Allergies | What you can do to take back control

AD: Partnership with Klarify.

When Klarify got in touch about collaborating I agreed straight away because I am one of those people (1-in-4) that suffers greatly from allergens daily. It's an absolute burden in my life and collaborating with a company that enables people to take control of their wellness through education, home testing and actionable results is paramount to beating those horrible allergen symptoms.

Most people have been afflicted by an allergy of some sort at some point. It just seems to be one of those things along with growing up, paying bills, and deciding what to make for dinner that day - all equally frustrating especially as we get older. Likewise, it's always difficult to know if you're just afflicted with allergy symptoms or a common cold, sometimes the two are very much alike so how do you know if you can pass it along to someone you care about? You don't.

What is an allergy?

The human immune system protects the body from foreign invaders that may pose risk. In the cases of allergies, the immune system reacts in a similar way to viruses and bacteria causing an inappropriate response to what should be a harmless invader. When the allergen enters the body the body triggers a response which leads to the release of histamine in the body. The release of histamine causes symptoms that we normally associate with being 'allergic' such as:

Sneezing
itching
wheezing
shortness of breath
rashes/hives
runny nose
migraines/headaches
vomiting/nausea

You can find out more about allergy symptoms and allergy testing via Klarify's allergy testing article which is really informative and covers the types of allergens and the differences in symptoms.

My allergy background

My own symptoms strange enough happened as I got older, more so from pregnancy onwards. Growing up I never suffered from any hayfever or seasonal allergies, I was allergic to Penicillin as was all of my family along one line but nothing really more than that. Genuinely I felt like one of the lucky ones as some in my family were severely allergic to a lot of things and had asthma also which can be linked to allergies.

It was only really as I had my first child I then noticed I became allergic to something but could never put my fingers on the what exactly. Trying to reduce allergens in my home and my life would work to a certain extent them it seemed as if my immune system would just fight back. At one point I was constantly bombarded with all of the symptoms listed above and the reality of those symptoms was miserable.

I was tested luckily via the NHS but this isn't something that they really do any longer, and my own testing only happened to see if this was something that could be passed to my sons as anaphylaxis. My allergens included:

Dust
Mites
Moulds
Specific grasses
Basil
Rapeseed
Tree pollens
Bananas & latex (apparently they are closely linked)
Kiwis
Aubergine
Various yeasts
Medications - many antibiotics, codeine, pethidine, and a few others.
Gluten (celiac) - this was a separate test done through endoscopy

At the time I was attempting to eat healthier so many of the foods I was eating included fruits and vegetables, the vegetables (more than those listed above) were typically allergen-causing due to growing near specific grasses and pollens - this may have been why I was so reactive. Reducing my intake of allergens through a change of diet along with regular hoovering of our home, using a vax filter in the home to reduce dust and allergens in the air, and reducing the use of cosmetics that contains a lot of additives was enough to get my own symptoms to a manageable condition.

Even up until 2020 I was still facing new allergens. Growing up I believed that kiwis and bananas hurt everyone's mouth, I know how strange that sounds saying it now but no one even said it didn't when I mentioned it growing up so I thought it was one of those things, you eat a banana and it hurts the top of your mouth. In 2020 when the pandemic started I wanted to be healthier, now I knew about the latex allergy but not that bananas and latex were intrinsically linked. I decided to eat bananas every morning with my healthy breakfast and eventually a few months in (and after feeling so poorly in the lead up) I ended up in A&E with the worst pain imaginable as the allergy (bananas) was affecting my gallbladder. After learning it was this and stopping eating bananas I've never had that pain again (luckily) and my gallbladder is no longer inflamed. Hoorah! This is why understanding what your allergens are can be far more important than just curing your sniffles and sneezes, it can stop the destruction of your internal systems and organs.

I do suffer still especially around my monthly cycle as my itching intensifies so I always try to ensure that I am reducing my allergen intake ahead of my period due date. Strange but true I know - allergens and their horrible symptoms typically do as they want, when they want but understanding which ones trigger your histamine response can be the change to truly getting your life back.

Honestly, I dread to think how ill I would have become many years back if I didn't find out what caused mine, I genuinely thought that by eating healthy and being active I would be able to take back control of my own wellness when in fact the foods I was eating were causing my symptoms to become more reactive. I was getting ill, my conditions (colitis, PCOS, fibromyalgia to name a few) were worsening also, naturally as my body was struggling with its histamine and mast cell response.

Take back control

Klarify home allergy test enables you to test yourself against 294 allergens. Much like the test I had years ago, this test allows you to find out which allergens you personally have - pollens, mites, pets, foods, moulds, yeasts, Hymenoptera venoms as well as others. I personally urge everyone to find out what their allergens are before they pose a problem long-term. The more you know about yourself, the far wealthier you become in taking back your own life and future.