Health News

People sometimes react unexpectedly to a food that they normally tolerate, if they are under a great deal of load or stress.

If you have multiple sensitivity – are allergic or sensitive to many other things – sometimes the overall load seems to affect your system. Your tolerance drops unexpectedly and you start reacting to many things at once. High pollen season or high mould season often seems to bring on food sensitivity in people who are fine at other times of the year. Exposure to places with high levels of chemical fumes can bring on food reactions, often temporarily. Eating too much of foods to which you react, but which you tolerate normally at low levels of consumption, can tip you over into reacting more often. Watch out for triggers of this kind. Test foods again when your system is less under stress.

The process of exclusion dieting sometimes brings on temporary intolerances as well, which disappear once a permanent diet is established. Some people seem to go into a downward spiral, starting to react to many things which normally they tolerate. If you react to a lot of things suddenly on an exclusion diet, it does not mean the situation is permanent – it is sometimes just the body’s response to the process of testing. Test foods less often and less intensively – spread out testing to wider intervals if you can possibly do so, to give your system a rest.

Women are prone to react more to foods at times when their hormones are fluctuating – at ovulation in mid-cycle, or at pre-menstrual times. See if your food reactions correspond to your menstrual cycle. If your cycle is erratic, look back at when reactions occurred and see if there is any pattern. Hormonal surges at the menopause, or during and after pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, can bring on temporary food sensitivity.

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Certain factors can trigger allergic and sensitivity reactions. Stress on your system can set off a reaction where normally you would be fine. Physical trigger factors can include getting too hot or cold, excessive exercise, a viral infection, and allowing blood sugar levels to get too low or too high. Many women find their symptoms only appear, or get worse, at times of hormonal change – at menstruation, at ovulation in mid-cycle, after childbirth. A significant number find they develop symptoms for the first time at the menopause, or after hysterectomy.

Emotional or mental stress can also play a part in setting things off. Overwork, anxiety, bereavement, money worries, depression – all of these can trigger reactions.

The use of certain drugs can also cause onset of allergic disease and sensitivity for the first time. Some people can link the beginning of their problems to a course of antibiotics or, in some women, to use of the contraceptive Pill. An accident or injury may also bring on allergy and sensitivities. In some people, chemical sensitivity follows an episode of overexposure to chemicals – such as accidental contamination, occupational exposure, or exposure to building, DIY or gardening chemicals. Sunlight can trigger symptoms in certain individuals, while others with allergies may also be sensitive to electrical fields or to the lack of sunlight in winter. (For information on photosensitivity.

People with multiple allergies are often also sensitive to the level of ‘overall load’ on their systems. They may have few problems most of the time, but will start to react to things they normally tolerate when they come into contact with other allergens or substances to which they are sensitive. Thus some people find they only suffer from food sensitivity in the summer, when they are reacting to pollens, or in the autumn when the concentration of mould spores is high. Other people discover that they only react to chemicals if they eat a food to which they are sensitive, or if they get a viral infection.

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If you don’t need a systematic approach, here is some basic advice. Pure cotton clothes are very often a good choice for people with allergies and chemical sensitivity. Allergy to cotton is rare, and much less common than sensitivity to wool, pure synthetics or blends. Some cotton clothes are treated with chemicals. If you have to wear cotton but are very sensitive to these, there are ways to detect and avoid them.

If you are allergic to cotton, but have to wear it because of multiple allergies, there are certain types of cotton clothes which produce much less flock and particles, and can be better tolerated by people allergic to cotton. Some people allergic to cotton can tolerate it in a polycotton blend. This may be worth trying. If you cannot wear wool and synthetics, and wear mainly cotton, it can be very difficult to keep warm. Silk is often a good choice. It can be invaluable for lightweight warmth, and chemically sensitive people tolerate it well because no resins are used on it. Silk jersey underwear and T-shirts are available now at relatively affordable prices. They can be very useful to protect sensitive skin against irritation from other fibres and as nightwear.

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Some babies, and carers, are sensitive to disposable nappies. The simplest and cheapest alternative is to use cotton Terry towelling washable nappies, sold by Boots the Chemist and Mothercare among others. Do not use sterilising agents for soaking. For disinfecting and killing smells, you can use one tablespoonful of Domestic Borax (available from Boots the Chemist) per nappy bucket. Do not use one-way liners, or other nappy liners.

For waterproof nappy protection, plastic nappy pants give off fumes at first, but do not do so once washed a couple of times. Wash and air before use. Tie-on plastic pants, sold by Boots the Chemist, give off less fumes than pull-on pants.

Other options, especially if you are sensitive to plastic pants, are reusable one-piece nappies which can be disinfected with Borax as above and washed. These have a 100 per cent cotton lining and some form of waterproof layer or cover – usually a synthetic fabric or fibre, but kept away from baby’s skin. Boots the Chemist sell one brand called Bumkins.

If you have to avoid all types of plastic or synthetic fibre, The Green Catalogue sell Dappers which are very thick 100 per cent cotton nappies which have no waterproofing layers – damp but pure! If you or your baby are allergic to cotton, they also sell 100 per cent wool reusable nappies.

If you cannot face rinsing and laundering re-usable nappies yourself, contact The National Association of Nappy

If you or your baby are sensitive to sterilising agents or laundry agents, do not use laundered nappy services, or else take care. Check what agents your local nappy hire service uses on their nappies.

Do not use baby “wipes on baby’s bottom. Use damp cloths at home, or take a damp cloth or natural sponge with you in a toilet bag as part of the change-kit.

For nappy rash, the best treatment is to leave a naked bottom out in the air, and to change nappies very frequently. Nappy rash often clears spontaneously if food or chemical sensitivity is sorted out. If you really need a soothing cream on chapped, sore parts, Calendula homeopathic cream works well: use sparingly and infrequently as it is alcohol-based. Do not use it on broken skin or eczema.

Nappy change mats are usually made of plastic-covered synthetic foam. Avoid using these if you can, as they can give off strong fumes, especially when new. If you do use one, wash it well before use and auto remove fumes. See below for advice on using second-hand equipment. As an alternative to change mats, use a towel on a waterproof floor or surface. You could also use a towel over a waterproof plastic cot sheet, which gives off less fumes and is less troublesome than a change mat. Wash these a few times and air before using. These are useful to carry with you for changes outside the home.

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Moulds are used to produce some antibiotics. Penicillin was originally discovered as a by-product of a chance mould growth that had the ability to prevent bacteria multiplying. Penicillin is produced by growing a strain of the Penicillium fungus. Other moulds, for instance Cephalosporium, are also used to produce antibiotics. If you are sensitive to moulds, you may be sensitive to mould-produced antibiotics, through cross-reaction.

Antibiotics are produced from sources other than moulds, however; bacteria and other micro-organisms can be used to produce them. Tetracycline and Streptomycin, for instance, are not mould-based antibiotics. Mould allergy does not therefore mean that you are allergic to all antibiotics. If antibiotics are prescribed for you, and you are concerned, ask your doctor.

Athlete’s Foot is caused by a fungal infection. Some of the sym-toms can be excacerbated if you are allergic to moulds and react to the fungus itself.

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