references to pollution seems to be the main thing that was brought up. But they didn't mention which polluting substance is causing problems.
When I was first diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation in January 2010 things progressed to the point that I identified an onset of an AF event with food I'd eaten. Had a number of weird symptoms, saw my GP who had bloods done for IBS and Coeliac Disease - all returned clear !
I then consulted a Nutritionist who put me on a course of Probiotics, and advised to go Gluten, Wheat and Oats Free. Over a long period of time I identified other food/ingredients that were an AF trigger and came off them. Now 13 years later I can return to some foods but in any event an pretty well AF free .... only to find more recently some indication of a Thyroid problem. Exactly what only time will tell. without putting too fine a point on it, farmers are gradually, subtly, poisoning us !
I disagree that British farmers are poisoning us. The regulations around growing food here are huge and complex, and there are a large number of checks for the farmer before he can sell anything. Every milk collection is tested at least 3 times and the farmer is paid on the quality of the milk. Every single grain of corn is tested at least twice, and the farmer again paid by the quality of the grain. This grain is then mixed with grain from abroad which is not so tested. The food off the farm then goes through many alterations, chemicals added, to make it fast and easy for us to cook. It is this processing that has much to do with the rise in allegies.
I wholeheartedly agree with Serenfach farmers here are working within tight guidelines and testing whilst trying to feed the population well, their land being effected by the atmosphere we have created...'safe' seeds and chemicals provided by the monster crop science and chemical companies
I'm more inclined to think the poisoning of our planet with plastics and pollution which lead to an appalling drinking water/ sewage system mixed with the terrible things we do to create highly processed foods which we consume far too much of are more to blame 🤷♀️
Thank you. Its comforting that such controls are in place. Unfortunately, I am - like a great many people who buy farm origin products (which aren't only milk and grains). My food allergies and intolerances are much more wide ranging than milk and grain and extend quite some way into the vegetable world too. None of which is helped by the fact that I live in a very rural county, in a farmland area littered with Farm Shops everywhere all of which are of pretty limited use to me. Mercifully my Nutritionist has guided me through the minefield.
I'm with you there, I find I can't tolerate much of the non native fruit and veg but that is unsurprising I suppose as our systems just aren't tuned to eat coconuts, avocado etc... mind you I can't tolerate nightshades these days so wouldn't last long in Ireland either!! But I suppose potatoes really are a relatively new addition we just think of them as our own
Thank you so much for posting this interesting and informative article.
I must say, as a former Head of a Birmingham Primary School who took this subject very seriously, it is concerning to note that there are still major deficiencies in procedures.
In defence of schools though, I would say that it’s almost impossible to ensure that children with allergies have no access to foods which they must not eat. I had one child in my school who used to secretly ‘raid’ the lunchboxes of other children looking for ‘goodies’ which he was not allowed to eat.
That is a really interesting and unfortunately terribly, terribly sad article. To think the poor mother was bullied for posting about her beautiful son is just dreadful. How could anyone do that.
Over twenty years ago I had a 7 year old boy who had a nut and bee sting allergy join my class . He had an epipen, everyone in the school - teaching and ancillary staff and his classmates all knew about his allergies and that he had an epipen. I think he possibly had two, one in the school office and one in his bag, I was taught when and how to use it as did all of the ancillary staff and if we were ever out on a trip obviously the pen came too. As a school we took the greatest of care of him.
I think that Everywhere has a very valid point - you really do rely on the child to be a bit ‘sensible’ and sometimes children are just not always sensible especially those who are subject to some sort of restriction.
Goodness - scary article I’m way out of touch with those pens. You don’t want to have to worry about whether or not it will work if you actually have to use it - perish the thought. Then can you imagine in the panic of needing to use it discovering not all pens are used the same way!
From what I remember once you’ve used the pen you have to go to hospital not sure why but you want it to be working while you’re getting to hospital.
thanks for sharing this. We teachers had to request training and request policy on this for our FE college 10 years ago. Until then it was very much up to the student to share their info. Glad to say it’s now regularly reviewed, we hold spare pens and our first aid courses now include it (not standard but an optional extra). We make extra checks for trips etc. but as a frequent nut muncher I do need to remember to be careful with each new cohort. …. Thanks for the reminder 🌱
Re pollution. When east Germany became part of Germany again it was assumed that the very high levels of pollution and poor environmental standards in the communist east would have resulted in high levels of allergies and similar disorders in the population. However to the surprise of the west Germam medics the levels were actually lower than in West Germany. Obviously pollution is not good and may cause or exacerbate some health conditions but the story illustrates that it one of the things we tend to blame when we don't actually understand the problem.
I'd read that the rise in severe allergies has been linked to the recommendation of very slow weaning of babies onto solids. My children when they were babies at the time were encouraged to have little pureed tasters of all sorts of food. Current recommendations tell you not to do this. This has resulted in a massive increase in allergies. Piece of research done recently on peanuts showed that if young babies were given smooth peanut butter to suck off a teaspoon when very young the incident of developing severe peanut allergy dropped dramatically. Sorry can't renember where I saw this but found it fascinating.
My daughter is sensitive to nuts (she is sick ) and cannot stand the smell of peanut butter. However she too read about giving tasters to babies at an early age, and did so with all 3 of my grandsons. She still hates the smell, but 10 years later all 3 seem robust and the middle child's favourite meal is peanut butter and banana toastie so she copes with it daily!
"'The unsettling thing is that every food allergy has the potential to cause an anaphylactic reaction even if someone’s symptoms are currently not too bothersome. Turner’s research has shown it is extremely difficult to predict who will suffer fatal or near fatal anaphylaxis. Most people who suffer a severe anaphylaxis have had only milder reactions in the past"'
I am fortunate to live in London with choice of at least two specialist allergy departments. I currently am (and have in the past been under) one of the leading such departments in the country.
But my experience (as an adult) has been that the point above is generally ignored. I have never been tested for foods, celiac disease, or chemicals. The reason given is that a food allergy will always cause an immediate and sudden strong reaction or anaphylaxis, so food testing is ignored. I argued with the consultant that simply having a reaction (in my case facial, lip, tongue swelling) should mean I be tested, but he said it would be a waste of resources.
Their argument seems to be there is acute allergy and being 'autoimmunity challenged', i.e. you react and your reactions will never have any clear pattern, because it is more autoimmune driven (though in what precise way, I have not been told, but some forms of urticaria for e.g. are thought to be autoimmune) we know that having one autoimmune disease makes you more prone to develop another and there is a link between thyroid disease and some angioedema/urticaria/ having more severe allergy.
Elsewhere I've read that if you eat something you're allergic to often, you build up enough tolerance that the reaction can be delayed by as much as an entire day or appear mild. But you are still allergic. The danger in the second scenario would be cutting out the food one has a certain tolerance for for a long while (either on purpose or inadvertently) then suddenly reintroducing it.
Interestingly, my niece who is a toddler received full blood IgE food, chemical and airborne allergy testing and they are finding new things she has now become allergic to that didn't previously flag up (or simply wasn't exposed to before)
As I've said before the very first doctor I saw from the TUK list, took a full history and was very interested in my mothers health, as well as asking for any family history of tuberculosis as far back as a great grandparent. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to go back at the time so I never got to ask what he thought the tuberculous connection was about in regards to the thyroid disease and the then eczema.
My recent experience is no one is interested in the 'why' question as regards myself. The basic question one would assume to ask might be: Have you changed any medicines lately? Eaten anything you normally don't eat? Etc.
So sorry to hear this Alana. Am not sure I understand how one does not lead to another. Eg a dermatologist did multiple tests on me and told me I was reacting to certain ingredients common in perfumes and another often in fabric softeners. She told me the opposite that if I didn't avoid them and carried on using them I'd end up with a serious life threatening reaction!!
I think the truth is they know so little....
The research with young babies I found interesting. They found when babies were introduced to tasters of a wide variety of foods early on there allergy rate later on was miles lower... dramatically. They said it was because there's a window of time that when foods are introduced early they are not seen as foreign to the body.
My children are in their thirties now.... No allergies.
On the other hand I too was introduced to a wide variety of taster foods when a baby..... Now in later life I cannot tolerate gluten.... Am told likely coeliacs but have refused to jump through the hoops to have that confirmed. I was very ill by the time I stopped eating gluten. And my sister is lactose intolerant. Both my sister and brother are hat fever suffers, I'm not...
They found when babies were introduced to tasters of a wide variety of foods early on there allergy rate later on was miles lower... dramatically. They said it was because there's a window of time that when foods are introduced early they are not seen as foreign to the body.
This is really interesting. And it makes sense.
If what you say is true, then I imagine the current diet fads where we are cutting out whole food groups might possibly have negative implications for children of expectant mothers.
As you say we simply don't know enough. With the gluten thing, I'm always reading it's because the modern strain of wheat makes for larger gluten molecules.
But it doesn't explain all the people eating it without problems.
I got referred because I was due a large operation and had had a reaction to some of the tapes plasters from a previous medical intervention. This was part of that investigation. I doubt it would've been done otherwise....
Well believe it or not different ones have different types of adhesive composition. Etc. ... It's amazing what can be done. The dermatologist sought the information from the suppliers then tested me. Some of those ingredients turned out to also be in everyday other things like perfume.... She could then recommend what the surgeons could use. Clever...
I can use any sort of plaster on my fingers. But on softer skin, such as upper arm (where we get injections) or crook (where they usually take blood samples), I often developed a red rash under the plaster.
Some hypoallergenic is OK, some just as bad as "normal" stuff.
I'm allergic to plasters and micropore. Here are some alternatives that work for me. I'm OK with Hypafix tape. I use it with gauze to use as a plaster, or instead of the gauze I just use the pad part from an ordinary plaster. I'm also OK with Tegaderm.
I have read a couple of articles where thinking is that food allergies are related to the type of birth the child has. If babies are delivered by c-section instead of a normal delivery they do not pick up the bacteria present in the birth canal which leads to allergies. 🤷♀️. All the grandchildren in my friends group delivered by c-section all have had allergies, which they have now grown out of. My granddaughter (c-section birth) had an egg allergy which she has now grown out of (now aged 4).
That's a very sad story. I think that with the amount of 'Frankenfoods' out there, many of which are unlabeled as to what is really in them, it's not surprising there are more and more problems. No one knows the long term effects of GMO foods (if you see purple tomatoes, be warned, they are GMO.) Glyphosates, certainly more controlled in Europe than N. America are a poison,along with many other herbicides and pesticides that get into our food. Even organic fields can get chemical fall out from a neighbour. The chickenon your plate probablycame from a factory farm. ((They build special barns and have a half MILLION chickens in each one, which are pumped up on hormones and antibiotics, as are all meat animals-and we wonder why antibiotics are more and more ineffective). Those things are in our meat. Farmed fish is also very unhealthy. Tuna is full of mercury. (as are most tooth fillings done in the last century, they can leak mercury). We are bombarded with wifi and Bluetooth everywhere and more and more people are developing EMF sensitivity. Now I wouldn't be giving up meat to go vegan because most of the food available there is so processed it's completely unhealthy. Our water is often fluoridated, a known poison (esp for us with thyroid,it's a double whammy). You can go on and on. MSG is another additive everywhere. It causes cravings forthe foods it'sin (apparently McDonald's puts it in almost everything they make). I looked at the ingredients on crisps not long ago. If it ain't plain salted, it probably has MSG. We need to advocate for more clear labeling. Another example are cosmetics or household products with 'fragrance'. One product can have any combination of over 1,000 chemicals, many of which are cancer causing, but they aren't required to label it. Hazardous products from China... We are surrounded by junk and toxic poisons etc. Sorry to be so gloomy here but we have to be aware of what's out there and take care of ourselves, especially when we've got thyroid issues.
The FDA have approved a GM tomato and that is purple. But there are at least 25 other purple tomato varieties which have nothing to do with GM processes. Indeed, many are highly rated.
Without being a McDonald's consumer, at all, it does nonetheless appear wrong to allege they use monosodium glutamate in anything.
Do any of your products contain MSG?
There is no MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) in any food sold in McDonald's UK restaurants. You can find a full ingredient declaration for all food (including our burgers) served in the U.K. by visiting our online nutritional calculator tool
'(if you see purple tomatoes, be warned, they are GMO.) '
Purple tomatoes are not necessarily GM. Any keen tomato gardener knows they've been around for many decades. e.g.
'Tomato 'Cherokee Purple' is a Heritage variety that is at least 100 years old and was originally grown by the Cherokee Indians in America. A meaty classic tomato that produces enormous 350gr fruit which have a pink colour and turn to purple on the shoulders as they ripen.'
'purple carrots are jam-packed with goodness. Their vivid colour comes from anthocyanins: the same pigment that makes blueberries a superfood. Purple carrots are rich in this heart-healing anti-oxidant, as well as the vitamin A and beta-carotene that is found in standard orange varieties. '
Hormone use in farmed animals in the UK is illegal.
Antibiotic use has to be sanctioned by a vet. No animal enters the food chain if they have been given antibiotics or any drugs within a time frame (different times for different drugs).
I found this very interesting thank you. I wonder, if someone is asked not to eat peanuts on a flight because another person has a peanut allergy, but ignored the request and did so. If that person died, would the peanut eater be guilty of manslaughter?
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Evidence showing why we can be ill with \"normal\" thyroid blood tests. 
