LONG but asking Suzi and others - itching on the right/ allergies help please!!

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Hi, maybe some one who has allergies can help me out with this one. I know Suzi

Lebaron has allergies so Suzi if you're reading this can you let me know if

you've come across anything like this in your experience?

Please do bear with this post which will be long - I REALLY need some advice.

For a good year or two now I have suffered with itching on my body and only

occasionally has this manifested on the outside of my body in the form of very

small hives. Sometimes I go a long time with no itching on the body areas such

as legs and stomach (a month or so) - but I have had itching in both the eyes,

scalp, around and in my nose, ears etc more regularly/ daily usually. I thought

this may have something to do with the make up I was using on my eyes or face or

shampoo but now I am not sure because for the past two months or so my left eye

has been completely free of itching/ irritation and other longstanding ocular

problems to do with my rosacea. This is weird but now 97% of all itching is on

the right side of my body and where the itching in the left eye has decreased

the itching in the right seems to have increased. This has made me think that it

is not make up allergy at all because I was once told by a top derm that allergy

would manifest in both eyes if something irritated and I have been having so

much success with my left eye which used to itch badly too. The symptoms in that

eye literally disappeared.

The right side of scalp also itches most of the time, the inside of my right

nostril and feels congested and hot and my right ear gets itchy inside. I am

sure it is not infection in the eyes because I am using the same make up

products on both eyes with no cross-infection symptoms. I just noticed this

nearly always on the right hand side thing recently and it is driving me mad.

Often my only symptom is itching with no physical manifestation but my face and

eye do get red from scratching and the facial aspect is most worrying for me. It

is weird. It is hard to describe but the itching is a bit like someone holding a

feather to your face, nose, ear, eye - (in and out for nose, eye and ear) - or

whatever but it can become intense and get red on the face and rarely disappears

which results in soreness.

I would not say I have no itching on the left but overall it seems predominantly

on the right. Strangely, my right breast itches too and the left doesn't. (sorry

to any men reading this).

I am tired a lot but mostly, I think, cos I am spending so much time and effort

stressing about this - I have been warned about this but what can you do when it

is affecting your self esteem and driving you mad into the bargain? I cannot

ignore semi-permanent itching.

I have suffered the symptoms of rosacea since 1994 (ish) when I was 19 and

developed ocular symptoms since Sept 97 or 8? I have had a (tube down throat to

look at stomach) and I was told all ok except maybe excess acid. I was told I

had symptoms of IBS by one doc. I am sensitive rosacea type. I am a natural

worrier anyway too.

I get this red rash by my mouth but only when I eat. I don't think it is that

dematitis that you get when you have wheat allergy though. It never itches and

although sometimes slightly visible to me at times when I am not eating, it only

really becomes obvious when I am eating something. It is like a small pink patch

directly under the outer edges of my bottom lip and if I touch the skin there it

is a tiny bit raised. When I eat I also always get a little red blotch at the

top of my LEFT cheekbone. These symptoms usually clear in 10 - 15 mins or so.

This has happened for a long time and makes me v self conscious about eating in

public. I noticed that my energy levels slumped when I developed rosacea too and

have gotten worse. This all started at 19 ish and I am now 26 It is really

getting me down, affecting my confidence etc. Not working now - wasting!

When I last went to the doc and complained about the itching my doc said he

would do a blood test but I have had this done before and it revealed nothing.

When I said this he replied that some people 'just' itch which is just not

satisfactory but I am so disillusioned, tired and intimidated I usually don't

argue back . I know they must think I am a hypochondriac but I know my symptoms

are real and that they don't do anything about it. That is why I go so often.

Aagh!

I also get fuzzy headed like I cannot concentrate - you know when you find

yourself saying..er...er...er...er...er. Don't know if this is a direct result

of stress or something else.I sometimes get soreish gums (not often) but they do

not itch. My tongue is also very red, esp on the tip. I also have very red

lips. Don't know if this is important or irrelevant???

I remember Suzi saying that before food allergy was diagnosed her tolerance of

topicals was low? Suzi, if you're reading can you tell me more about this.

Suzi, how did you find out your allergy? How was it diagnosed? Who would I ask

to be referred to? Is it expensive to pay privately, do you know? Have you ever

heard of bodily itching being localised to one half of the body (lengthways)?

Did you experience anything like this? Can intolerance and allergy both manifest

in these symptoms? Do my symptoms seem typical of food problems to you? Could

this be a bacteria or viral thing in any one's experience?

I am so sorry this is so long but I hope some one has seen it through and can

help me.

Please help - it is driving me mad and it has taken me an hour to get all this

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