Allergic reaction-Face swelling, what could have caused it?

Before i start, yes i spoke to my sister who is a doctor and lives nearby, and took a claritin.

So today i was on the road for a while. I had a blueberry muffin early in the morning, stopped and had a greek salad with calamatta olives onions feta and tomatoes. went shopping at ross, which i think did it because a shirt brushed over my entire face when i tried it on. had a pumpkin spice latte came home noticed some welt or bumps on my face, thought it was from makeup, washed face. Then i had a fiber one bar.

Now my face is swolen around the nose,mouth, and cheek area. It feel weird and heavy, looks a littler red around the nose area.

What could have done this? I have eaten a wide variety and range of food over the span of my lifetime. only 23. The only thing that i may not have had could have been a strange ingredient in the spiced latte, or the dressing on my salad, since it was not the usual dressing you would use on greek salads.

I really think it could be from trying on dirty factory clothes from ross.

What do you think?Allergic reaction-Face swelling, what could have caused it?
Boy, that's a tough one. Here are a few wild guesses.



1. Wheat gluten allergies are common, but usually the symptoms are headaches or stomach pains, and it sounds like you eat bread and stuff regularly with no problem. So I'd rule out the muffin. The blueberries are probably flavored apple bits, and I can't think of too many people who are allergic to apples.



2. Salad greens are sometimes sprayed with sulfites. But this kind of allergen is usually ingested and causes an itching feeling on the top of the mouth and in the throat. So I don't think it's that. If you had dressing, not sure what would cause the allergy, but probably NOT the oil or vinegar. Not sure about olives, onions feta or tomatoes.



3. Chemical dyes used on clothing sometime suffer from a problem called "poor mordanting". Basically a mordant is a chemical they put on the garment that forces the dye to stick to it and not "bleed" when the garment is washed. If there is too little mordant, the dyes won't "fix" on the garment. If the garment is not washed before being worn, irritating chemical dyes can get on your face. If you wear a garment fresh off the racks at the store, MOST of the time it will cause a skin irritation, itching and breaking out. So my money is on this as the cause. It's not an allergy, it's a reaction to having a harsh chemical on your face. Next time, after trying the clothes on, go wash your face, hands, and any exposed body parts that came in contact with the garment, and you should be fine.



4. As far as the fiber one bar goes, it's possible that wheat gluten or some of the proteins in the bar have something you are allergic to. See my note on wheat gluten, though... I don't think it's that.



I think you nailed it: it's the dyes in the clothes. And now you know!



Good luck next time!
There are so many things that can cause an allergic reaction, I know I'm allergic to some preservatives, and I can't even work out which one! But depending on what I eat, I sometimes get really red and itchy and get sick...

basically my suggestion is to keep a list of all those above things that you ate, or the places you were etc, and then if it happens again, you can go back to the list and see if anything else matches, and go from there.... basically as much as it sucks, its not something that you can find out too easily.



Your other option is to go to an allergy specialist and have some scratch tests done where they test your skin etc to see what you are and are not allergic too :)



Good luck!Allergic reaction-Face swelling, what could have caused it?
Though it could be from you trying on clothes at Ross it is unlikely that you would have such a strong reaction. You usually have to have prolonged exposure to an irritant before you have a reaction and you would normally notice a reaction in about 10 minutes from exposure. It is highly likely that it is some sort of food allergy and my guess would be the salad dressing seeing as you said it was not the usual. Food allergy reactions can take up to 6 hours in some cases. Also high levels of fiber have been known to cause a reaction in some people. Try to eliminate one of the foods at a time or just avoid them all together. Hope this helps.