Need Advice -- Food Allergy Symptoms

[MBombardier]

I have mentioned that my histamine reactions are eczema on my lips and then severe itching at the other end of the alimentary tract a couple of days later. I bumped up my allergy medication from Zyrtec to Allegra a few weeks ago, which worked fine last year taking care of all allergy symptoms during the summer. But I had a horrible reaction to something a few weeks ago that should have been safe. I thought it was pistachios or cashews, but I have eaten both since without rashes. However, there is an on-going low-level GI reaction, and even with Allegra I am having some sneezing, itchy throat/eyes, etc.

I am beginning to think that this year my seasonal allergies, which have been so little problem for many years because of Allegra, are exacerbating my histamine reactions. I don't really know what is safe to eat. My granuloma annulare is bright red and bumpy, which happens as part of my histamine reaction, and I have new spots that just popped out on my neck and itch quite a bit. These are the first ones, other than the ones on my forearms, that can be seen. I am not a happy camper. I don't mind (especially at my age) that my torso and thighs look like maps of some alien world, but I have been asked more than once if the lesion on my wrist is ringworm. And now on my neck? Behind and under my ear?

I have checked all my vitamins and meds, and they are all safe. No new formulations sneaking in.

So my question is this: with my history of heartburn, I would like to stay away from PPIs, but do you think I would benefit from a few months of Zantac with the Allegra? I could taper off it in the fall and weather the reaction then. I am game, if you think it would be beneficial at all. Just asking for personal opinion, of course, not medical advice.

[tex]

Marliss,

Theoretically, H2 antihistamines should be much less effective for skin issues, than H1 blockers, because H1 receptors are more common in the skin, and research generally confirms that skin inflammation issues are more responsive to H1 blockers. Maybe another type of H1 blocker would work better.

Not much seems to be known about granuloma annulare, but supposedly, those bumps are due to pockets of T cells erupting through the surface of the skin, which reminds us of a possible connection with LC. On the other hand, mast cells, (and the mediators they release), are known to induce activation and proliferation of fibroblasts. Fibroblasts, of course, are the most common type of cells in connective tissue, and connective tissue is primarily collagen, (for which CC is notorious for propagating/proliferating). Therefore, I'm guessing that mast cells are more actively involved with CC, than with LC, (that's just a guess, of course, since I'm not aware of any research in this area).

Someone recently mentioned that their gastroenterologist had pointed out, (if I remember correctly), that weaning off Entocort is more difficult for someone with CC, than for someone with LC. This would also correlate with mast cell involvement, because it's well known that corticosteroids suppress mast cell numbers both in the skin, and in the intestines. If mast cell involvement is a characteristic of CC, (but minimal with LC), the implications of that could illuminate a lot of questions that have come up on the board, and it might allow us to channel our treatment efforts more effectively.

I've forgotten - do you by any chance have CC? Have I experienced an epiphany, or is this nothing more than a brain fart?

Tex

[MBombardier]

Yes, I do have CC. Biopsies showed thickening of the collagen table throughout. This is the first time I noticed that the GI biopsied the small intestine from (in?) the terminal ileum. Those biopsies were normal, so perhaps the war is mainly in the large intestine.

Granuloma annulare sucks collagen out of the skin. As it fades, it gets bigger, too. One of the first, on the inside of my forearm, started out about the size of a joint on my finger. Only 2 inches or so of one side of the circle is still active; the rest is normal skin color. The circle is about the size of a goose egg, and the skin inside it looks like that of a woman many years older than me. And there's a scar in it from where the dermatologist took a good-sized hunk of flesh to diagnose it. I was pretty when I was young...

[Deanna in CO]

Tex,

Yes, it was Dr. Lewey in CO Springs who told me last week that it's much more difficult to wean off Entocort when you have CC than LC. Your explanation about why makes a lot of sense. I also find it interesting that folks with CC seem to have more trouble with mast cells than those of us with LC. I've been watching for mast cell symptoms, and while I have a few, I don't have a lot; reading this board I feel incredibly fortunate. I still hate that it's taking forever to heal, but at least I'm seeing some improvements, and not everyone is doing so.

Thanks for all your wise counsel. How's that book coming? :-)

Deanna

[tex]

Thanks for all your wise counsel. How's that book coming? :-)

You're most welcome.

I'm doing the final rewriting of certain sections, and I still need to incorporate some editing results, (which should arrive within a few days), so I'm gettin' closer, but I still have a few more hoops to jump through.

Tex