Thank you sustainablemum, I used to use soap nuts but have run out at the moment.  Think I will have to order some more   And get some cheap tights, I remember that being alot easier than a muslin to hold the oats, thanks for reminding me (and hello and welcom by the way )

I thought kiwi was one of the ‘allergic’ fruits, might have to cut those out and see.  Think everything else is pretty safe but if anyone thinks otherwise I am open to suggestions and opinions!

sarie

If dust is a factor you could vacuum your mattress and your curtains, and obviously the carpets if you have them.
If your hands are bad you could try smothering them in loads of cream then wearing cotton gloves in bed (or for as long as possible) - James finds this really helps and also means he doesn’t rip his skin to shreds in his sleep. We also do the same on his wrists and ankles by smothering in moisturiser and wearing those tubigrip bandages. It seems to really help the cream soak in as well as making a protective barrier from the scratching. This won’t help your face unless you fancy wearing a balaclava to bed…

Hope it feels better soon xx

I’ll ask Colin re the balaclava

Good point about vacuuming stuff, I do the mattress but don’t do the curtains so shall do that later when I change the bed.

Think gloves might be worth trying and I scratch so much in my sleep!  Although the gloves/balaclava mix seems a bit much lol

sarie

louise - 21 January 2012 11:43 PM

Kiwi! Know people who are allegic to kiwi.

Sorry to hear that things are bad! (((hugs))

Yep dd is allergic to kiwi and I’ve read that apples and strawberries can flare eczema.

Sarie, I’ll copy some recipes from JV book and send over to you. Also some advice I had was that in Scandinavian countries their allergy levels are quite low. One of their practices is to hang their duvets outside on their balconies during the day to kill off the dust mites. We found this helpful but a bit of s pain in the arse to drag the duvet outside every morning 😉

Looking at your smoothie list - kiwi, pear, celery and bananas all ‘use’ birch pollen in their development so it might be worth being tested for a birch pollen allergy which can cross react with berries and citrus fruits if eaten together uncooked.  Try either cooking the fruit off and/or separating the ingredients into their relevant food groups:

Birch pollen: almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, chicory, coriander, fennel, fig, hazel nuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat; 

Possible cross-reactions (to any of the above): berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc), citrus (oranges, lemons, etc), grapes, mango, figs, peanut, pineapple, pomegranates, watermelon

I find that creams etc only usually work in the short-term if the allergen remains in your diet/environment x

Ok, that includes alot of what I eat! Scary, now I don’t know what to do.

Completely agree about the creams, they are just to soothe whilst the aggravation is there.
sarie

I’ve got this allergy and surprisingly it’s really easy to manage once you’ve been told what affects you.  Also, you can still eat most of the items but just have to cook them/separate them instead.  Just think though, once someone tells you what your triggers are, you’ll be so much more comfortable.  Best of luck x