ALLERGY ADDICTION: MARY’S STORY
Every morning Mary would wake up with black puffy eyes and red lumpy acne under her skin’s surface. She had trouble fitting into her high heels as her feet and ankles were swollen. She felt tired, cranky, was mentally disorientated and very clumsy. By mid-morning she was looking and feeling better and by mid-afternoon she had noticed a marked reduction in all the symptoms. She was making less mistakes, thinking more clearly (though not perfectly), had lost most of the puffiness around the eyes and the ankles and had only a mild ruddy complexion instead of the red bumps.
After exhaustive tests Mary’s allergy turned out to be her favourite perfume. She adored the perfume, indeed, she craved it and was most upset when I told her she had to give it up. During the day she would get periodic urges to dab some more on herself, just to experience that gorgeous scent again. As the day went on and she became more exposed to the perfume, her symptoms would lessen in intensity, and she would begin to feel almost human again. Towards the end of the day, as the effects of the perfume wore off, the first signs of withdrawal would begin. She would feel tired and slightly more swollen than at work. After eight hours of going cold turkey in her sleep she would awaken feeling and looking like death. It took five days of sheer hell to withdraw. She was so mentally distraught she had to take a day off work. For most of that day she was depressed and weeping. By the fifth day she was picking up and by the tenth day the swelling had gone from under her eyes and from her feet and ankles. Within five weeks her skin had completely cleared and the dark rings around her eyes had faded by 75 per cent.
Mary had developed her allergy by using the same, highly chemical perfume over a long period of time. Had she alternated between a number of perfumes, preferably ones made from flower extracts, the chances of her developing an allergy addiction would have been far less.
Mary was lucky in that she was only addicted to one thing. Some of my patients are allergic to perfume, the gas from the cooker, sugar, insect sprays and wheat—all in one go. Withdrawing from so many allergens can be extremely difficult, and avoiding them takes a lot of organisation. Because so many people feel worse when coming off their allergenic food or chemical they naturally believe the allergen to be necessary for their well-being and they become confused and frightened when advised to go off it.
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