Back when I was a child, I remember being acutely allergic to dust mites. It was not a pretty sight. It sparked off all my eczema, and I vaguely used to remember having to be subjected to periodical injections of presumably some form of steroid into my backside to help manage it – gah! Fast forward to my forties, I had thought that my time living with allergies was done and dusted until my allergies decided to have a renaissance last year which eventually landed me in A&E at the start of the Covid epidemic.
Bring on the allergic rhinitis
I have never really been one to suffer from hayfever…that is until last year when my body decided to make up for lost time with a huge episode of allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the inside of the nose caused by an allergen, such as pollen, dust, mould or flakes of skin from certain animals. Imagine feeling like you have cotton wool stuffed up your nose – permanently, and that is what living with allergic rhinitis feels like.
Thanks to my deviated septum which means I don’t breathe as easily as I should at the best of times, allergic rhinitis was a living hell for me – especially at night. I can thank last year’s highest pollen count of all time for that one.
After over three months on nasal steroids and taking all sorts of supplements to kick this reaction into check, my nasal passages finally calmed the hell down and decided to behave again. The answer to avoiding this living hell again? Stopping my nasal passages from being my own personal terrorist by keeping them in check using saline Spray morning and night.
A different kind of allergy
If all that wasn’t enough, I then developed an allergy to various metals and fragrances which caused me to have a wild eczema outbreak on my skin, which got infected with staph aureus bacteria (which apparently 30% of us have not so innocently living on our skin) caused me to have cellulitis, end up in A&E and on about 5 different rounds of antibiotics including an IV drip. Back in the living hell I was, I was finally sent for skin patch testing via our local NHS dermatology department enabling me to finally discover the source of my allergies (see above).
Armed with information on what was causing these wild burning flare ups, I was finally able to take back control of my skin and life, and erradicate or minimise everything that left my skin feeling and looking as angry as an adder. I swapped everything I used to fragrance free – both personal care any cleaning items around the house – stopped trying to wear jewellery and guess what? Everything just calmed down.
Are allergy tests worth it?
Have you suddenly developed an allergy out of the blue (hey, let’s face it, our bodies can do some very strange things at times!)? Instead of being stuck in a maddening cycle of itch and irritation, you could take an allergy test and find out exactly what is at the root cause of your allergy.
Remember friends, knowledge is power. Once you have that information about what is causing your allergic reactions or discomfort, you will actually be able to do something about it. You could ask your GP to refer you for a skin patch test (they are hideously expensive privately), or you take an affordable home allergy test like the one from Klarify Me which tests for 298 allergens via allergy blood tests and sophisticated technology backed by science.
I promise, finally knowing categorically what your body is reacting to and being able to do something about it is worth its weight of gold, and a complete no-brainer!
Is it worth taking an allergy test? In my opinion, most definitely! After a year of utter hell, this is me, finally on top of my allergies, and feeling like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders…
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Wow sounds like you have had it quite rough over the years! I think getting tested for allergies is important, as can make like a lot easier when you know what you need to avoid!!
I am glad you recovered after the cellulitus – that sounded nasty. I agree that allergy tests are very important indeed.
I didn’t actually realise you could get home allergy testing kits, not that extensive anyway – great to know!
Wow, you’ve really been through it. We’re very lucky that none of us have allergies.
Oh no, poor you! I agree allergy tests are important. My husband is allergic to everything under the sun – dust mites, pollen, various foods including nuts, and most animals. While I am intolerant of some foods, I don’t have any actual allergies apart from penicillin, soI hope my boys take more after me.
Oh wow, I’ve always wanted to do one of these allergy tests! I vaguely remember doing one as a child but no one can confirm this story for me lol
Oh god I am so glad you are on the mend , what an awful experience. My colleague had this and was in hospital for so long . Sending lots of hugs xx
Sounds like you have had a right time of it. allergies are a nightmare and I still feel so little is truly known about them, so it can be tough going – keep your chin up xx
I have suffered a lot too over the years, I am going to look into this now.
Oh my goodness, sometimes its like the body just becomes allergic to a whole host of things but I agree knowledge is power so you know how to treat it.