I’ve become allergic... to everything

I SEEM to be becoming allergic to more and more things. It started after I used a pesticide spray in my garden; now I’m allergic to perfume, household cleaners and paints. I have tried prescription medicines but seem to have become allergic to them, too. I feel weak, itchy and dizzy and also experience regular headaches and wheezing. Somebody mentioned it could be a condition called multiple chemical sensitivity.

MANY people are diagnosed with allergies – but many are misdiagnosed with them, too. An allergic reaction will occur almost immediately on contact with an allergen. Common examples include pollen, dust mites, animal fur and some foods.

Symptoms are generally very specific and include itching, swelling, wheezing, a rash and even breathlessness. Allergies don’t tend to cause headaches or tiredness.

It’s also impossible to be allergic to antiallergy medication (antihistamines) by definition: the only side effect these drugs usually cause is drowsiness.

It’s worth questioning if something else is going on. It is possible to be sensitive or intolerant to substances such as paints and chemicals which, in turn can trigger a variety of symptoms including headaches.

Multiple chemical sensitivity, which is also sometimes called ‘sick building syndrome’, is not classed as a disease, but a catalogue of symptoms including headaches, tiredness, dizziness and pain which people associate with chemicals and other aspects of their environment. There’s also no diagnostic test for it – nor do all health professionals recognise it as phenomenon. However, if a variety of symptoms are affecting daily life, it’s worth looking for a solution, even if there’s no definitive diagnosis. This may involve a GP trialling a range of medication, including pain relief or even anti-depressants.

AFTER five months of symptoms, including brain fog and gut problems, I have done my own research and am convinced I have candida. My GP doesn’t seem interested, even though I’ve been given antibiotics for urine infections.

CANDIDA is a yeast-like fungus infection found in the gut of 60 per cent of us. For these people, it causes no symptoms, just like friendly bacteria that live in the gut with no ill effect. Yet it is a popular diagnosis to be gleaned from internet symptom searches, and also from alternative practitioners. It’s quite normal for a patient to tell me they’ve been diagnosed with whole-body candida by a herbalist or a naturopath, only for me to disagree.

Healthy people will not develop whole body candida causing brain, gut and mood symptoms, because the immune system can contain it to just the areas where it usually appears – the mouth or genitals. Therefore it’s something GPs rarely diagnose.

The symptoms described may be a sign of other illnesses including depression, thyroid disease or vitamin deficiencies.