Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Over the last few days I've developed a seemingly allergic reaction. I don't know what it could be from and I don't know how to fix it. Any help would be much appreciated:

Symptoms:
- extremely dry, red rash around eyes and nose (and behinds ears), but nowhere else. It itches pretty bad. Kind of like a very bad sunburn.
- puffy eyelids (mostly upper eyelids) upon waking up, gradually fading during the day. Which looks hilarious by the way, it has me looking like a wasp of some sorts.
- symptoms came in gradually over the course of ±48 hours.

Diet:
- I'm in the middle of a mass gain phase, so I was eating a lot (±5000kcal a day). All paleo, except some 1 to 2 liters of milk a day, some other dairy and some supplements (which I've listed below). I've done a GOMAD once before and never had any allergic reaction to it, by the way.

Supplements:
- ALA (one before every meal)
- Vit D3 5000IU
- Now Foods Super Enzymes (tablets, 1 before every meal)
- Niacinamide (non-flushing), once in the morning and once before bed.
- Micellar casein shake ( i know, i know, not very paleo) around 20g before bed.
- Creatine monohydrate
- L-Glutamine (only PWO)

N.B. I've started taking most of the supplements around 1 week ago (except Vit D & the super enzymes). I've also done creatine in the past without any problems.

Another possible culprit could be all the food I had for christmas. As far as I know I didn't consume any gluten, but I did have some white rice and lot's of sugar (as in tiramisu and creme brulees).

Being Dutch I handle diary pretty well, but if I was going to point out 2 possible suspects it would be the casein shakes and/or the niacinamide.

Pharmacy gave me some Cetirizinedihydrochloride 10mg (which is zyrtec in the states I believe). So far not working (4 hours in).

flag	asked Dec 27 2011 at 16:12 Tom 947●1●6●12

	Tiramisu have wheat flour based lady's fingers. How long has it been since you have had wheat or gluten? I find that the longer I go without it and then have it, I get itchy red bumps on my legs, which go away within a week, but can be exacerbated by sugar. Hope you feel better soon!! – Jackie Dec 27 2011 at 17:36
	Don't take zyrtec! Apple cider vinegar solves my rashes in 20 minutes. – Bruno Dec 27 2011 at 18:46
	hmm worth the try. i made some special tiramisu which didn't iclude the lady fingers ;) I think I haven't had any gluten (except in some beers) for about 1,5 years. – Tom Dec 28 2011 at 1:33
	Well I would love the lady finger free recipe if you can make it available!! Hope you're feeling better! – Jackie Jan 3 2012 at 1:24
	I have it here somewhere, but if you just replace the ladyfingers with something like walnuts you're good to go :) – Tom Jan 16 2012 at 19:30

Bill1102inf · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-27 20:02:20Z UTC

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"extremely dry, red rash around eyes and nose (and behinds ears)"

possibly: Flaring Seborrhea Dermatitis (same thing as dandruff) aggravated by diet/excersise/sun exposure, etc.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 20:02

Bill1102inf
7,646●7●28

	This is what my thoughts were too. Specifically because of where the rash is (ears, eyelids, eyebrows, nose being the prominent facial spots affected). – Efaitch Dec 27 2011 at 21:37
	hmm, could be. However it's not quite as pronounced as they pictures I see under google images. Btw, any idea how to combat this? – Tom Dec 28 2011 at 1:29
	however, I've never had skin problems before, so I'm not convinced, especially since I've been ± paleo for 2 years now. – Tom Dec 28 2011 at 1:31
	Tom, yes, see a dermatologist to confirm SD and they make a topical steroid that makes it much better (if thats what it is), OR try this, get some Selson Blue or other anti-dandruff shampoo and wash the spots with it. DONT GET IT IN EYES!!!! – Bill1102inf Dec 29 2011 at 15:58

Nance · Answer 2 · 2011-12-27 16:29:42Z UTC

I'm with Drangonfly. And megtuo makes a great point about dust mites; I have that allergy and I use special pillow casings.

Assuming for a moment that it isn't dust mites, figure out all the things that have been different. Start eliminating the new things and add them back one at a time. Allow 3 days for reactions to build between adding things.

There does seem to be a general trend that people who clean up their diets and then splurge or add/change supplements and foods have more intense reactions to things than they did in the past. I think our bodies were overwhelmed before and couldn't give us clear signals. That's good, really, as we are clearly finding out exactly what does/doesn't work for us.

Ashley · Answer 3 · 2011-12-27 18:05:51Z UTC

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The fighter mask is indicative of an egg allergy.It happened to meet when I started cutting for my first show and was eating a lot of whites. I still have to limit or I puff up.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 18:05

Ashley
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Tom · Answer 4 · 2011-12-29 15:42:49Z UTC

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Visited the doctor today, it's Seborrhea Dermatitis (as Efaitch and Bill1102inf correctly suggested).

Docter gave me clobetasone butyrate (Eumovate), which is a corticosteroid. He also told me it's most likely caused by stress, which is a plausible explanation since I was under the weather for the last 2 weeks yet still trained and ate like my life depended on it.

answered Dec 29 2011 at 15:42

Tom
947●1●6●12

	Have you tried an elimination diet and avoided the most common food allergens, like dairy, eggs, nuts, garlic, etc? The explanation "stress" wouldn't really satisfy me, there must be an underlying cause. Do you supplements contain any problematic fillers? – Thomy Dec 29 2011 at 15:52
	Tom, try washing the area with a dandruff shampoo, dont get in eyes, it burns - A LOT. – Bill1102inf Dec 29 2011 at 15:59

Dragonfly · Answer 5 · 2011-12-27 16:20:22Z UTC

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Silly Pharmacist. Ask for Diphenhydramine, aka Benadryl in the States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphenhydramine) Works a lot faster. Good for food allergies as well as contact allergies.

Were you visiting relatives? My husband got a rash from my mum's sheets (the laundry detergent) when we visited last year.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 16:20

Dragonfly
31.6k●1●9●41

Thanks for your response. Diphenhydramine isn't sold in the Netherlands because it supposedly has too much side-effects. I'm visiting relatives (parents). But I visit them once every month and I never get any kind of an allergic reaction to the sheets/pillows. – Tom Dec 27 2011 at 16:42

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OK! Ascorbic Acid (Vit.C) is a good antihistamine, as well--best as a powder stirred into water. – Dragonfly Dec 27 2011 at 19:43

Why a silly pharmacist? Zyrtec works wonders for me, but it makes me extremely tired. After all, zyrtec is belgian and Tom is dutch. – Korion Dec 29 2011 at 16:12

Most second generation antihistamines take longer to kick in and don't work for as many people. Just my experience! – Dragonfly Dec 29 2011 at 16:26

megtuo · Answer 6 · 2011-12-27 16:27:23Z UTC

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Dust mites? Try washing your sheets, pillowcase, and pillow in very hot water or popping them in the dryer (high heat cycle) for 20 minutes or so.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 16:27

megtuo
136●2

Matt · Answer 7 · 2011-12-27 17:18:27Z UTC

My bet is on the Christmas food. Something in there your body didn't agree with.

I've found that Loratadine (US-brand: Claritin) works fairly well and fast. No experience with Zyrtec however, should be similar. Both sometime require a little induction phase (a few doses) before optimal effects are observed.

Betsy Richter · Answer 8 · 2011-12-27 17:50:37Z UTC

The VERY same thing happened to me a few days ago! Only Benadryl did nothing for it - left eye was practically swollen shut, both eyes had puffy bags under them, skin was hot and tight.

But the ITCHING was the very worst of it.

Ended up in urgent care yesterday AM, where I got a steroid shot, a course of steroid pills, and was told to keep using the Benadryl for at least next 24 hours. They also prescribed Pepcid AC - as it's an antihistamine that acts on a different receptor (H2) than the Benadryl (H1).

I'm betting it's the Chinese food I ate on Xmas eve - either that or the white rice?? Can't think of anything else I would have eaten (stayed fairly strict Paleo during the holidays, in fact).

Just wait until the skin starts peeling, though - it's a lizard-like experience! (Am using coconut oil to try and keep things moisturized.)

Don · Answer 9 · 2011-12-27 19:34:06Z UTC

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It could be a nut of some kind, my kid can't eat peanuts.

answered Dec 27 2011 at 19:34

Don
81●2

egk · Answer 10 · 2011-12-27 21:02:24Z UTC

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images of a symetrical, itchy, red, rash connected to gluten.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermatitis_herpetiformis

answered Dec 27 2011 at 21:02

egk
41●1

luckily it's not quite as bad as that picture.. – Tom Dec 28 2011 at 1:19

coprophagous · Answer 11 · 2011-12-27 22:06:52Z UTC

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Google butterfly rash on the internet and look at the images. you describe a butterfly rash. does it look the same as those?

answered Dec 27 2011 at 22:06

coprophagous
3,354●3●14

it's not quite a butterfly rash. It's more centered around the eyes, and not quite as red. – Tom Dec 28 2011 at 1:26

Hack this allergic reaction

11 Answers