Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Allergic ? Itching palms bright red, go white with pressure

Again I have had an episode of bright red very itchy palms after eating a popular ice stick coloured yellow and "fruit flavoured". It came on 5 minutes after eating/ drinking this icy pole. The ingredients list included 102 Tartrazine - yellow color - and 330, 410 . This intense itch was relieved in 15 minutes after swallowing a 180 mg antihistamine pill designed for use with urticaria. This is the 2nd time in six months that this has happened and each time relieved by antihistamine. I have had this symptom on 3 previous occasions and not got any relief even from covering palms with generous spread of spare cortisone cream. Ice pack did help. Perhaps this is an allergy or a sensitivity - to the tatrazine - 102 - but sadly I will not be able to eat anymore of these popular icy poles in a cardboard funnel thing. I wonder if other people get this maddening itchy palm effect from eating these numbers in food? Once I saw a GP during the first time it happened and she had no suggestions of how to treat it or how to prevent it - basically I did not eat red sugar coated almonds again.