Talking Allergies

WOW.... I am stunned.

I am just not that organized to do that yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you carry the epi-pen for corn allergy???

I have a friend that was just "hit" with nickel allergy--perhaps was in the bracelet?
( She gets hives all over her body. )

Medical Papers don't need to be complex. They should include the following information though:

1) Your name, address, and home phone number
2) Diagnosis or Diagnoses
3) Your Primary Care Physician and key specialists for your Diagnosis if your PCP can't handle the condition on their own. Phone numbers, fax numbers, specialties, and addresses.
4) All Surgerys you have had
5) Your medication list
6) Allergies
7) Medications that will cause you more bad than good (might want to state why)
In case of emergency info for the ER. What are the steps you want them to take the second you are wheeled into the hospital (assume you are unconscious or unable to respond for some reason).
9) Do or Do Not Resucicate information
10) Emergency contact (should be your patient advocate who knows your food allergies and other conditions inside and out).
11) Family member to contact (might be Emergency contact), but this is the person you are confident to spread the word in case of a problem.

Most of this information you have to give anyways each time you are sent to the ER. If like myself you lose the ability to speak because your throat has swollen shut, then it is vital you have it all in writing.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I appreciate it.

Blog entry: It's poison to me:

http://cornallergic.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... to-me.html

I think I have posted a list similar to this one. This one is Canadian. Note the section under Misc. Foods where rice and coffee "polish" are listed. This will explain why so many people with corn allergies will have problems with coffee (I am one of them) and rice.

This list is definitely not complete since there is no mention of the corn starch, corn oil, etc. in almost all dairy products. It also does not mention the use of corn derived organic acids on fresh/frozen meats. I also do not see table salt listed.

http://casco.ca/pdf/Good_things_come_fr ... _FINAL.pdf

How does corn get into things like flour? Check this out:

http://no-corn.blogspot.com/2009/05/whe ... flour.html

I use tapioca starch in all of my baking so I assumed that tapioca pearls (for pudding) would be safe as well. Not so.... I am currently having a nasty reaction (skin) to some pudding I made with tapioca pearls. Apparently, the pearls from places like China and Vietnam are "treated" with sorbic acids and/or potassium sorbates. There is no way of knowing where the pearls are from. Beware....

Wow! Who would have guessed?

_________________
Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

More fortified foods coming...

If they are only planning to put the vitamins and minerals (almost always in either a corn oil or corn starch carrier) in junk food this won't be a problem for people with corn allergy, because we can't have that stuff anyway. However...if the vitamins will be added to certain health food and whole foods that are now safe for corn allergies...we are doomed!

It is getting more and more difficult to find safe "corn-free" foods!

http://www.leaderpost.com/health/More+f ... story.html

speaking of corn allergy and vitamins, my naturopath mentioned that there is a type of vitamin C available that is derived from tapioca rather than corn. (I personally can have corn-derived ascorbic acid, but she knows that corn is an issue for me.) If anyone's interested, I can find out the brand name.

Beware of some bananas! My usual brand of "safe" bananas hasn't been available where I usually shop since Christmas. This safe brand is used by most others with corn allergy with no trouble either. I got stupid and tried another brand a couple of weeks ago and had a terrible reaction...skin and eyes (allergic conjunctivitis...red, itchy, swollen, light sensitive, burning).

Some (not all, as I can eat one particular brand) bananas are routinely gassed with corny ethylene gas to help ripen them. They are picked very green and shipped green. In order to get them looking half edible they are put into a room and gassed. This was explained to me by the produce manager at my grocery store.

I sure hope I can find my "safe" bananas again in the future...I love bananas. One of my few treats is to freeze a (safe) banana, put it into my mini blender, add some safe milk (goat's milk for me), some cocoa and sugar and blend. Kinda like a milkshake...yum!

Here is a current (2010) list of corn derivatives. I'm not exactly sure if it is complete or not. As you can see, there are a LOT of things to avoid with a corn allergy. I/we struggle on a daily basis to find safe (corn free) foods to eat. Sometimes they appear to be safe but aren't...i.e. corny processing agents are not required to be listed. Cooking from scratch and only using 100% whole foods is the only way to cope. Even some whole foods are unsafe...sigh...because of fortification and other treatments used in/on things like milk, dairy, flour, meats, fish, fruits/vegetables, cheeses, table salt, spices, etc.

http://www.cornallergysymptoms.com/corn ... tives.aspx

I realize that this is from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but I'm pretty sure the same procedure is used in Canada. It is an explanation regarding the fortification of milk (note that many of the additives are corn derived):
-------------------------------
TYPE OF CONCENTRATES AVAILABLE

A number of different types of concentrates are available. All contain vitamin D and/or vitamin A palmitate with a carrier consisting of any of the following: butter oil, corn oil, evaporated milk, non-fat dry milk, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol and glycerol monooleate. It is best to store all concentrates under refrigeration unless manufacturer's directions indicate otherwise. To achieve adequate dispersion, viscous concentrates should be brought to room temperature before addition.
-------------------------------

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Prod ... /UCM089032

GRRRRRR...why do they have to corntaminate something as pure as milk????? It's no wonder I used to have HORRIFIC skin reactions from drinking milk before I knew about the vitamins in milk!

Oil production is down so now there is more xanthan gum (almost always made from corn) available to the food industry! Oh well....most of the stuff they'll add it to is not safe for people with corn allergy anyway....

<<<<That leaves a large supply of xanthan gum on the market that has to get used up somehow, and xanthan gum producers, like organisms fighting for survival, are lowering prices and seeking new markets for their product.>>>>

http://www.doublex.com/blog/xxfactor/oi ... n-increase

More about corn based food containers...not that I would ever risk eating the stuff inside these containers!

http://www.stonyfield.com/healthy_plane ... /index.jsp