Coughing, Post Nasal Drip, Gluten Intolerance, and Other Allergies
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What’s wrong with me? My nose runs. Drainage slides down the back of my throat. I cough till my belly feels like it is turning inside out. I heave and heave and nothing comes up! What is wrong with me? If you have endured cyclical rounds of antibiotics, live on antihistamines, and go from pill to pill you need to take a look at this discussion.
My life was an endless round of coughing, drainage, heaving, wheezing, coughing, Kleenex, sneezing, sinus infection, antibiotics, nasal sprays, constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, respiratory infections, doctor visits, and on and on. My nose started running somewhere around my tenth birthday and never stopped.
As a child I missed more school than anyone could possibly need to miss and was known as the kid with the colds. They called it hay fever in those days and antihistamines were unheard of. I found tissues in the pocket of every garment I own. On bad days they were everywhere. I lived with doctor visits. I worked in healthcare for sixteen years. Not one time did I ever hear a comment that I might be suffering from food allergies. Not one time did I even think about food allergies.
As I look back it is amazing to me that I never noticed that most of my symptoms occurred after eating! Of course hindsight is twenty-twenty but as I look back over the past few years I can see the correlation to my food allergy, sensitivity, or whatever you choose to call it, to the foods I was eating!
My father was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD) thirty-five years ago. Not a lot was known about the disease during those days and they thought that mostly men had the disease. Eventually two of my nephews were also diagnosed with CD.
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. It is genetic. There are no typical symptoms of CD. An individual may present with diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating. “Sometimes people with celiac disease may have no gastrointestinal symptoms at all. Celiac disease symptoms can also mimic those of other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastric ulcers, Crohn's disease, parasite infections, anemia, skin disorders or a nervous condition” (Mayo Clinic Staff)
• Irritability or depression
• Anemia
• Stomach upset
• Joint pain
• Muscle cramps
• Skin rash
• Mouth sores
• Dental and bone disorders (such as osteoporosis)
• Tingling in the legs and feet (neuropathy)
Here are some indications of malabsorption that may be related to celiac disease:
• Weight loss
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps, gas and bloating
• General weakness and fatigue
• Foul-smelling or grayish stools that may be fatty or oily
• Stunted growth (in children)
• Osteoporosis
• Anemia
The list goes on and on.
Here Is Another Condition Resulting From Eating Gluten
Dermatitis Herpetiformis
This is an itchy, blistering skin disease that results from gluten intolerance. This rash may appear on the face, back, sacrum area, knees and buttocks. Dermatitis herpetiformis can cause significant intestinal damage identical to that of celiac disease. However, it may not produce noticeable digestive symptoms. This disease is treated with a gluten-free diet, in addition to medication to control the rash.
Autism and Diet
Researchers are looking into the possibility that gluten impacts people diagnosed with autism. Check out my hub Autism.
Type I Allergies
Here are some symptoms with links to help you on your way.
Allergic rhinitis
Asthma
Food allergy
Anaphylaxis
Skin swelling
Hives
Atopic dermatitis
Allergic conjunctivitis
You can see why it is hard to get a true diagnosis of your illness. Most of the time the symptoms are treated and unless the patient is determined to find the root cause the investigation will stop there!
After investigation, I believe that I most likely have Celiac Disease. I have not been tested but since I have a first degree relative who was diagnosed the probabilities are very high. I believe I have Dermatitis Herpetiformis as well. I know I have a hypersensitivity to dairy products because I had ongoing reactions to these foods.
But, here is the big news! I removed wheat products (mostly) from my diet as well as most dairy products. I have not been able to give up my cola drinks which would fall within the list of foods in the Type I Allergy list and my nose drips a little. I am so far able to live with it. I have not taken any allergy medication in 6 weeks! None! Nada! Not one pill! Not one spray! Nothing. You will understand my joy when I tell you that I spent around $100.00 monthly on over the counter meds, not to mention the antibiotics and other medications I regularly needed. The coughing incessantly is gone. Wheezing...gone! Constipation...gone! Post nasal drip...gone! Every one of these symptoms were debilitating. I am living in a new world for the first time in my life!
Most of the symptoms have been reduced to extremely tolerable levels. The great thing about it is that now that most of the gluten and dairy products are out of my system, I can add back different foods and know immediately which ones are really deadly to me and which ones are not.
I hope you find this information helpful. It changed my life!
*This hub is written for informational purposes only. It is in no way intended to replace medical advice. See your physician for treatment.
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This is very interesting and informative. Thank you.
I went through scads of allergy testing and found that I was allergic to only one thing - dust mites! I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it. I am not gonna dust every day! lol
You are right about that! hahaha! I could never dust every day either!
I don't get it - if you think you have celiac then go get tested! Other things to consider - have you changed jobs - were you in a moldy environment and now you are not? Are you in a different season - higher allergy season previously and at the time of this writing not (6 weeks is quite a bit of time and much can happen then). Point being if you THINK you have celiac disease, my understanding is that eating any of those foods can eventually lead to stomach cancer and all kinds of problems - not today but down the road...........so GET CHECKED for sure!
There is no medical treatment for Celiac Disease. The treatment is a gluten free diet. Since I wrote this article I added these foods back to my diet and the symptoms returned. Now I have elimenated gluten from my diet again. Why should I burden the health care system getting confirmation of a disease for which I already know the treatment. These tests are expensive and I have no insurance since I left my job last year. Thank you for your comments...I do understand your concern.
Oh my goodness, this is so amazing. You just listed a string of ailments I've been suffering with. With all the meds I'm on the doctors still never seem to deal with the real issue ... just treat the symptoms. I'm bookmarking this and doing some more research. Thanks so much for such an informative hub.
Lamme, I was totally shocked last fall when I made this discovery. After a life time of spending a fortune on sinus allergy meds I did not have ONE tablet for three months once I got the wheat gluten out of my system. It was truly amazing. I have a pharmacist friend who told me that one out of every four people suffer from gluten intolerance and do not know it!
Hi
I am suffering from coughing, Post Nasal Drip, consistent cough, very itchy skin.
Feel mucus in throat after eating anything and whole day
As per blood test results i am Gluten Intolerance and Lactose Intolerance
I was wondering, how many days it tool for you to be normal after removing diary and gluten products from your diet
There is no set time limit because you have to let the gluten completely get out of your system. You may start to feel better after a week but generally the doctor will ask you to be gluten free for 4-6 weeks when testing so I would use that as a time limit to be completely clean. After a week I was actually able feel the difference every day. Once I was clean I did not need my allergy medication for months.
I find it difficult to live the gluten free lifestyle so I have relapsed and the affect on my body was immediate and even though I try to keep the gluten to one or two slices of bread a day it builds up in your system and is terrible. I have been trying to completely leave the gluten products alone but it is hard and I am taking allergy meds again.
Stick to it if you can because you will find yourself having to clean out your system all over again and it is not pleasant.
After reading your article, it seems as though there's a little bit of confusion about the difference between a gluten allergy, and gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
Smireles has pretty much hit the nail on the head with correcting it and the typical treatment methods! If anyone is looking for a quick reference, I've been pinging off of these pages to help diagnose myself:
Thanks, TheAdmiral for your comments. I am checking out your links.
The reason why it is important to know if you have celiac or not is...if you have celiac, you cannot ingest ANY gluten EVER....none!!!No "relapsing"...please, read about celiac....dabbling in gluten-free living is dangerous...You risk your life eating it, not just a runny nose.
My father had Celiac and I understand the consequences. In spite of that it is not easy to maintain a gluten free lifestyle. And if you had a runny nose for 50 years you might be a bit more sympathetic. Blessings!
There is another thing that we consume daily that is a factor in these too and it is a Milk Allergy and I wrote a hub on that and one for Baby Formula.
Yes it is difficult to get all gluten or dairy out of ones system. Hugs to you on trying. I know from personal experience that it isn't easy.
Our food truly can be dangerous for some of us. Changing habits of a lifetime is not easy and my hat is off to anyone who makes the attempt. Thank you Lady Guinevere for your kind words. Blessings!
It seems like we should just eat fruits, vegetables, and water. It's like there are so many foods that cause allergic reactions in people. Plus the allergic reactions to particles in the air can be overwhelming. I finally bought a pack of handkerchiefs, because I was tired of seeing all the toilet paper in the trash can.
Wow Smireles, you have inspired me. I have had a post nasal drip for years now and thought it was my hayfever (no more continuous sneezing, thank the stars)that I was simply out-growing... then I looked through the list of intolerances associated with gluten sensitivity and I seem to have them all! From what I have always thought was merely IBS, to:
• Obesity (CANNOT lose the overweight 10kgs, no matter what I do, and this includes going on Weight Watchers!)
• Joint and muscle aches
• Diarrhea and/or constipation
• Gas, bloating, abdominal pain
• Craving for wheat products
• Allergies, asthma
I am a really healthy eater, no take aways, no refined foods other than whole grain bread (see the mistake!), no red meat, plenty raw veggies, plenty fruit and about 3-4 litres of water a day... I also eat various cheeses and nuts, but after reading through this thread, I am going to start an eliemination diet and see where it takes me :)
I will report my findings, so watch this space!
Thank you mazzastick and woowoochick for reading and commenting. I am looking forward to your update woowoochick and wish you the very best. Sandra
Hi Smireles
I have started the elemination diet and it's not easy...Had to hunt down bread made with rice etc and am now paying double per loaf. Ironic that to be healthy costs more. One would think it would cost less as there is less *** going into the product! It remindes me of swimming costumes... a full bathing suit costs less than a mono-kini or a binkini! Less fabric, but higher cost... we live in a truly bizzare world... ah well, onwarad and upward I say!
Hi Smireles,
I recently converted to a GF diet in an attempt to help with migraines that I have been getting since I was a teenager, and I feel like a new person! I was googling to find out whether symptoms like post nasal drip could be helped with a GF diet. My boyfriend has had really bad post nasal drip his whole life. He is constantly clearing his throat and blowing his nose. He has received allergy shots and taken all kinds of drugs, but nothing has helped. I'm trying to gather evidence to convince him that cutting out gluten could provide some relief! Thank you for sharing your story!
I had a persistent postnasal drip for the last two years. Have been living on daily antihistamines because any time I tried to do without would find myself swallowing every five seconds and blowing my nose constantly. Not pleasant. Went on an elimination diet and presto, symptoms disappeared in a week. When I put wheat back in my diet, they came back with a vengeance. Now I'm gluten-free again and symptoms are almost gone. I don't think that's a coincidence. Interesting that the gluten intolerance got worse over the years. Living without gluten is hard, but not as hard as having the constant allergic symptoms.
This sounds an awful lot like a wheat allergy, especially the nasal and throat symptoms. Wheat allergies can often cause similar gastrointestinal problems to Celiac, but the two have different causes. When youre experimenting with an exclusion diet, it's easy to mistakenly assume the cause is gluten, because cutting out gluten usually means cutting out wheat. But many people with wheat allergies can still eat other grains containing gluten, like Rye and Barley. And why give those up if you don't have to?
Frenchy, you make an interesting point. I do find that my symptoms differ and I have wondered why I feel ok eating different foods but with gluten in them. Must do more research. Thanks.
Pamela99 Level 7 Commenter 2 years ago
Very interesting hub. My brother has celiac disease. I didn't know it could affect so many parts of the body.