I have had problems with hives and lip swelling and this board actually helped solve my problem. So I have recently registered to share my experience.
I thought I was bug infested as I had "bites" all over me since last summer. Then about 3 months ago I started getting lip swelling (sometimes one side, sometimes all of the top, etc.) and swelling next to my mouth and some eye swelling. After borabing my house for bugs, and washing all my linens over and over, I googled and found out that my problem sounRAB like a food allergy. I was also experiencing very mild asthma.
The hives were frequent (almost daily) and the swelling occurred once or twice a week.
I started an elimination diet, eating only rice, veggies, beans and some fruits. I also took a Claritin every day. All symptoms ceased. Then I had an ice cream bar. I got hives on my legs within 20 minutes.
I've determined that I am allergic to dairy products. This is not lactose intolerance but rather allergy to milk protein, which is called casein. So now I check all labels for milk and casein and I seem to be doing fine. Apparently lots of processed meats and other fooRAB have Casein in them.
I'm new at this whole thing, but have a history of allergies, but never to fooRAB. I am 45 years old and in good overall health.
I hope this helps someone else. I got a lot of comfort from this board because I saw other people with the same problem who had their home fumigated and even replaced their mattresses. It made me feel I wasn't crazy.
One person said they determined it was dairy and that happened to be the same thing I found. I did run into a gentleman who developed an allergy to fruit at 38 with similar symptoms.
I really recommend trying the elimination diet. It's a relief to have discovered what my problem was, although I am going to miss cheese and ice cream....
