FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK
FACTSHEET
Hayfever and allergic rhinitis
Symptoms
Hayfever – technically called rhinitis - can be
associated with either allergy or intolerance. Allergy to pollen is
particularly common, seasonal and tends to be characterised by sneezing, runny
nose, watery itchy eyes, nose and palate. Persistent rhinitis occurs year round
and can sometimes be mistaken as a long-lasting cold, with symptoms such as
blocked or runny nose, snoring, loss of sense of smell and possible sneezing.
There can also be an associated cough or constant throat-clearing, glue ear or
sinus headaches.
Both kinds of rhinitis can be managed by diet,
however, the foods to be avoided depend on your individual sensitivities.
Foods to avoid - allergy
If you had food allergies as a child, consider those
foods suspect, especially milk or egg, since children are likely to grow out of
food allergy and into airborne allergies. Avoiding milk may also mean having to
avoid other dairy foods including yoghurt, icecream, commercial products such
as bread or biscuits that contain milk powder, cream and butter.
Some people whose rhinitis is related to cows’ milk
have reported that they can tolerate the new A2 milk from special
Foods to avoid - intolerance
For rhinitis due to food intolerance, additives and
natural chemicals such as salicylates in foods and medications could be to
blame. Benzoate preservatives have been most reported in the medical literature
but any of the known nasty additives can also be a problem, see additives to
avoid http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/additives.htm.
Nasal polyps are a warning of salicylate sensitivity,
however those without can also be sensitive to salicylates in foods and
medications, see salicylate factsheet http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsalicylates2.htm.
It is possible for rhinitis to be aggravated by both
allergy and intolerance. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, you could
try avoiding dairy products and/or additives for three weeks. However, the most
effective way to find out exactly what is affecting you is to try the RPAH
elimination diet with systematic challenges, supervised by a dietitian. Ask for
our list of supportive dietitians (confoodnet@ozemail.com.au)
Reader stories
Rhinitis due to dairy foods
A nine-year-old was taking medication for rhinitis that was so bad that he
couldn’t breathe or talk properly. When this boy eliminated milk as the last
stage of going failsafe, both his behaviour and rhinitis improved dramatically.
His mother explained: ‘Our paediatrician was really surprised. He said he could
tell the rhinitis was better, because the hairs in his nose have grown
back.’ - from Fed Up
Runny nose due to
bread preservative calcium propionate 282
My fourth baby had the same terrible broken night
sleep pattern as the other three. After struggling for eight months, she did
start to settle down, waking perhaps once a night. This was great until I started her, at 10
months on bread. She immediately returned to night waking - for no apparent
reason- and also had a clear runny nose.
I found that the bread had preservative 282 in it so we stopped feeding
it to her. Within a couple of nights (I guess it had accumulated in her system)
she again settled down to a peaceful nights' sleep! AND her nose cleared up! I
can't believe that it could have been that simple!
Runny nose due to
salicylates including mint flavoured toothpaste
Three years ago I started the RPAH elimination diet
and discovered I was suffering intolerance [to dairy as well as other food
chemicals. Although other symptoms cleared up] there were a few niggling
things, particularly the blocked and running nose, always having my sleeve or
back pocket loaded with tissues, ready for the inevitable moment. I had always
suffered this morning and evening ritual of a running nose so 'just lived with
it'.
[Trying the diet again 3 years later] after a week of
full elimination, the runny nose persisted. I read and re-read through your
checklist of common mistakes and decided to try plain toothpaste which I never
did 3 years ago as my dietician at the time said, 'oh you don't have to give up
toothpaste if you don't want to - everything else though' and I never really
considered it could cause me such suffering.
Well well well. A truly amazing
change has occurred for me. No more nose blowing at breakfast time or when I'm
settling into bed at night. The tap has officially been turned off!
Brief reader
comments
• Some of
the things that have improved on diet: * morning cough and rhinitis virtually
gone.
• I
can’t believe the improvement I’ve had over the last few years since starting
the diet – especially getting away from the constant runny nose.
• Our two year old reacts to milk with night cough,
dribbling, restless nights and runny nose +++ - it is hard to avoid milk but is
easier than always being at the hospital or the doctors and having a sick
child!
• I went through 3 courses of antibiotics for sinus
problems before I realised they weren’t helping. When I read your book, I
started the elimination diet the next day. Within three days the sinus problem
completely disappeared - I had had a runny nose, and headache for seven weeks
prior to that! It was clear proof to myself and my mum that something pretty
big was happening when I ate certain foods.
• My son had an allergic rhinitis type of reaction with
red swollen eyes and nose and really bad sneezing attacks to some fenugreek
capsules I gave him once because it was suggested that they would help with his
allergies. Talk about irony. He also reacted similarly to a chickpea
falafel from the kebab shop. This was before I knew anything about
salicylates.
Management
Hints for
pollen avoidance
• stay indoors as much as possible on windy days
• avoid grass mowing
• keep windows closed in the home and car (use
recirculated air) when pollen levels are high
• avoid hanging washing outside on windy days
especially towels and pillow cases
• do not bring cut flower arrangements indoors
• If you have a garden especially with bottle-brush
flowers, visit this site - http://www.allergyfree-gardening.com/
If you are
allergic to cats, dogs, birds etc it’s best to avoid them and
keep your house animal-free, but if you are not prepared to remove an existing
pet, here are some hints.
• keep pets out of bedrooms
• have someone else bath the pet once a week
• remove carpets if possible (use wood, tiles,
concrete or lino instead)
• wet mop floors frequently
• if a pet has ever lived in your house, all carpets,
soft furnishings and bedding should be steam cleaned or washed as animal hair
and dander can still be around months or years later.
If your
child has been diagnosed with dust mite allergy, some ways
you can control dustmites include:
• wash sheets and pillow cases in hot water once a
week
• wash blankets and other bedding at least once a
month
• keep stuffed animals and decorative pillows out of
the bedroom, machine wash frequently or leave in the freezer for 24 hours then
hand wash in soapy water.
• use dustmite allergen covers available from bedding
retailers on pillows, mattresses and quilts, check occasionally for tears in
the covers.
For further information see http://www.medeserv.com.au/ascia/aer/infobulletins/allergen_avoidance.htm
Medical references
Clinically
important pollens of NSW and the ACT by Bass DJ,
Medical Journal of Australia, 1984, 141(5):S13-14) - ‘It is possible to satisfactorily manage
pollen allergies by giving attention to diet during the pollen season'.
Allergy to
cows' milk with non-seasonal rhinitis as the only symptom
by Fuglsang G, Ugeskr Laeger. 1984 12;146(46):3546-7.
Rhinitis in
a child induced by aspirin and by cow's milk by Drouet
M, Allerg Immunol (
Occupational
asthma and rhinitis caused by milk proteins by Toskala
E and others,
J Occup Environ Med. 2004 ;46(11):1100-1.
Follow-up of
children with rhinitis and cough associated with milk allergy
by Huang SW, Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2007;18(1):81-5. The majority of young
children with allergies to milk or egg whose sensitivity to foods was
decreasing with age simultaneously developed a sensitivity to airborne
allergens. Exposure to cigarette smoke increased the risk
Monosodium
benzoate hypersensitivity in subjects with persistent rhinitis
by Pacor and others, Allergy, 2004;59(2):192-7 DBPC challenges with monosodium
benzoate induced both objective (i.e. sneezing and rhinorrhoea) and subjective
symptoms (nasal blockage and nasal itching) of rhinitis; with artificial
colours, benzoates, sulphites and MSG subjective symptoms of rhinitis (i.e.
nasal blockage and nasal itching) in some patients. “The observation that
nonatopic persistent rhinitis may be caused by the frequent, probably daily,
ingestion of small doses of a nontolerated substance is intriguing and suggests
that at least some patients with 'chronic vasomotor rhinitis' may be intolerant
to a particular food additive.”
Perennial
rhinitis induced by benzoate intolerance by Asero R,
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2001 Jan;107(1):197.
A Randomized Prospective Double Blind Controlled Trial
on Effects of Long-Term Consumption of
Fermented Milk Containing Lactobacillus casei in Pre-School Children With
Allergic Asthma and/or Rhinitis by Giovannini M and others, Pediatr Res. 2007.
Long term consumption of probiotic Lactobacillus casei may reduce the severity
of rhinitis in young children.
Food
sensitivity reported by patients with asthma and hay fever:
A relationship between food sensitivity and birch pollen-allergy and between
food sensitivity and acetylsalicylic acid intolerance by Eriksson N, Allergy.
1978 Aug;33(4):189-96. A correlation was found between birch pollen allergy and
food sensitivity - the higher the degree of birch pollen allergy, the higher
the frequency of food sensitivity.
Acetylsalicylic
acid and food additive intolerance in
urticaria, bronchial asthma and rhinopathy by Wüthrich B and Fabro L, Schweiz
Med Wochenschr. 1981 26;111(39):1445-50. From the abstract: Among 620 patients
with urticaria, bronchial asthma or chronic rhinitis, oral provocation tests
with salicylates, tartrazine or benzoic acid revealed in 165 (26.6%)
intolerance to salicylates or additives. Frequency of intolerance to tartrazine
varied between 6.1% in urticaria (n=308), 7.3% in asthma (n=96) and 14.5% in
urticaria and asthma patients, while intolerance to benzoate varied from 2.5%
in rhinitis (n=40) to 11.5% in asthma. More than two thirds of the intolerant
patients were improved by an elimination diet and by the avoidance of
"aspirin-like" drugs.
Optimising
the management of allergic rhinitis: an
Australian perspective by Walls RS and others, Med J Aust. 2005 3;182(1):28-33,
In tropical and warmer areas of Australia pollen allergy is not necessarily
seasonal but can occur all year round in some locations such as north
Queensland; free full text at
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/182_01_030105/wal10248_fm.html
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food
intolerance. You can find a supportive dietitian through the Dietitians
Association of
© Sue Dengate update August 2007
