Allergic reactions without Allergies

[ConcernedPartner]

My girlfriend has allergic reactions to almost anything but doesn't have allergies.  She has gone through the full battery of allergy tests including ***** tests and blood tests alike.  

There are times when she can have something and not react at all and the very next weekend have the same items and her lips will swell and her throat will start to close up uncomfortably.  It has never been as far as anaphylactic reactions or anything, but it is incredibly frustrating.  We have gone through pulling certain things from our routines to narrow down what it may be, but honestly it isn't any one thing regularly and it can litterally be water others.  

The docs have put her on Claratin, but it stopped working about 6 months to a year after she started.  They have her on Zyrtec now, but it seems to be deminishing returns.

She is now pregnant and the reactions have gotten seemingly exponentially more frequent as time has gone on and more serious as well.  It really has me concerned because no one is able to tell us what may be happening.  Any search online only gives us allergy and allergic reaction results.  Any help or direction that could be provided would be a huge help.  Thanks in advance.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

I understand the mental turmoil you might be going through right now. but then what her OBG is suggesting should also be taken into consideration.

The birth process which is only a month away as you say, should be given priority and then her allergy problem can be looked into later in detail.

But let the doctor know about it, and that you want it to be solved too , eventually.

She could be allergic to certain medications and drugs and that would need to be seen into too.

Till then, just consult with her OBG regularly and prepare for the event.

Let us know how she is doing and also if you have any doubts.

Regards.

[ConcernedPartner]

I understand the need to seek a specialist.  The problem is that she is only 4 weeks away from birth now.  The docs all tell her that it is simply a part of pregnancy but don't look and see she has had it before.  She was off her Zyrtec for the first trimester just to be safe and had relatively few reactions considering. (only maybe once every other week)  They all say wait till after the birth to try anything, and we agree, I am just looking for as much information as we can find so we can help her.  

The really mind boggling thing for me, as layman as I am, is that she has had reactions to benedryl.  I realize there are medication allergies, but it comes and goes seemingly on a whim.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

It is understandable to see how much stress this may bring to you and your girlfriend. Allergic reactions are mostly unpredictable and the doctors usually have to work hard to understand their cause and treatments.

Pregnancy requires a lot of attention and care and your Obstretician can work with the allergy specialist to tune out which medication your wife should take to prevent the allergies and their undesirable effects on her and the child. You may talk and discuss this out and they would be able to help since pregnancy usually results in some kind of immunological changes.

Let us know if you have any other questions or queries.

Hope this helps.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Allergic reactions are usually to various multiple substances which cannot be identified in many cases.

You need to consult an allergy specialist and continue regular review with her OBG.

It would help to discuss her symptoms in detail with the allergy specialist and see if a change in the medications - shifting to some other antihistamine or antiallergic medications is required.

Let us know what the specialist advises and also if you have any doubts.

Keep us posted on how she is doing now.

Regards.