Sulfite/Preservative Allergy - Anyone??

I think I have a sulfite/preservative allergy as whenever I eat foods that contain these my face is extremely itchy, eventually gets lumpy (I'm assuming hives) and peels etc.. Whenever I check out the ingredients I'm finding the most popular common ingredient is vinegar (any type) or even white wine.

Does anybody else have this??

I have allergy testing in 2.5 weeks so should be able to confirm but this is what I've worked out from my own observations over the 4 months it's taken me to get into the allergy testing.

I know of a few people who get an asthma like reaction to eating sulphites. The preservatives you need to look out for are 220 thru 228. There is a website called fedupwithfoodadditives that has a pretty intensive list of food with these preservatives in them and it has another part of the site that has a list with all the names of the additives that you see on food packets and the red ones are the ones to avoid like the plague. HTH

Hi! Yes I have an sensitivity/intolerance to sulphites and nitrates (used on processed meats, bacon, ham). I also get a serious reaction to the MSG family (definetly an allergy opposed to intolerance, swelling of lips, eyes plus hives). I get a hivey rash from the sulphites and nitrates. Yep sulphites are in so many things, dried fruits (although sultanas and dates are usually ok but I stick to organic as I seem to be sensitive to all the sprays used when growing), wine, museli bars, some juices and occasionally yoghurts. Sure there are plenty more.

As Trillian said, fedupwithfoodadditives is a fantastic resource. I also visit another site called Allergy Alert and use this book too (written by an aussie mum).

It is a pain having to avoid things, but I feel that it has made my family and I much healthier eaters as I have become much more suspicious of all the additives in our foods and try to avoid them.

hhmm
I'm getting no asthma reaction but just the skin reaction. I had a few pieces of fruit toast yesterday and itching was intense and now i have hives (huge welts) all over my face. Very uncomfortable and not at all attractive. This started while I was PG but has since continued. It seems though that foods I have eaten on a regular basis and not had a reaction to prior are now the opposite. E.g. the fruit toast which I ate my whole PG without issue and have also done since and then the other day I had a flavoured tuna on bread and again same thing and then when i looked found it had vinegar in it. So bit confused why it's changing..

Looking forward to the allergy testing to get this sorted so I can try to get back some kind of normalness to my face. My face and neck skin is really damaged from all the dryness, itching, constant peeling of skin, and now hives. :( :( I've only had the hives happen this bad twice now - once from a spag meatballs (which again i have eaten regularly for ages and did not do this) and then the second lot from the fruit toast.

From what you are saying it could be an allergy to salycilates - I forgot to mention I am also sensitive to these in large amounts. Can't have asprin, lots of berries and grapes, heaps of strong tomato sauces. I have just lifted this from fedup;

"Some natural chemicals called salicylates can cause the same problems as additives if consumed in large doses or by sensitive people. For problems serious enough to see a doctor, or conditions with a diagnosis such as ADHD, eczema etc it is best to find out more about salicylates, as well as other natural food chemicals called amines and glutamates.

These natural food chemicals are increasing in our food supply, due to increased availability of out-of-season fruit and vegetables, concentrated natural chemicals in processed foods, and added flavours. Foods high in salicylates include strawberries, kiwifruit, avocadoes, sultanas and other dried fruits, citrus, pineapple, broccoli, pizza toppings, tomato sauce, olive oil and tea. Cheese and chocolate are particularly high in amines. Salicylate sensitivity can be triggered or worsened by medications such as aspirin and other NSAIDs (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as Nurofen and lotions e.g. anti-arthritis, salicylate-containing teething gel.

People rarely realise that they are affected by salicylates or amines unless they eat a very large dose in a short time (e.g. salicylates at Christmas or amines at Easter) or until they reduce their intake. This is because these food chemicals are eaten so frequently that the effects fluctuate and can build up very slowly. One mother wrote:

'I cut back my five-year-old daughter's intake of fruit to about a quarter of what she normally had. Within days we saw dramatic changes. Her behaviour evened out … she was more sensible and obliging, less aggressive and defiant - and altogether much more pleasant to live with.'

Flavours and fragrances such as fruit or mint (e.g. in toothpaste) are another source of salicylates. Since the 1970s, increasingly large doses have been added to products. In the UK, recent studies of new mothers found more headaches and depression in mothers and more asthma, diarrhoea, vomiting and ear infections in babies with increasing use of air fresheners and/or aerosols."

My neice has mild allergies to sulfite. I looked up more info on the net and found this:

The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy - SULFITE ALLERGY

At the bottom it says there are sulfite test strips to test foods with.

Does anyone know if they are the ones they are talking about?? and do you think they are worth the trouble?

My neighbour works in a chip manufacturing place and he told me they use test strips to check the levels of sulfite in the chemicals that stop potatos going brown after they are peeled.