My wife has been having problems with her allergies lately. Here in Atlanta we are getting the first wave of pollen, although it seems a little early. My wife had been put through a battery of tests to determine what she was allergic too. The usual suspects such as dog hair, pollen, aspirin type products caused a reaction. While I haven’t had any problems with allergies I have to wonder if my own skin rashes in the past have played any part in my meniere’s disease.
I don’t remember if I had written about this before but when I was teenager I had bad reaction to a wasp bite that caused an emergency room visit. About 10 years ago I also had several stings occur when I accidentally stepped into a wasp nest (It was either wasps or yellow jackets). After that incident I have carried an epipen with me. I know from previous comments that others with meniere’s have had experiences with stings.
Here is one from the end of 2009…
“Evan Myrian said...
I think there is something to be said for this.
My meniere's started quickly in the wake of a bee sting. After getting stung i quickly went into anaphylactic shock. My first meniere's episode followed within a couple of weeks. That was nine years ago. i have long suspected a connection.”
I don’t know if that had anything to do with my meniere’s but it seems an interesting connection.
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
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7 comments:
Hi David,
I always look forward to your posts. I think you're on to something here. It's going on 3 years since I was diagnosed with MM. I've been exhaustively writing down everything I can think of to look for patterns. One thing I've noticed is, the last three months of February have been bad with respect to MM. Three years running I've gone into February feeling almost normal and come out so very glad it's over. I don't have any outward allergy symptoms but I have to wonder if the increased MM symptoms is my allergic reaction. When I find a doctor who is more willing to explore I will bring it up. The one I have now is an otologist with (he says) 25 years of experience and a high percentage of people he's helped. His problem is, if whatever is going on with you isn't within the range of what he considers MM he's fairly to completely disinterested. I know from research that more than one thing can be going on and hope some of your other commenters chime in.
Since about 2004, I would get what my PCP was calling an ear infection as soon as the weather became cold. As soon as that first cold day hit in the fall/winter, I started having symptoms. I didn't know what the heck was going on till I started having symptoms in the fall last year and went to my ENT for the first time. My ENT took one look and told me that there was nothing in my ear and then did the testing and diagnosed me with Meniere's. I switched to a new PCP who then advised I try taking Zyrtec for allergies. Since I have been taking Zyrtec, I still have tinnitus and a feeling of fullness in my ear but not nearly as much trouble as in years past. Definitely seems to be helping my symptoms.
My doctors also think there's a link between allergies and Meniere's. I saw the allergist last year when I was in the middle of a bunch of unsuccessful treatments for Meniere's, and she treated me for asthma, but I never really noticed that it had any effect on my Meniere's. Might be because my allergies don't cause as much nasal congestion as they do asthma, which wouldn't put pressure on the inner ear. It's a theory, anyway.
But it makes sense to me that if you have nasal/sinus congestion, if would impact your inner and middle ear, which would increase any symptoms you have that are connected to Meniere's.
hello david
allergies is a huge part of my menieres. but being checked for intolerences and allergies shold be a natural next stepp for all people on meneires, as it encompasses the whole ENT area.
things i have given up/avoid
wheat(decided to have a gluten free diet)
smoke/secondary smoke. (people with meneires really should not smoke)
prawns
dogs, cats, dust mites, horses
i was also recently bitten by a wasp, and had to go to hospital. i now carry an epipen with me at all times.
i advise all people to go down the allergy route.
Hi Ali,
Allergies does seem to play a part in a lot of folks problems with meniere's. it is definitely something to take care of.
thanks
David
Wow, I just found this post via google. Had no idea! Was stung by a wasp a week ago and having a not so good time with my friggin ears after being good for months. My GP doctor sucks ... I'm in Marietta, not too far away. He still hasn't referred me to an ENT :(
Anonymous, can you find an ENT for yourself who takes your insurance, then call your doctor's office and tell them you would like to be referred to this doctor right away? Frankly, a GP isn't likely to know much that will help you.
With Meniere's, I've found it helps to push a little when you feel like more could be done.
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