Managing allergic reactions -- some questions

January 22, 2008

Hi Everyone,

I have a general celiac question. I'm not sure if it's

appropriate for this list, since it's not Bay Area

specific. If this isn't the right place, I apologize

in advance... and I would humbly request a referral to

a more appropriate forum.

Generally, my gluten allergy is manageable, and I only

get sick when I accidentally ingest some gluten. I

just spent a week with my mother and her cats (I have

cat allergies), and ever since I got back, my gluten

allergy has been really bad.

Two days ago, my roommate was toasting a bagel... and

when I walked into the kitchen, I immediately felt

nauseated, had trouble breathing, and felt my throat

closing up. I took a lot of Benadryl, but was quite

sick and had trouble breathing the rest of the day.

I'm still feeling some symptoms (like migraines) from

that today. I'm dreading going back to school

tomorrow, and being stuck in a classroom with people

eating wheat products. (This has also been a problem

at church--I have to leave as soon as communion

starts.)

Some of my celiac friends have said that they hold

their breath walking by bakeries, or can't be in

cars/enclosed spaces with people eating bread, so I

know I'm not alone in this. I have two questions; if

you have any experience with this, I would really

appreciate hearing from you.

1. How do you manage your physical discomfort in

places where you can't avoid wheat products in the

air?

2. If you've had a severe allergic reaction and are

hypersensitive as a result, how do you " detox " from

it, so that your sensitivity can return to somewhat

normal levels?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for the valuable

information that you all post here... I've learned a

lot from reading the posts on this forum.

Regards,

Aidan

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