I have always wanted an allergy test. It’s good to know what’s going on in your body.
First : the reason why I was busted out of prison — sorry, was released for two hours from hospital to go am unaffiliated private skin clinic near the station because the hospital doesn’t have its own dermatologist ( thrilling last Friday as I was rolled out into the sunshine and the into real world in my wheelchair with my greasy hair and pyjamas – I thought they would bring someone to me – all the sights and smells ; vanilla cream from cake shops, hidden McDonald’s fries ; human beings strolling by in the hot summer air deliriously stimulating – the reason for this liberating exhilaration being a series of potentially dangerous diagnoses.
I came into hospital with a raging sweat rash under my left armpit. The local doctor gave me steroid cream. I asked the hospital if it was ok. They said yes. Then when it got worse, trapped under regulation pyjamas – ok pajamas for those who are more accustomed to that spelling – pictures were taken and it was diagnosed as thrush.
Candida.
The problem being that whatever it was had also spread down my back and – crucially – around the wound.
Ouch !
Yuk !
Vile ! – I hear you cry.
Yes. And imagine my own dismay learning that if candida gets in the bloodstream and starts destroying the organs there is an in-hospital 30-40% mortality rate ( fortunately I had the wherewithal to resist Googlimg at the very moment of crisis or I would have gone down the tubes).
I used the creams. The rash raged further. My instincts said get a second opinion. Even if it made me a mondaiji pain in the ass.
Japanese doctors’ are usually incredibly chintzy and naff. Sorry to disappoint : probably you were expecting gleaming futurism or zen-like beauty – but sorry babe, y’all is living in false cliche / misguided stereotype that don’t exist. The reality is dusty old teddy bears, homely, foul brown plastic slippers (death embedded in an object – d and I are flung into mortal abyssi just seeing those miserable creations being sold in any cheap, grannyfied dispensary), ; greying net curtains, ceramic Siamese cats – I have got used to it all now, but the fake flowers – this skin place was full of them – do get on me tits
Ahem. Come on Neil —it’s only one day til ‘discharge’ – get a fckn grip !! (I might have done actually if there hadn’t been a screaming ninety year old spine patient — poor bloke ! — with the bellowing lungs of an adult shouting
ITAI DA YO
ITAI DA YO
I T A II DA YOOO !!!
it hurts !!
over and over and over at maximum volume in the last few days driving everyone on the ward to utter distraction .. to be honest I am just writing this Allergopalooza – fresh from the clinic ! – to pass a few hours before bingeing the stupid Love Is Blind UK just to survive til the fucking morning.
A l l e r g I es
I am not particularly allergenic as a person. I don’t have eczema. I do get hives under duress. I get bad skin sensitization with Guerlain Shalimar and Kenzo L’Elephant. The hospital wanted me to have an allergy test juste en cas.i was intrigued by the notion in any case. Bring it on! This is the year of Discovery; The Telephone, hypnotherapy, psychic phenomena, seeing whether an artificial limb works when it is buried inside your carcass — you may as well go a step even further and find out what you long suspect your body has had a reaction to and have it confirmed at a clinic with unscented bog freshener but rose-perfumed toilet tissue.
Get to the point bitch
Ok. I will.
S U R PR I SES / NOT SU R PRI SE S
The blood test – the results of which came back today – they take a week ( I had time to comb my hair ! And change into civvies ! And stick walk into the clinic with my head held high not wheeled in like bald dalek stavros from dr who !) give a 0-6 rating for allergies: 6 being the maximum, pretty severe, 1 negligible ( I am not going to stop eating bananas because of this; so nice with komatsuna spinach, carrot and apple in the morning !), 3 to be aware of and try to avoid.
Here goes !
( I am totally aware btw that I am ‘oversharing’ today but just give me a break : these are trying circumstances, and I need an outlet – so do, if ya feel like it, tell me of your own l’il allergies. I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.)
Them pesky mites
I get 5.5s for bedbugs and house dust ( D ! let’s go new Hoover shopping ! I have no phobia of vacuum cleaners !) – but I knew this already. Virtually the whole country has the same thing. As they do with
S U G I ( cedar, a 4 )
and hinoki ( a 2); and butakusa (ragweed), a 2, which grows in terrific abundance at Kitakamakura station and which makes me sneeze q badly every September
Half of Japan, statistically, has cedar pollen allergy – the government actually considers it a national health emergency.
I didn’t have hayfever in the UK growing up, but my kahunsho debut, as they call it here, began about fifteen years ago when one day I started sneezing in a local forest.
I am lucky – mine lasts roughly a week : the good thing about being as reactive a person as myself is that medicines work rapidly as well – one histamine tablet and bob’s yr uncle. I have Japanese friends who suffer terribly with cedar allergy – and two foreign friends who had it so badly they had to leave the country for months on end every spring.
Essential oil-wise, I think I have always known that I get a bit itchy when using Virginia cedar and hinoki oils – I quite like the hearty lumberjack / ancient samurai vibes, but knew, instinctively, I there was something.
CARAPACE
I am shocked to get a 3 for shrimp/ prawn — nooooo I love them ! – but the dermatologist said with a smile that they are probably ok if cooked :::::: no problem for me as I never eat sushi and sashimi in any case ( crab is a number 2 – pffffff – couldn’t care less).
A weird one – in at number 3 – is…
COCKROACHES !!
Shit. I will have to cut down on cockroach consumption for the benefit of one’s health. How will I do without them, sprinkled on my morning latte ?
No, it’s not about munching on the gokiburi but having them skittering about somewhere in your environment – which we don’t – and I am not about to go scooping them up when I see them scurrying about near the garbage cans of Shinjuku, antennae a -twitching.
I shall try my best to desist from licking the dust off moth wings from now on ( new with a number 2!) — no I actually don’t mind them; call me the devil’s daughter but I prefer them to butterflies, whose colours may be pretty – and Mariah Carey sang about them so well – but whose fluttering and flapping my person makes me sick.
Getting a bit bored now which means you probably are too. Should speed this up.
Baguettemageddon
Flour : NOOOOOOOOOO !!
But I knew this intuitively already. I love love love good bread and will not be deserting my beloved baguettes – but really brown-wheaty holier than thou rye bread has long made me look like the world’s most pregnant male – ooh that some yeast (candyda!) kyuukin up a storm there in the gut area innit — so shall bear this in mind.
Other comestibles
Fish, fruit, vegetables, rice, milk, chicken, peanuts ( I could live on peanuts) all zero – yey! Interesting that I get a 2 for beef and pork as I am not a huge carnivore and do get a bit bloated after any meatfest: having this information won’t change things one iota
ALLERGIES TO ONE”s own Pet (!!)
dogs and cats – a number two – but I am not about to throw my eighteen year old cat in the trash – I have always hated it when she licks me so now have good reason not to : I can still continue our morning strokes and nightnuzzles
The full list !!!
Ferns ! (1)
Sesame ! (1)
OTHER ALLERGIES NOT ON THE OFFICIAL REPORT
GROMALD FRUMP – off the fucking charts allergic from the very first moment on the escalators
RACISM – you think you are going to heaven to meet Jeebus if you hate someone for their skin colour
NATIONALISM – base: stupid; unphilosophical
AIR CONDITIONING – don’t get me started
ANYTHING COWBOY, ANYTHING
Deep reactions to Stetsons, hide fringes – how could Lana Del Rey go in that direction ; can’t do Madonna Music, Gaga Joanne, Kylie Golden, and definitely not Beyoncé Cowboy Carter – the visuals produce extraordinary antibodies – have always despised westerns, stirrups, rifles, Country, yee hah, bucking blonco; cowpats; anything brown – except chocolate brownies
CAR SHOWROOMS
QUARRIES
MUD
not the gokiburi…
i’m delighted by how linguistically flexible the hospital cabin fever has made u, very good show
are they treating the candida with… topical creams usually reserved for ladies…??
the allergy chart is so cute, i would frame mine
SO DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU POP UP AGAIN, Z
F’GUVE MY ASSHOLE SILENCE
and grazie for seeing this romp as intended – as deliberately stupid brain ether and not necessarily the ravings of a ‘madman’ etc etc
we reconnected !
Oh nooooo! You poor thing. Actually I am wondering whether you had the right treatment – steroid cream is very good for calming inflammation (like eczema) but can give fungal disease a super boost. But having said that, the two are often combined when the problem is bad, and the best product is one that has absolutely no preservatives (which is helpful for allergies!) and is kept in the fridge. You are not surprisingly run down and the opportunistic little devils are taking advantage. Have they thought of giving you oral antifungals?
My allergy test also showed that I am allergic to cats. I put up with the snuffles. Didn’t need testing to know verbena hates me.
One more day to freedom? Good luck!
Ha !
Yes, tomorrow
And the rash is almost gone – forget to add that crucial detail in the hurry of finger tapping
the GLOTESQUE picture of my deflated zipped baguette was about ten days ago
FAKE NEWS !!!
So glad! Tee hee. Emulating a certain orange monster whose staff are putting out old photos this weekend???
Ooh which ones ?
A fresh young turd ?
Ps you nailed all the medical stuff exactly
wrong diagnosis >> wrong cream >> exacerbation !!
I didn’t need raging anti fungals on a delicate dermatitis rash
aaaaghgh
Someone may have had a mild stroke so is being kept away from press etc, and it is thought that we wouldn’t notice the photos are old ones (by a couple of months). Still turd-like though.
Look after your sensitive skin!
!!!
Only mild? Buggeration!
Yikes, what an ordeal! Glad they finally got to the cause and now you know what to avoid. Cat dander is my top allergen, followed by various tree pollens, which make me miserable about two months out of the year in spring. I developed hayfever in the UK (at least, that’s when I first realized it rather than thinking I had a cold), they’re full blown in the east coast of the US, and weren’t much better in Taiwan when I visited in April. Also developed an eczema patch on my shin in the last two years, which so far is responsive to topical steroid.
I’ve learned that red wine, beer, and dark liquors are high in histamine, so I avoid them now. Might make exceptions in seasons where I’m less prone to prickly sniffles.
Also with you on brown when it comes to apparel!
Amazing – the hay fever sounds pretty hard core.
Actually I didn’t get to the punchline properly of this story. I don’t think any of the things on the list caused that rash: I think it could possibly be the band-aid surrounding the wound – apparently quite common.
Or, let’s face it — MY PERFUME.
I had my bergamot infused Nina; my intense grapefruit Vaseline balm; my geranium moisturizer …
I was using them for antibacterial and refreshing purposes.. but given the state of the op I was very sensitive … and possibly caused my own sensitization.
THE THINGS WE DO FOR SCENT !!
I’d blame the band-aid before the perfume… but if it started in the armpit, I’m confused, unless it was a different rash. The perfumes and essential oils should be easy to spot test (another time), at least.
Yes — I think it COULD have been a different rash under my arm…
Thankfully – whatever three pronged monster cream the outside dermatologist prescribed -Terabet – basically did the trick on both.
Pit has disappeared completely.
Leg is taking a while… so they really could be two different things ( and what was the thing on my back )
Anyway, seems to be abating.
Three hours to release
Will I have an allergic reaction to the outside world or will the joy be the perfect rash killer ?
Woot, counting down! Glad the rash is abating – they do take time. I think the freedom will outweigh most if not all of the inconveniences!
But if you do – it clears up !
Mine has practically gone in a week – flares up, calms down.
I do think deodorant made it much worse : I was rolling or spraying willynilly and was feeling a sting but didn’t check what it looked like for a week – too lazy to look under my own armpit – and did cause rather a palaver.
Cute name btw – i thought Guerlain itself was tuning in to the blog for a moment
Are you free yet? Are the shackles off?
Looking at the rash round the op site it does look to be from the adhesive area. I get similar when I take a dressing off from dermagraphia. Google it, it’s right up your street!
As an atopic person who gets histamine release syndrome randomly & full anaphylaxis to some antibiotics, I’m pleased you don’t appear to have scored 6 for anything.
One of my very best friends has dermagraphia! I heard about it only the other day but now I know what you are talking about. That imprint: very high sensitivity. How can you get away with perfume ?
I have only had a true allergic reaction to one perfume. The OG SL Fleur d’Orangers. The rash was everywhere & I got wheezy. I sold it on. I was recently gifted a travel spray of the most recent formulation. I did a patch test. No reaction at all!
I get cross when people claim they’re allergic to something & on closer questioning they mean it gives them a headache or they simply dislike it. Those people diminish how allergies are perceived.
Just own that you dislike or it gives you a headache or other intolerance. Leave allergies to those who may have life threatening reactions.
I am intolerant of wheat, not allergic, not coeliac, it just play havoc with my digestion. Homemade slow fermented sourdough I can manage, other than the sore hands from touching the unfermented dough.
A bit like me.
I don’t actually think I have any allergies – this post was just me splurging to stay sane. I don’t sneeze or wheeze at home despite not vacuuming and hay fever dissipates with one tablet a week. I am like you with bread – can be uncomfortable but nothing remotely like those extreme Celiac Crohns business – blimey they really suffer
That rash on my leg was real though – maybe it was the band aid after all..
Hi 🙂
The theory of the glue of the band-aid.
Esprit d’escalier : On your leg, it indeed looks very much like the gluing part, of the band-aid. One can guess the rectangle shape of the gluey part!!!
I would have put my bet on a rash, that is, an immune reaction to an innocuous substance.
With you, I learnt the world thrush, and I learnt the existence of external candidosis 😀
I’m surprised to learn, that the results came back as being a candidose.
But as you say, the reaction started under your left armpit, and before the operation and the band-aid. I have no clue to explain why, either.
(If the red spots had started DURING the operation, on the torso near the RIGHT armpit, then I would have had a clue :
Doctors likes to make repeated injections of different products in the vein, at this very spot, so it could have been the glue of a band-aid, too. For example, for chemotherapy, a catheter -a tube- is left in place, at this spot near the right armpit).
It’s interesting to see, how Japanese doctor are displaying the result of further tests about allergies, in the shape of a chart.
With my illness with the mast cell, I have another clue : the enzyme of laundry detergents.
The enzymes of laundry detergents can resist the rinsing step, of your washing machine. It’s the main flaw of all washing machines.
(The irony is, that cotton towels and bathing gloves are the more prone to retain the enzymes. Because they are powerful water sponges, so to speak. The best test is to wash clean dry towels of yours, and see how it foams thanks to the window of the machine, how it foams with just the left-over of former laundry powders or gels).
(The average grow-up will not do a special cycle, with just cotton towels, for sparing money. So the average washing cycle will lack of the extra speed of rinsing, and the 60°C exposure that helps de-activating some enzymes. Also, most people are using two time the dose, of the sufficient dose of laundry detergent).
So even if you watch, and wash more carefully with extra rinsing cycles, the left-overs of enzymes on your clothing, your effort will be ruined if you dry yourself with a tainted towel, after showers of after baths.
(Speaking of me, it usually gives me an unwelcome and very superficial warmth, a very light tingling singing sensation, in my back near the kidneys).
Here are extra ideas, but they are clear overexagerations :
– Enzymes for laundry detergent are produced from genetically modified yeasts.
Maybe there is false for false positive result to candida?
– Humidity in habitations is a problem.
A towel that stay moist for a week, and that is not washed at 60°C on the scale of months, can gather fungi. By definition, fungi are invisible to the naked eye. When the colonization of fungi get visible or smelly on a piece of fabric, they’re already at a later stage.
– The armpit can be the spot, where the handle of a backpack or a shoulder back is creating repeated friction.
Bags are often dirtier that loos in public spaces. Loo receives bleach, once in a while, annihilating bacterial growth. Yet most bags, and worst, expensive leather bag, are never ever cleaned by their owner. Still, we put them on the floor everywhere, then we bring them home, we hold them near our skin, and our hands are touching them a lot 😀