Talking Allergies

Here is an interesting article about corn allergy...note that intravenous solutions are a major concern! (Scroll down to the middle of the page)

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picren ... obtype=pdf

Lactated Ringers does not contain Corn. It is the only IV that I can safely have.

Any other IV, including Saline, will make me horribly ill. I have multiple health conditions where the other condition prohibits Saline solution.

Make sure you clearly state over and over which type of IV you can have. Make sure you carry paperwork you can hand over to the ER staff at all times that states the name of the safe IVs and the Corn Allergy.

Every doctor and nurse that talks to you MUST be told about your Corn Allergy anew. It is rare that they understand the seriousness of a Corn Allergy in a hospital.

Keep repeating it until your nurses and doctors are more paranoid about you having something with Corn in it than you are. It is the only way to stay safe.

I have been sent to the ER many times and forcefully given Corn multiple times when I was not forward enough.

The worst was being given the wrong IV when I was helpless. I protested, but the nurses didn't believe how serious it was without documentation to back me up so they ignored my wishes. It made me dangerously ill on top of a severe attack from my other condition.

Also be aware that Hospital food is not safe for people with Corn Allergies. If it isn't water, don't trust it.

Would they consider my medic-alert profile to be appropriate documentation, I wonder? I have been testing myself with small amounts e.g. crackers with cornstarch, and I have a noticeable reaction---not deadly, but enough to be uncomfortable. It never occured to me to ask about IV's and such! I did just order a new medic-alert bracelet, but I have another thing which has a long name, and they had trouble fitting it all ont he bracelet, so they just put 'allergies, carries epi-pen' and put the rest in my profile.

_________________
Asthma and eczema
Drug allergy (succinylcholine)
Food (corn, raw apples, green beans, tree nuts, flax)
Misc (pollen, grass, mold, dogs, cats)

Your medic alert bracellet is NOT ENOUGH!

I too have a medic alert bracellet. I have been to the ER 5 times since I got the medic alert bracellet. The ER staff REFUSED to read the bracellet or contact medic alert to get my medical documentation.

You need formal documentation that clearly states all your diagnoses in BIG PRINT at the top. It is best if you can get this documentation signed by your physician with his/her contact information on it. Your physician needs a copy of this documentation as a reference.

Key things on this Emergency documentation:
1) Diagnoses
2) Emergency protocols (emphasize no Corn in IVs and list safe IV) for each Diagnosis.
3) Extended stay instructions
a) Hospital may not serve you any food, unless directly authorized by you.
b) Food and medicine ingredient list required in advance. Must be authorized by you before administering.
c) Relatives and friend must be able to bring you food and/or medicines (especially if your medicines are compounded to avoid Corn in them).
d) Anything you can think of for your other diagnoses...
4) Emergency contact information (name, title or relationship to you, address, phone number(s))
a) Physician
b) Closest relative or friend that is able to be by your side in case of an emergency (up to 2 people)
5) Reiterrate any vital information about your Diagnoses that is commonly screwed up in hospitals.

With a Corn allergy, it is important to create hospital protocols while you are relatively healthy and feeling good. You do not want to deal with it from scratch when you are imprisioned in a hospital.

I highly recommend Emergency documentation for any Disability, not just Corn food allergies. Go into detail. My emergency documentation is 8 pages long and I recently discovered that it wasn't DETAILED ENOUGH!

This is your health and potentially your life we are talking about. It is worth it to take it seriously.

Example of a common Corn problem I face in Hospitals that I ALWAYS forget about. I react to the Corn in bandages. All standard adhesives have Corn in them. If they put a heart monitor on you the connections have the same Corn based adhesive. Unfortunately, I have to "live" with the allergic reaction to heart monitor connections. Thankfully, I can request Paper Tape and gauze to replace bandaids or tape for IVs.

There is only so much pain and torture I will allow myself to suffer in a hospital. Especially since the repurcusions for the Corn adhesive lasts for at least a week.

Here is a site that includes a VERY long list of things that are made from corn:

http://www.ncga.com/education/pdf/unit9lesson1.pdf

Here is an article has has some pretty basic information about corn allergy...but, it's worth a look:

http://www.allergyresults.com/corn-allergy

Here is a very interesting article about corn allergy and the use of unlabelled corn in medicine. I like the comment about the fact that there is more ingredient information on cosmetics and shampoo than there is on medication:

http://ww.bcpharmacists.org/resources/c ... rl_web.pdf

The last article made it sound like it was possible to avoid corn.

I personally believe it is IMPOSSIBLE to avoid corn in the United States.

I try to be very careful and I avoid everything on the various contains corn lists, but I still find that even in very tiny amounts I am getting exposed to corn.

My corn sensitivity does vary. Sometimes a tiny amount of corn exposure doesn't trigger an allergic reaction that day and sometimes it does. However, I believe that due to being unable to completely avoid Corn, I developed an inhallant allergy to Popcorn.

No packaged food product can convince me that it was not made in a plant where corn was used in some form. Cross contaimination at least for corn is a big problem for me.

I am paranoid about having exposed skin in case someone else touches me who has touched one of my allergens.

I receive a package in the mail and tape or an adhesive was used. I have be very careful to not touch the sticky stuff with my flesh.

I hate Corn.

I'm doing extremely well on a pretty much totally corn free diet. It really can be done...but it's a lot of work and VERY time consuming. I cook and bake everything from scratch using ingredients that I know are absolutely safe for me. I do not eat ANY processed foods or anything that has more than 1 or 2 ingredients (things that I'm confident are safe for me). My diet is very, very basic and I don't mind eating the same thing day in and day out as long as I'm feeling good and my skin is clear. Yes, I do still get "corned" once in a while...grrrrrrrrr

BTW...I discovered that when I took all corn out of my diet that my inhaled reactions (i.e. the smell of popping corn) improved somewhat.

Maybe if I wasn't working full time it might be possible.

I can't control other people constantly exposing me.

I hear ya! I don't trust ANYONE...(even family) for my food. I do work full-time and cook for a family as well. I will often cook regular food for them and I have my own stash of corn-free for myself. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Everyone seems to like my corn free food better so I tend to make things I can eat most of the time. I cook in large batches and then freeze into meal size portions for easy meal preparation.

For lunches that I take to work, I will freeze things in smaller containers. I will also take a corn free muffin or cookie and some fresh fruit for dessert.

My constant exposure is not only food. I can not control which toliet paper my company buys (although it has been mostly the type without Corn in it). My company paints walls and puts in carpet (paint and glue contain Corn) without letting me know first.

I already mentioned TAPE. Shudder...

I believe it was you Eldi who helped me finally find safe pads for my period. THANK YOU! It actually fixed two problems I was having, including one I thought was unrelated. In a few months I find out if it fixed a third problem I was having in that region. I suspect that it might.

I am regularly sent to the ER due to multiple conditions. They use equipment that only has a corn adhesive option. I don't get to protest against them. Shudder...

As long as I am able to talk in the ER, I can usually prevent bandaids or regular tape being used on my skin. Otherwise the pain is worse from the bandaids and tape than the injury it is trying to cover.

I have to trust my husband to cook for me. I am unable to hold a knife without shaking severely (severe muscle weakness). He is usually pretty good. Actually he is better than I am for the most point in avoiding my 17+ food allergens.

I was reading a book review in Alive magazine and I thought of you folks...
The review was written by Helene Meurer for a book called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" written by Michael Pollan and in it I read this:

Here is the introduction and first chapter of Michael Pollen's book "Omnivore's Dilemma". Scroll down to page 15 to read about corn, its history, its uses and how it has become a very powerful commodity in our world.

http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore_excerpt.pdf

That looks like a great book--thanks! I recall seeing it reviewed before somewhere . . maybe it was in the Toronto Star. I've downloaded the sample chapter for future reference!