Immunotherapy - Update One

Good Afternoon Everybody! Thankyou for your patience during my hiatus, its been an absolutely manic time. However I am back! With more stories, recipes and tips than before :)

When I left you all I had just seen a new allergist... Well I started immunotherapy in August!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with immunotherapy, here is a quick rundown. Immunotherapy involves an allergen (or multiple) being delivered into the body either by injections or drops under the tongue. This happens on a regular basis as the dose and strength of the serum increases until you reach a maintenance dose. The idea is to train your immune system to not react when you encounter the allergens in day to day life.

My immunotherapy started in August and is for Dust and Grass (Pollen). Unfortunately for me, I was told it had to be delivered via weekly injections due to the nature of my allergies. On the bright side, I am no longer afraid of needles!

The negative with immunotherapy is that everything gets worse before you see an improvement. Because you are sending what you are allergic to into your body, you become a lot more sensitive to your allergies out in the world. So for me, I couldn't attend university classes. My campus is gorgeous but it is full of gardens and surrounded by local parks. I found merely stepping foot on campus caused me to experience difficulty breathing, extreme itching and facial swelling. You can imagine how fun I was on a windy spring day!

I always wanted this blog to be a place to share our experiences in similar situations and help others going through difficult periods in their eczema/allergy journey. With that in mind, I want to share with you all a list of side effects I've experienced during immunotherapy that I wasn't expecting.


1) Loss of Appetite - Usually I get hungry enough to have my three meals a day plus a snack or two if I have a busy/long day, it has been quite weird not having an appetite. I don't really get hungry anymore and I am only really eating because I know I have to. That said, I do get hungry occasionally, however I'm definitely not eating as much as before.

2) Muscle Fatigue - In the first few days after I have an immunotherapy shot, it is extremely easy for my muscles to get tired. As a dancer, this side effect really sucks! I can be halfway through my regular training and just crash. Luckily this side effect only really happens for the first few days, but when you are getting the injections every week it definitely takes its toll.

3) Disrupted Sleep Patterns/Fatigue - I have definitely noticed my body needs more sleep and gets tired a lot quicker, especially if I have a busy day. For example, a three hour shift at work used to be a breeze, but now I feel like I need a nap afterwards! Again this is a side effect that hits me for a few days after the injection or if it is a particularly high pollen count day.

4) Nausea - This one usually hits me the day after I have the immunotherapy injection.

5) Lack of Focus - As the dosage and serum strength increased, I found it extremely difficult to concentrate for long periods of time e.g. university lectures/assignments. As a law student, this is incredibly frustrating! Luckily as I continue with the immunotherapy, I'm noticing this side effect subsiding a little.

6) Extreme Headaches - When they inject the immunotherapy serum, they do so in my arm. As such I usually experience a fair bit of swelling at the top of my arm. As the swelling starts to go down, I experience severe headaches. My Dr has said this is the result of the serum moving around my body after my immune system stops seeing it as a threat.

7) Extreme Itchiness/ Increase in Eczema Flare Ups - I expected this would happen but I definitely was not prepared for how bad it would be! As my eczema has improved as I've become an adult I had forgotten how bad it can actually get. I felt like I was back as a 7 year old, wanting to rip my skin off. High doses of antihistamines on a constant basis are still getting me through this side effect.

These side effects aren't a comprehensive list and they are not what everyone will experience. However this is what I have found to be the most severe and intrusive side effects of my immunotherapy. I have told my Dr about all of these and have been reassured that they are normal when undergoing immunotherapy.

Whilst it is extremely hard for me to see the light at the end of this three year journey to less allergies, I am trying my best to see the upside. As some of these side effects start to subside it means the immunotherapy is working! Although it will be a while before I start to see some positive improvements as it can take up to a year before I start to see a decrease in my allergic responses to these allergens on a daily basis.

I wanted to share this with you as it has been a tough few months and maybe it will help someone else out there to not feel so alone.

Over these past few months I have had amazing support from my family, especially my mum. She has hugged me when all I wanted to do was cry and scream because I felt like this was a neverending spiral of negative experiences. Support networks are the key to getting through tough times with allergies, especially immunotherapy.

I hope you all have a lovely day and see you very soon for another blog post! :)

Allergist Appointment

Welcome Back to the Blog!

I thought today I would have a chat about my latest allergist appointment as it marked a big milestone. I have a lot of posts lined up for the next few weeks, however I thought this one should go first.

I haven't had an allergist appointment in a few years because nothing had changed for me. However I was getting quite frustrated with my environmental allergens and wanted to see if something could be done.

First thing that I noticed is that the way they do skin prick tests has changed since I had my last one! The old method was where they put drops of the allergen protein on your arm (or wherever they were testing) and then took a needle and pricked the skin underneath the droplet. Nowadays they take what almost looks like a pushpin, but with a smaller needle. They let these pushpins sit in the protein of the allergens before pricking your skin with them. It is a lot easier, quicker and with a lot less pain!

Secondly, whilst my allergens have not changed, they have altered in the size of the reaction. I found it absolutely fascinating to watch the reactions come up, despite how itchy it was! I also found it interesting that I thought it was tree pollen that was irritating me, but in fact it is grass!

After a consultation about my results, it was decided I would be a good candidate for immunotherapy for my environmental allergens. Due to the combination of allergens it was suggested that I go for immunotherapy via injections.

However it does take a few months for the injections to be ordered and arrive and then between 6-12 months to see a difference! Which means I have to go through windy spring days for another year. I am just looking forward to the benefits of immunotherapy!

I can handle avoiding certain foods, but environmental allergens are so hard to avoid as a mere change in weather can mean a flare up!

Have you had immunotherapy? Do you have environmental allergens? How do you manage them?

Look forward to hearing your stories and keep an eye out for the next post soon!

Things I Wish I Knew Part Two

WARNING: This post is one for the ladies and may contain material that can be seen as sensitive.

Alright, lets get real everyone. I have been writing this blog for a while and have constantly written and rewritten this post and toyed with the idea of posting it. However since you are reading it, I guess I published it!


Today I wanted to extend the Things I wish I knew series and talk about something that is female specific: Periods


Whether you have allergies and eczema or your daughter does, chances are you get your period or will at some stage. We all hear the horror stories of periods and how painful they are, and I am not here to give you one of those! I'm here because I didn't realise how much my eczema could affect how I deal with my period.


As anyone with eczema would know, the fabric of clothing is super important as some of them can seriously irritate the skin. So things like bras and underwear that you wear all day and can get quite hot have to be a breathable material like cotton. So add things like pads and tampons into the equation and you end up with an area that is super prone to eczema.


After months and months of dealing with itchy and uncomfortable periods, and consulting my doctor, I found out it was eczema! Not just with pads, but tampons too. To my shock though, the doctor said there wasn't a lot I could do apart from steroid creams as my period was part of life.


One day I was listening to Youtube whilst studying and there was a recommended video that caught my eye. After a lot of research, chatting with my mum and a whole lot of reviews I decided to buy a menstrual cup. There are such things as reusable menstrual products. Believe me, I know the concept seems gross and disgusting at first, but my god is it amazing.


A menstrual cup is well, a cup! It is made from medical grade silicone and is inserted into the vagina and catches the menstruation released from the cervix. When you need to, you remove it, empty the fluid, clean it out and then reinsert.


It takes a few goes to get used to inserting and removing but once you get the hang of it, it is amazing! Honestly it feels like I don't have my period as you can wear it for 12 hours without having to empty it. It doesn't leak and doesn't irritate my eczema as I don't have to wear a pad with it, like you usually have to do with a tampon. And you don't even feel the cup when it is in! It is actually like there is nothing there, which is a bit disconcerting the first time! They are environmentally friendly as well which is a big plus! And you can go swimming and not have to worry about changing your tampon as soon as you get out of the water.


There are so many plus sides to the menstrual cup, and thus far the only negative I have found is the transitional period. Some may find the idea of emptying their own blood out of it a bit gross. However once you get the technique down pat there is pretty much no spillage and its a fairly clean process. I will admit, it does give you a new appreciation for your body and does actually give you a better idea of how it all works and actually how much blood you release.


Ever since I bought my menstrual cup (over a year ago) I have no issues with eczema flare ups in sensitive places.


The best part is the cost, the average cost of a cup can be around $50, and they can last for up to 5 years! There are tons of brands and usually 2 different types: one for women who haven't had children and a size for those that have. The only issue that I found was that they weren't easy to find, but the websites were super helpful in finding my local supplier.


When I first found out that it was the sanitary products causing the eczema I did a bit of internet research and there wasn't a lot out there, which is why I thought I would write a post about it. I find that we tend to not talk about the more personal topics, but imagine how many people we might be able to help if we did!


If you are desperate to keep using pads and tampons I have found 2 brands that are better than others for sensitive, eczema prone skin.


The U by Kotex and Libra Pads are a lot better than other brands, with U by Kotex being the ones that irritate the skin the least. As for tampons, the U by Kotex tampons are the best, I found the Libra ones to still be quite irritating.


So there it is, a guide to your period for those of us with eczema. If you have any questions about the menstrual cup and what brand I use, I am more than happy to answer them, just send me a message through the Facebook page!


Periods aren't something that we can get of easily and we have to make them as comfortable as possible. So I hope that by me sharing my experiences I give one of you a bit of advice or something to think about.

Things I Wish To Know: Allergies and Growing Up (Part One)

Something I have noticed as I have grown up is that when you reach a certain age, the amount of information regarding allergies seems to disappear a bit. Information on topics such as alcohol, relationships and adult social situations cannot be found and when I've asked Doctors they don't really have much advice at all. So I am going to call this little series: Things I wish to know: Allergies and Growing Up.




Today I thought I'd talk about one of the more difficult topics: Relationships. For people without allergies, relationships are complicated, but add allergies into the mix and it almost seems impossible.


As a 19 year old, one of the first questions I get asked is: Are you in a relationship? Or Do you have a boyfriend? And the answer to these is always no. And not for lack of trying!

So lets start with the first difficult thing about dating and allergies: bringing them up.

Most dates revolve around food (lunch, coffee etc) so allergies can come up and should come up quite early in the piece. It is important that the date understands that you have allergies and that you will have to go somewhere that can cater to your dietary requirements. If you can do this then well done! You have gotten past the first hurdle. No one should have to feel embarrassed or anxious about bringing up your allergies, its something that is just a part of life.


Time for a bit of a personal anecdote. I went out with a guy for dinner one night, who said he was totally okay with the fact I had allergies. However when I ordered, he became distant and started acting a bit odd! At the end of the date he told me I was too complicated for him and that he didn't want a second date. Fair enough right, it is his opinion! However upon later investigation, I found he was talking about my allergies. Sadly, allergies seem to make a lot of people head for the hills. Whether its because they think that it is too hard to date someone with allergies or they don't want to put in the effort, it seems to turn them off.

If you manage to find a guy who will start a relationship with you, kissing is also a massive issue.

The sources seem divided on the topic of kissing with allergies. Some recommend waiting 3-4 hours after consuming the allergen, some say 24-48 hours! I suppose it depends on how severe your allergies are, but the point remains that whomever you are kissing cannot consume your allergens before kissing you.


This might seem like a bit of a downer statement but as I expressed to my friend: It seems like romance is dead for those of us with allergies! All the romantic movies seem to point towards romance being surprise kisses in the rain etc, but when they have to text you/call you and ask: does this product have your allergy in it? Is it okay if I eat this? Then the spontaneity that we have been taught to want kind of dies. My friends response? You should create a forum for singles with allergies! At least I can laugh about it.


In all honesty, it is extremely hard to date with allergies and whilst I know there are people with food allergies out there in relationships, it can be very difficult! So if you are in a relationship, I have to offer you my congratulations, as you must have found someone truly accepting and amazing. For now though, I face multiple rejections for my 'complicated' food situation. The Eczema Experience aims to educate those with allergies and the public. If I can succeed in this goal, maybe there will be a few more open minds out there ready to date someone with severe food allergies.

And remember, if they don't love you for who you are, then they aren't worth it!

Sending my love to all The Eczema Experience Fans around the world :)

Unexpected Food Situations- Volume 1

Hello Everyone!

I hope everybody enjoyed the last two posts, and if you haven't seen them yet then check them out!

Today I wanted to talk about one type of Unexpected Food Situations, a time where you didn't expect to be catered for, or someone surprises you with an allergy friendly meal from two different perspectives.


Perspective One: The Cook

You are probably feeling extremely sorry for your allergy friend or that they should be entitled to a bit of a surprise themselves! You saw a cool recipe online or on TV and you think it would be totally awesome to surprise your friend with something they can eat that they didn't have to cook themselves. Its super easy to just follow an allergy friendly recipe, so you go to the store and pickup all the right products and then get cooking.

As an allergy person, I totally appreciate that you took time and effort to make something safe for me to eat! However we would love for you to see this situation from our point of view.

Perspective Two: The Allergy Friend

A million questions and worries go through our mind when we are presented with an unexpected food situation.

"Did they check the label? Do they know about traces and may contain labels? What about cross contamination? Did they thoroughly clean their pots pans and utensils before cooking my meal? What about if they made a mistake? Are they sure this is fine for me to eat? I'm so nervous but I don't want to be rude!"

See we seriously appreciate when other people cook for us, but because there are so many little details that go into cooking allergy friendly, what might seem a nice surprise isn't always how we can perceive it. Don't get me wrong, we know you won't do anything to make us sick or put us in hospital, but for us its an autopilot thing to cook without allergens, but it can be difficult for those who don't do it often or have never done it before.

So here are a few tips for if you want to cook for an allergy friend or if your friend turns up with an allergy friendly dish.

For the Cook:

• Talk to your allergy friend first and establish their concerns (if any) about you cooking for them
• Maybe cook a dish together first so that you get comfortable cooking allergy friendly and your friend can help you out.
• Ask them about recipes they might like you to cook that may be simpler or easier to make allergy friendly
• Talk to your friend about what brands they can or cannot eat and whether they consume may contain and traces products
• Understand that at the end of the day, they may not feel comfortable eating what you have surprised them with and it is nothing against you or your cooking abilities!

For the Allergy Friend

• Be open minded, your friend wouldn't want to hurt you!
• Help them out by offering a cooking day/night so you can help them to learn the ins and outs of allergies
• Offer tips about cross contamination and any other cooking issues you may have.
• Talk to them about your preferred brands and ingredients
• At the end of the day it is okay to say no to the dish, as long as you are kind about it and ensure they understand it is not an insult to them.
• Your friend may be really upset when you turn down their dish, so don't be too harsh!

It is not easy for those of us with allergies to accept food from outside sources when we are unsure of its contents. However we do appreciate people making an effort to include us and are always available to answer questions about cooking allergy friendly.

Peppermint and Cocoa Valentines Cupcakes!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! Whether you are celebrating on your own, with a  partner or taking a day to celebrate family, these cupcakes are delicious and will not last long!

For ease of preparation I will separate the recipe into the two batches :)


1) Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius (160 fan forced)


Cocoa Batter

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour
1/3 Cup Dairy Free Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Canola or Olive Oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Method:
1) Sift and Mix all dry ingredients together
2) Add the wet ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until smooth

Peppermint Batter

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour
1/3 Cup Dairy Free Custard Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
1 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint essence
Colour of your choice

Method:
1) Sift and Mix the dry ingredients together
2) Add the Water and Canola oil and  beat with an electric mixer.
3) Add peppermint essence and the colour of your choice
4) Beat until the desired flavour and colour are achieved
Note: You may have to add more flour if the batter becomes too watery

Now onto the final steps!

1) Place a scoop of each batter into your cupcake mould
NOTE: You can vary this! You can go one batter on top of the other, side by side, swirled or any combination you can think of!
2) Bake in the oven for 25 minutes
3) Let them cool before decorating!
4) Enjoy your delicious creations!

For the batch I made, I created fondant letters and shapes out of Orchard White Icing which is Gluten and Preservative Free. I then placed Coles Heart Sprinkles on top of the icing and displayed on a plate before serving!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Valentines Day no matter how you celebrate and enjoy eating these delicious cakes! :D

Surprising Allergy Friendly Foods!

We are back up and running here at The Eczema Experience HQ! My old laptop decided to switch itself off forever at the most inopportune time and the new laptop wouldn't let me access the blog! But now I am back and ready to share my most recent allergy and eczema experiences!

Today I wanted to share with you some foods that are surprisingly allergy friendly that could make your life a bit easier!

1) Oreos!

Oreos are actually one of the ones that people are quite surprised by. Oreos are free from Dairy, Egg and Nuts. The Allergen Warning states that it contains Wheat And Soy and is manufactured on equipment that also processes products that contain milk and peanuts. This is a good product for those in the allergy community who do not avoid traces or may contain traces labels. For those of you that do avoid those labels, Leda has a great range of chocolate biscuits :) Be careful with some of the variation flavours though, as some of them contain different ingredients.

2) Mayonnaise

I know what you are thinking, Mayonnaise is based on EGG! I thought the same thing but in actual fact there is a mayonnaise that isn't marketed as allergy friendly but actually is.
Praise 99% Fat Free Traditional Mayonnaise actually contains no egg!

Ingredients: Water, Sugar, White Vinegar, Maize Thickener, Salt, Vegetable Gums, Lemon Juice, Sunflower Oil, Spices, Colour, Food Acid and Flavour.

This product has absolutely changed my food! It has opened so many doors that were shut before which is really awesome. I love the taste as well! The fact that it is a product that sits on the shelves and we would normally not even take a second glance at is very surprising.

3) Freedom Foods Muesli Bars

Freedom Foods are known for their awesome allergy friendly products, but their Muesli Bars are located in the Muesli Bar aisle and can easily be looked over as they have chocolate chips in them. However they contain no dairy, egg or nuts. They do however contain Oats, Sulphites and Soy.

These bars are delicious and perfect for the handbag or school lunchboxes. I will say that they are a bit crumbly due to not being bound by yoghurt like other muesli bars are. But they are super delicious and perfect for that mid morning or afternoon snack.

4) Lindt Chocolate!

This one really surprised me. My sister is Lactose Free and totally misses her chocolate, so she was extremely happy when she found out she could eat the Lindt 70% Dark Chocolate! When she told me I had to look at the ingredients myself and to my surprise, it actually is allergy friendly!

With a simple ingredients list, it states that there are May be Present Warnings for Milk and Hazelnuts due to the other chocolates they produce, however the actual ingredients list does not contain any milk products.

This is a surprising discovery!

5) Pringles!

I have never really explored the world of pringles before, but I have found that I can eat the plain pringles and the BBQ flavoured ones! The BBQ flavour contains gluten, cereals and soy but is safe for dairy and nut allergies!

They taste amazing :)

Let me know if you head out and grab any of these products for yourselves!

Note: These products may not be suitable for all and The Eczema Experience takes no responsibility for a product not being suitable for your allergies. Always read the label on all foods, even those you have consumed before.