Laugh if you will, but it is serious and DAMHIK

**journeyman Mick** · 3rd August 2004, 12:05 AM

Like the title says, laugh if you will but this is serious (but funny in retrospect) and Don't Ask Me How I Know!

Some people (maybe even some of you) are allergic to aspirin. A person with this allergy probably won't know until they take one. When they do they may experience Anaphylaxis or Anaphylactic shock. :eek: Their face will swell up till their eyes close and their throat and chest will constrict making breathing extremely difficult. This may happen within 15-20 minutes of taking a single aspirin. Unless treated promptly with large doses of steroids, antihistamines, oxygen and adrenalin the person may die. Of course this person will make sure that they don't take any more aspirin once they've had anaphylaxis.

However......

What this person may not know, and probably because their doctor didn't know either is that about 50% of people who are allergic to aspirin are also intolerant of Salycilates in their diet.(this is not a reliable figure BTW, no large scale research has been done, but do you want to take the chance?). Aspirin is Acetylsalysilic acid and used to be derived from willow bark. Unbeknownst to a lot of people (including, it seems GPs) is the fact that a lot of common foods contain large amounts of salycilates. Mandarins, almonds, green capsicum and rum all contain large doses.

Now just suppose that someone gave an aspirin allergic person a bottle of "moonshine" rum. Unbeknownst to the moonshiner or the recipient of the bottle this rum had absolutely huge amounts of salycilates in it. Person has a few rums over the space of a week, wakes up one night with intolerable itching in all the really sensitive areas

. Goes to chemist, gets steroid creams and anti fungal creams and applies liberally. Of course it's winter and mandarins are in season, so person tries to eat healthily, scoffs a few mandarins each day, plus, as usual a hand full of almonds each day as well. Things go from bad to worse, intolerable itching and burning, so a bit of aloe vera is applied - always works on burns. It's wonderfully soothing but soon the itching and burning is back with a vengeance, and the skin that's had aloe vera applied is really angry red and raised.

Off to see the doctor, he's not sure what it is but bombards it with doses of steroids, antihistamines, stronger steroid cream and more anti fungal cream - just in case. Orders a few blood tests for allergies just to check too. Poor patient is really suffering and finding it hard to sleep so a stiff rum before bed each night is consumed to help. By this time the patient has itchy hives over most of his body and is going out of his mind. Blood tests come back showing dust mite allergy but the doctor believes it's something that's been ingested due to the symmetry if the hives. After hours of web surfing sites dealing with allergies the connection is made

.

Almonds, mandarins, rum and aloe vera all contain large amounts of salycilates! Not to mention red apples, grapes, dates, sultanas and tea. If you are aspirin allergic (or know of someone who is) do a web surf and find out about salycilates in food. Know what to avoid, you may not be salycilate intolerant, but maybe you are. Maybe you'll only get a bit of a rash, but possibly you'll have anaphylaxis! :eek:

Just Don't Ask Me How I Know Okay?

Mick

**Ben from Vic.** · 3rd August 2004, 12:52 AM

So......

You've had a great weekend then? :eek: :eek:

Hope all's better.

Ben.

**journeyman Mick** · 3rd August 2004, 01:01 AM

week and a half! :mad:

Mick

**Ben from Vic.** · 3rd August 2004, 01:30 AM

oh dear. :eek:

You shall now be know as "Mick the lab rat" (or was it the missus?)

What was the name of that early 1900's scientist that experimented on himself?

I suggest you pop down to the local vet and get yourself an Elizabethan collar.

:eek: Just noticed you can't drink rum any more :eek:
Egads man, life's hardly worth living!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

No worry. Stiff upper lip and all that, chap.

Ben.

Ps. Get well soon. There's still plenty of reno-rescues that need your advice

**kiwigeo** · 3rd August 2004, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

Almonds, mandarins, rum and aloe vera all contain large amounts of salycilates! Not to mention red apples, grapes, dates, sultanas and tea. If you are aspirin allergic (or know of someone who is) do a web surf and find out about salycilates in food. Know what to avoid, you may not be salycilate intolerant, but maybe you are. Maybe you'll only get a bit of a rash, but possibly you'll have anaphylaxis! :eek:

Mick, you dont want to be going anywhere near a cricket match either.....the bats are made of willow.

Doesnt sound like youre a happy chappy....hope you get it nailed.

**Chesand** · 3rd August 2004, 07:41 AM

If someone has a problem with Aspirin they may also have a problem with Ibuprofen (Nurofen Advil etc).

Stick to Paracetamol for pain.

Get well soon Mick

**Driver** · 3rd August 2004, 11:17 AM

Mick

You may have hit on a solution to a problem that's been bothering my wife for a couple of years. Nothing like as badly as the experience you relate but enough to be a bloody nuisance for sure. We'll investigate a bit further. Thanks for the heads-up and I hope you're feeling a lot better.

Regards

Col

**Eastie** · 3rd August 2004, 11:27 AM

Rum often gives me a terrible headache, but the onset is normally delayed by 6-12 hours

**Tristan Croll** · 3rd August 2004, 12:21 PM

Strictly speaking, it's not a true allergy - the immune system is incapable of recognising molecules as small as aspirin and the salicylates. It's actually what is known as a "sensitivity" - however, the end result is still bloody horrible. Good luck with your troubles!

**ndru** · 3rd August 2004, 01:33 PM

Sorry to hear about your malady

. Hope it clears up soon!

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

Almonds, mandarins, rum and aloe vera all contain large amounts of salycilates! Not to mention red apples, grapes, dates, sultanas and tea.

Include kiwifruit in your list. Each piece has the equivalent of approx 1 tablet of aspirin's worth of salicylic acid. The bloody stuff seems to be in just about every other fruit, too!

Slightly OTT: Cats generally also have the same reaction (anaphylaxis) to large doses of salicylic acid. If you're fond of cats, don't give them fruit or aspirin. Definitely don't give them Paracetamol (acetaminophen) as it is toxic to them and can cause liver, kidney, heart and pancreas failure. On the other hand, if you have a cat problem in your neighbourhood...

**PAH1** · 3rd August 2004, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Tristan Croll

Strictly speaking, it's not a true allergy - the immune system is incapable of recognising molecules as small as aspirin and the salicylates. It's actually what is known as a "sensitivity" - however, the end result is still bloody horrible. Good luck with your troubles!

The immune system is able to recognise such small things, although it usually ignores them. Specifically anaphalaxis is mediated through IgE and is a true immune response, hives/rash is also indicative of what an allergy specialist would regard as an immune response.

This whole "intolerance/allergy" thing irritates me as I have it as well. Sit down at a restaurant and say " I have an allergy to garlic and onions etc everything that belongs in the oinion family, all citrus and chocolate" and see what they are able to serve you, what they try to run past you and hope you don't notice and how little staff generally know about what they are actually serving.

For salycilates you will also find, tomatoes, aged cheese (blue is even worse), red wine etc. Another problem is that beast 621 and 635, MSG and Calcium glutamate, both are non specific allergy stimulants and make even trace quantities of trigger compounds very much worse.

You have my sympathy, however if you change your diet to avoid those trigger foods your health will improve so much you will not know yourself.

**Caliban** · 3rd August 2004, 02:26 PM

Mick
I know this from doing the hard yards with kids withfood allergies and asthma, have researched thoroughly, have some excellent books at home will pm you when I get there, one is called "friendly foods" which deals with salycilates and a few other chemical groups you may need to know about eg amines. Another is called "It may be allergy and it can be cured". As I said I'll post the details for you when I get home, worth reading if you don't wanyt any more unfortunate 1.5 weeks

**AlexS** · 3rd August 2004, 07:28 PM

Mick, hope you're feeling better now. I know from bitter experience (severe case of jaundice caused by blocked bile duct) how crazy a severe all-over itch can drive one. At least I could have a glass of anaesthetic.

**journeyman Mick** · 3rd August 2004, 11:53 PM

All,
thanks for the replies & well wishes. Feeling much better, even went down to the shed today (didn't actually do much though). Got lots of books from the library on the subject and downloaded lists of all the foods to avoid. I only listed the ones I had been unwittingly eating. One thing I have learnt from this and all my wife's illnesses is that most doctors only target symptoms. You've got symptom "A", well give you drug "X" because it fixes that symptom. They are simply not trained/haven't the time/inclination (take your pick) to try to actually diagnose what the underlying problem is. This is where the internet is a wonderful resource, access to lots of information that doctors just won't find for you. Anyway, good health to all,

Mick

**Caliban** · 4th August 2004, 08:50 PM

Mick
Hang in there buddy, the missus too.

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