I know what you mean! I too get rashes from wearing jewlery. It's not fun! But the best way to cope with it is to take a cool shower or bath. Put some anti itching cream on it, and to listen to calming music while drifting off to sleep. Or at least that is what I had to do for a while. Any way, I completely understand all the allergy sympotms and I just pray that no one has to go through any of them any more.
Wish

I was reading a thread on NT's general health forum on nickel allergy that I think explains my reaction to my wedding ring.....it is likely a nickel content/coating in the gold that I may be allergic to.

here's the thread on nickel allergy:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=9067

cheri..what about putting one of those clear guards on it?

I learned just a year ago that the broncitus and sinus infections I get all the time at this time of year. Are really asthma and reactions to the allergies
I have.

So I have been trying to get through this. I'm allergic to pollen, ragweed
and dust mites.

But I take the shots for my allergies, and I also react to the shots, so I take claritin, benedryl, veramyst and then also all my asthma meds too.
Which is advair 500/50, singulair, and my emergency inhaler which I use 3 or
4 times a day at many times a year.

I was just in today getting my shots. And I had to once again use my benedryl rub on right away, and i"ve still got the reaction. But I had to make
a appointment for tomorrow also for my asthma is badly out of control.

SO I'm going back tomorrow.

Ugh, I just can't seem to get a break.

Donna

Smoked salmon makes me itch. I can eat just plain baked salmon but not smoked.

I also think I am allegic to the carpet in my apt. Anytime I vacuum, I get all itchy and stuffed up.

When it comes to allergies, I'm a pro! I've dealt with them since I was 3. I've learned all along the way, and have had my life saved by savvy ENTs.

I don't know an "unusual" allergy. Back when I was young, there was the "boy in the bubble" does anyone remember him? Well, doctors don't know how I lived without living in a bubble. But I did!

I'm still highly allergic to medicines. Mostly it is the cheap fillers the drug companies use in the generics. I used to be allergic to all foods and all inhalents. I went through the "Lees-Miller derivative of the Rinkel technique, and that saved my life. (It allowed me to eat while I was desensitizing.)

I learned all sorts of weird stuff for me to store in my brain, such as paper plates are made from corn, so because I was allergic to corn I couldn't use them.

Right now I'm battling soy products, and also whatever it is in Oil of Olay. How sad I was when my fav cosmetics (Cover Girl) went with Olay. I've moved on to Lauren Hutton though!

Back in the 80s when I went through the last testings, I was so brittle (sensitive) the allergist would only have me or also one other lady in his office. She got heart attacks from her reactions. That doctor (now retired) also cured 2 children who were deaf because of allergies. I guess you would consider those unusual? TC!

mold is a very real threat to my health -
a tiny bit of info about mold -

Airborne mold spores can destroy your health. Many people are unaware that they are breathing mold spores until they are very sick. If you are lucky and have a minor allergic reaction to the mold, once you leave the affected area you will recover. But, if you have been exposed to the dangerous stachybotris spores you can have chronic bronchitis, learning disabilities, mental deficiencies, heart problems bleeding lungs and more. Here is what you need to know about mold in your homes, schools, and places of work.

25 million Americans suffer from allergic reactions to molds, most of them don’t even realize that when they’re sneezing and sniffling the cause could be molds. Many molds produce airborne toxins that can cause serious breathing difficulties, memory and hearing loss, dizziness, flu-like symptoms, and bleeding in the lungs. Common ailments from mold---including allergies, asthma and bruising---usually can be treated and reduced after people leave their contaminated environment. But other health problems may remain permanently, such as brain damage and weakened immune systems.


Fungus reproduces into spores that come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. The spores will reproduce and germinate into new mold growth which in turn can produce millions of more spores. Molds are most prevalent from spring through late fall, but,in warm climates, molds thrive all year and can cause year-round problems.


Molds can be found wherever there is moisture, oxygen, warmth and something to feed on. In the fall they grow on rotting logs and fallen leaves, especially in moist, shady areas. In gardens, they can be found in compost piles and on certain grasses and weeds. Molds grow in our homes in moist warm areas like damp basements, closets, and bathrooms. Also molds can grow in places where fresh food is stored, refrigerator drip trays, house plants, humidifiers, garbage pails, mattresses, upholstered furniture, or foam rubber pillows. Molds can grow inside the walls and flooring of our homes, wherever there are wet cellulose materials they can feed on, such as wood, ceiling tiles, or plasterboard.


Molds come in at least a thousand different varieties, but only a few are the offenders that invade our homes. Alternaria and Cladosporium are the molds most commonly found both indoors and outdoors throughout the United States. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Helminthosporium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus, and Aureobasidium are also common. The most dangerous mold strains are: stachybotrys (pronounced Stack-ee-BOT-ris). This black fungus releases toxic, microscopic spores that cause the worst symptoms that are usually irreversible.


In some individuals, a minor exposure to mold can cause an allergy that can lead to asthma or to a lung disease. The symptoms are wheezing, low-grade fever, and coughing up of brown mucus. You will need to be seen by a doctor is you suspect that your allergies, bronchitis or asthma are related to mold spores. If you have any unexplained severe health problems, you may want to determine if you have been exposed to a dangerous strain of mold spores.


In some people, symptoms of mold allergy can be worsened by eating foods, such as cheeses, that are processed with fungi. Other foods like mushrooms, dried fruits, and foods containing yeast, soy sauce, or vinegar can also produce allergic symptoms. Avoid these foods if you suspect any mold allergies.


To rid your house of mold clean counters, showers, tubs, sinks, window sills or anywhere there is mold with bleach. Fix leaking faucets or pipes that could be dampening walls. Install air conditioning in your home because this dries the air out, making it more difficult for mold to survive. Check houseplant soil, make sure it is not always very damp. Keep firewood outside. Keep your basement as dry as possible. You may want to keep an air purifier in your basement. Clean the bottom of your refrigerator, and underneath it. Clean up all water damage quickly. If your carpet, walls or any flooring is in a flood get an experienced flood specialist to dry it up for you. Any dampness left can cause mold to grow in your walls or under your carpet. When water is left to sit, for even 24 hours, common molds can begin to grow. If water continues to sit and areas become completely saturated, more lethal molds, such as Stachybotrys, can begin to grow.


The tricky thing about these airborne molds is, you may not realize how it has affected your health for quite sometime after you have been exposed. It is important to not live, work or stay for long periods of time in a place that smells mildewy or moldy. If you have done all you can to clean molds that are visible, maybe there is mold under the carpet or in the walls.


If you suspect that the air quality in your home is being compromised by mold spores you can have the air tested, but it can be quite expensive.

It's worth it if it helps save your health.

I have a couple of strange chemical allergies.

I am allergic to Fabric Softner. Yep. It's a fun one I inherited from my dad.

I am allergic to artifical rasberry falvoring. Doesn't matter if it's blue or red. If it's artifical, I look like a racoon.

I can't take allergy shots. Used to, until I had an allergic reaction to them at age 14.

Weird, huh?

I have allergies to almost everything plant/animal...the strangest was Kapok. It is used in floating devices, and as I do a lot of fishing I have to be careful of those floating devices.

I took shots for years some things I tolerate ok as long as I take Allegra 180mgs a day and Flonase...the other things I avoid being around. I'm having a sinus flare up now. Since I am not working I haven't been having bronchitis because of all the colognes/hairsprays/etc.

I also have MS, which could be cause for the allergies...one thing or another that's how it goes!

I have the run of the mill allergies, Aspirin, codine, morphine, Ultram, bee's, horses, and all types of peppers it dosen't matter which ones from bell to chili. It's an acid that's in them all that I'm allergic to.

Now my really weird ones.

I'm allergic to the sun. In the summer if I stay out in sunlight more than 10 minutes I break out in bad blisters which itch, burn and hurt for days. It seems to be worse in the summer than in the winter, but then again I'm more covered during the winter months so less skin is exposed.

I'm allergic to Iodine. Found this one out when we went swimming at Tabby Island in Georgia. Apparently it has the highest concentration of iodine in the water from the sand dollars and oh boy did I look like a strawberry after that day.

I'm also allergic to Magnesium Sulfate. Which is what they give women who go into pre-term labor to stop the labor. For me it induces it rapidly. They had to take the bag and send it out to be tested because I was the only person ever known to react that way when given it. Oh weeee. I'm famous in the medical community for having a backwards system. *sarcasm intended.

And just within the last month I've developed an allergy to peanuts. And now have to go back through testing to see if it's isolated to just peanuts or all or other different types of seeds as well.
Stupid me within 4 days of having the severe reaction to a peanut butter sandwich went and ate a reese's peanut butter cup forgetting until after I finished it that I wasn't supposed to have that anymore and wa-la another attack. I think I'll remember the next time. But I live in fibro-fog so there's no guarantee I'll remember in time.

Now another weird allergy is.

My sister in law is allergic to the cold. She gets the same way I do in sunlight. Its very painful for her. She can't even run her hands in cold water without blistering. Figure that one out.

Sara