Allergic to Balsam of Peru - No wine allowed

I just went through a round of patch testing to figure out what is causing an incredibly itchy skin rash that I have had for a year. IT took 6 months to get the appt to be tested.

The results are in and I am allergic to Balsam of peru. It’s a central american plant that is used in a variety of products form toothpaste to hair pomades (not that I have hair to put pomade on !). In addition, there are a number of food that have substances that are closely related.

This means : No

Tomatoes,citrus, vanilla, curry, allspice, spicy condiments, chocolate, vinegar, pickles, ice cream, and the worst part - NO WINE. I can still have beer but …

Does anyone have experience with this or Does anyone know how this substance occurs in wine ? My gut tells me it could be from barrel aging since grapes are not on the Do not eat list. I am wondering if I only drank stainless or cement aged wines, would I avoid the reaction.

In any event, I am going cold turkey on everything for 4-6 weeks and see if I improve. I will then re-introduce each banned item for two weeks and see what happens…

I could see the connection between vanilla and oak aging, since (as I recall), oak has vanillin in it.

But is all this based on allergy skin tests? How reliable are those? They used to be VERY unreliable.

Sorry to hear about this. When I was having vertigo problems several years ago, my “banned food” list was similar to yours. I felt like they just tried to concoct a list of everything pleasurable. Here’s first to hoping you’re able to recover, and second that you can then recover some of what you love. Anyway, this:

…is exactly how I’d proceed.

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find another doctor.
alan (borrowing from W.C. Fields)

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Would you give the same advice if you weren’t a wine lover and didn’t find the recommended treatment so distasteful?

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It looks like an unusually inclusive list. I think I’d go off of everything on the list until you are totally clear, then add back wine as your first next step, and I probably would intentionally pick something made in barrel so you find out quick. My guess is you’ll do fine.

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it’s a joke, John. W.C.Fields said, “when my doctor told me to quit drinking, I found another doctor.”
alan

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Most of the items on the list are acidics or can otherwise be irritants to other inflammations. I am wondering if that is the connection. I am not a doctor, but when I had an inflammation (not allergic) I was given a very similar list…

Coming from someone who has dealt with skin and internal issues and dealt with allergists, doctors and dermatologists I would say this stinks of their over-doing it on banning stuff from your life. Due your own due diligence, ask around, do research and experiment. You likely are not allergic to wine. That is really w down on the list. Go figure it out but don’t simply trust a doctor who will rattle off the stats. I’ve been told I cannot drink red wine and it simply is not true. Trust yourself.

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Coming from someone who has dealt with skin and internal issues and dealt with allergists, doctors and dermatologists I would say this stinks of their over-doing it on banning stuff from your life. Due your own due diligence, ask around, do research and experiment. You likely are not allergic to wine. That is really w down on the list. Go figure it out but don’t simply trust a doctor who will rattle off the stats. I’ve been told I cannot drink red wine and it simply is not true. Trust yourself.

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I realized it was a joke, but I wasn’t sure if there was a second, more serious message behind it.

And it is a great line of Fields’!

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Thanks for all the comments !
Day 4 of no wine and I am surviving. It just seems that a large portion of my daily reading is wine related. I just wish Beer was easier to drink without gaining weight. Just means I climb the hills on my bike with a bit more vengeance.

Going to see another Derm on Friday to verify the allergies and treatment plan. Oh, to be able to have a Tavel after.

Acidity has absolutely no connection to allergies. Allergies are caused by allergens, which are proteins.

Amen!

Umm. That’s fine- My point was that I had an inflammation (not allergic) and I was given the exact same list of avoids.

Any update here? Did you find whether whites/reds have more of this?

OP is bannned

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Thanks

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FWIW, although I didn’t do allergy shots for food allergies but rather for pollen of some weeds and trees, my allergy to a few things, such as cantaloupe, went away after I completed my five year course of shots. The shots worked wonders for my main complaint from the airborne pollen but being able to eat cantaloupe without an itchy/scratchy reaction was a nice added benefit.

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“Balsam Of Peru” would be a good shoegaze band name.
Never heard of it in any way. I’d second the elimination idea proposed earlier in the thread.