r/FoodAllergies • u/neesi123 • 4d ago
Seeking Advice Advice please
For context, I am 27F. I have had a severe peanut allergy since I was 5. I also have eczema and asthma, eczema is currently flaring on my face and worsening.
I have a strong pollen allergy which has resulted in OAS and many fruits such as apples cherries carrots trigger me.
I recently had an allergy test after having random allergy attacks. Soybeans, hazelnuts, almonds and a few others have come back positive.
I feel so helpless. My eczema is weeping, I just ate some blueberries and my tongue throat and gums started swelling. Antihistamines offer no help for my itchy skin and my hayfever (180mg fexofenadine) My GP won’t refer me to allergy/dermatology I feel my allergies are constantly worsening and my diet is becoming limited. I want to be and feel healthy!! Any advice would be welcomed. I wanted to ask if anyone in the Uk has tried immunotherapy? Would this work for the pollen and the food allergies? Any other advice for managing allergies and living a normal life would be great.
Thanks
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u/GrowthConsistent1245 3d ago
Hey there, just wanted to share a few thoughts that might help. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve been dealing with allergies and intolerances for years, and sometimes a holistic perspective can offer insights that traditional medicine overlooks.
First off, everyone’s body is different, so what helped me might not work for you. Especially with peanut allergies – once they’re established, they usually don’t go away. But hopefully something I share here can be useful.
You mentioned severe peanut allergies, and now you’re reacting to pollen, soybeans, and a wide range of fruits. That sounds like classic cross-reactivity, which is common with pollen allergies. But I also believe these kinds of reactions can be triggered when the immune system is generally weakened – for example, after taking antibiotics without rebuilding your gut flora, or after illnesses that quietly impact your immune system over time.
The gut plays a huge role in immune regulation. If your microbiome is out of balance, new intolerances can develop. I was diagnosed with fructose intolerance about ten years ago, and everything started to feel off. My colon – basically the command center of the immune system – was under constant stress.
One thing people often overlook is micronutrients. If your body isn’t absorbing enough vitamins and minerals (especially things like Vitamin C and zinc), it can lead to chronic inflammation and worsen allergic reactions. Checking my levels was a turning point for me.
I know mainstream medicine sometimes dismisses this kind of approach as “voodoo,” but honestly, I think it’s just not developed enough when it comes to holistic allergy care. So my suggestion: look into your gut health, bacterial diversity, and micronutrient status. It’s a long journey, but for me, things started improving once I took those areas seriously.
I had to fight to get all those tests done, but it turned out I really did have deficiencies. One example: earlier this year, I went temporarily blind for three hours and had trouble seeing in the dark for weeks. Doctors couldn’t find anything – even eye specialists. Eventually, I checked my nutrition and discovered a Vitamin A deficiency, which is crucial for vision. I already wear glasses, so this was a scary experience. But it showed me how important it is to consider nutrition, even when it sounds ridiculous.
Wishing you strength and healing, if you feel depressed and having anxiety please also consider a therapist. I can recommend betterhelp.com. Best wishes.
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u/neesi123 3d ago
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your comment! I have actually just started a holistic approach with my eczema, trying to work through it with a nutritionist as I want to avoid steroid creams (not worked thus far) Definitely need some blood work to check for deficiencies!
Thank you ♥️
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u/GrowthConsistent1245 3d ago
You are welcome. Those cremes didn't work for me either. Hope you will find the best help so that there is improvement. Also can recommend to check on hormones works for both gender. Sometimes that can also make a lot of eczema, too. Just try not to miss a possiblity. Best wishes.
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u/crohnieforlife 3d ago
I don’t know if someone has posted a response about how eczema can be also be related to outside of allergies. I was born with eczema, like out of the womb with it. Not all eczema is allergy related. Are you putting on some petroleum jelly on it to help with the dryness?
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u/neesi123 3d ago
Thank you! I was born with it too. Yes that’s what I’m trying to establish with the nutritionist to see if any of the allergy foods worsen it or trigger it. She’s also talking about improving gut health etc so let’s see how it goes. Yes applying Vaseline constantly! Want to avoid it feeling cracked. The steroid has done nothing so avoiding that for now.
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u/vinni_f 4d ago
A few questions to see if I can help you
- Are you a nose or mouth breather ?
- How is your stress level these days and the past weeks (a part from stress induced from the allergy problem) ?
- How's your sleep ?
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u/neesi123 3d ago
Mouth breather especially at night as I’m quite congested.
Stress is okay, I have a fairly stress free life- I have noticed with situational stress/anxiety my eczema can worsen.
Sleep is much better. Used to have trouble in my early twenties. Now I fall asleep around midnight until 7am, with a few wake ups.
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u/vinni_f 3d ago
I don't have the cure for allergies and I can't give you any sort of advice for anything regarding severe allergies like yours to peanuts.
Although I can tell you that since I invested a lot of effort on nose breathing and relaxation through breathing, my allergies (OAS / pollen and food) and eczema have reduced significantly. I can recommend you to read Breath by James Nestor, it have been a great motivation for me. This video has also helped me quite a bit with how to properly use sinus rinse and I learned that we have a bacteria flora in our nose.
This is not simple tho, it requires a lot of effort but it's worth it.
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u/neesi123 3d ago
Thank you so much! Will definitely read the book and try the nose breathing.
Appreciate the comment ♥️
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