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Five years ago, I was diagnosed with dermographism – a rare skin condition often likened to ‘skin writing’ whereby pressure on the skin can cause hives and raised lines. I’d never struggled with my skin in any way while growing up, so this came completely out of nowhere. At first, I just assumed it would go away in a week or two, but when I still found myself scratching my skin a month later, I began to worry.
Naturally, I wanted to establish the cause of this sudden outbreak. However, my consultant insist that my skin condition – a form of chronic spontaneous urticaria – doesn’t have a specific cause or trigger. I find this really difficult to believe myself; I mean, I’m no doctor or scientist, but it seems strange I’ve had virtually no skin issues to-date whatsoever.
I’m a firm believer that we are what we eat. While I’m currently on two-weekly omalizumab injections to control my dermographism, in the past I’ve found that drinking plant-based milk rather than cow’s milk helps to reduce my flare-ups. I don’t have any other symptoms of lactose intolerance so I don’t think that would be causing the problem, but plant-based milk just seems to agree with me more for some reason.
I often wonder whether I might have an allergy to cow’s milk or whether, perhaps, my skin condition is caused by something else I’m eating. My consultant is reluctant to request an allergy test as he maintains my condition has no specific cause, so I’m considering ordering a home allergy test online.
As you can imagine, I’ve done quite a lot of research into food allergies to have reached this point, as home testing kits certainly don’t come cheap. I thought it might be useful to share my findings with my readers, as I know many of you could be going through a similar experience ourselves and my previous posts on travelling with my skin condition have been particularly popular.
5 ways to know if you have a food allergy
Refrain from eating foods you suspect you’re allergic to
If there’s a particular food that your body seems to disagree with, you could try avoiding that food completely for a while to see if it has any impact on your symptoms. You may need to give it a few months to notice the effects, however.
When I began substituting cow’s milk with plant-based milks like coconut, almond and oat milk, I saw the best results within around a month and a half of removing cow’s milk from my diet. While my diet change hasn’t completely eliminated my symptoms, it’s certainly eased my itching somewhat.
Try out an elimination diet
Avoiding certain foods only really works if you already have a good idea of exactly which food it is that’s causing your problems.
If you’re not entirely sure what you’re eating that might be causing a reaction, you might benefit from undertaking an elimination diet. While this can be gruelling, it’s an excellent way to identify which foods are suitable for you to eat, and which aren’t. Start with the foods most likely to cause allergies.
The nuts and bolts of an elimination diet involve removing certain groups of foods from your diet and then gradually reintroducing them to see whether they bring about any changes in your body. Read more here.
Keep a symptoms diary
Keeping a symptoms diary can be a helpful way to track which foods you might be allergic to.
Make a note of any symptoms and reactions you experience, including the date and time and any foods you might’ve eaten.
Then, you’ll be able to look back at your diary to see whether the symptoms can be linked to any particular foods.
Take a home allergy test
If all else fails, you could consider taking a home allergy test to check if you have an allergy to something you’re eating or drinking, or perhaps a substance or material you’re coming into contact with.
Home testing kits can be ordered online and delivered to your door. Usually, your samples will be collected by courier and delivered directly to the lab for testing.
This can be costly and some tests are unreliable, so it always pays to use a reputable provider and read reviews. However, home allergy testing is usually the quickest and easiest way to know whether you have a food allergy, if your doctor is unwilling to request a test on your behalf.
Have you got a food allergy, or do you know someone who has? Share your thoughts with other readers by commenting below.
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