food allergy bad face

The facial redness, swelling, oozing, and continuous eruptions caused by food allergy (also known as "bad face") are essentially type I immediate and type IV delayed mixed allergic reactions triggered by food allergens (also commonly known as allergic reactions). As long as there are no secondary serious infections and no irritating ointments are used indiscriminately, they will completely subside in 7-14 days after standard treatment, leaving no scars, so there is no need to panic.； But first of all, it must be distinguished from seborrheic dermatitis, hormone-dependent dermatitis, and rosacea in the breakout period, and do not use medications and taboos indiscriminately to delay recovery.

I just treated a 22-year-old girl last week. She passed by a fruit shop after get off work and bought half a kilogram of green mangos. She ate it while sitting on the subway. When she woke up the next day, her entire face was swollen like a steamed bun. Her eyelids were swollen to just a slit, and there was light yellow tissue fluid oozing from her cheeks. She found out at home that she had treated eczema for dermatitis and applied it twice, but the pain made her shed tears. She came to the clinic crying and said she thought she was going to be disfigured. I prescribed cetirizine for her for a week and asked her to apply cold wet compresses with normal saline twice a day. I stopped all skin care products and cosmetics, including facial cleanser. On the third day of follow-up, 80% of the condition was gone. A week later, no red marks were left.

Many people's impression of food allergy is still that "you get a rash immediately after eating and can't breathe." In fact, more than half of food allergies are delayed, and the onset time may lag 24 to 72 hours. It is difficult to directly relate to what you eat. I met an even more outrageous patient before. Every time she ate hot pot, her face would become red and itchy, and she would get whiteheads. She quit spicy food for three months to no avail. Finally, after a patch test, it was discovered that she was allergic to coriander. Every time she ate hot pot, she would grab two handfuls of coriander and cook it. She had never thought about it.

The current processing logic of mainstream western medicine dermatology is very clear: first combine IgE serum testing + patch testing to identify suspected allergens, and then cross-verify with food diaries for 1-2 consecutive weeks - after all, there is a possibility of false positives in allergen testing, for example, if you happened to stay up late during that time to be immunized The power is low, and mangoes, which may not be allergic to at ordinary times, will also test weakly positive. Only if you have problems with your face within 3 days after eating the same food two or three times in a row, can you really blame it. There is no need to come up and ban beef, sheep, fish, shrimp, eggs, milk and other staple foods. On the contrary, the more taboo foods, the lower your immunity will be, and the slower your recovery will be. Mild to moderate allergies can be cured by taking some antihistamines and local cold and wet compresses. For serious allergies, taking small doses of hormones for a few days is completely fine. Don’t talk about hormone discoloration. The small amount you use according to the doctor’s instructions will have less side effects than the powerful ointment you apply on your own.

Of course, there are many doctors in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Dermatology who do not agree with the idea of ​​​​"relying solely on testing to determine allergens". Their view is that many people's food allergies and bad faces are not a food problem at all, but a problem that your own spleen and stomach cannot handle. For example, if you stay up all night for a week and eat heavy oil and spicy barbecue hot pot for three days in a row, your spleen and stomach will be full of damp heat. Even if you eat milk and eggs that have been fine for 20 or 30 years, eating too much may trigger a reaction. I once met a programmer from an Internet company who worked on a project for seven days. One morning, he drank a glass of ice milk in a hurry, and his face swelled like a pig's head. All milk allergen tests were negative. After that, he went to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and drank medicine to clear away dampness and heat for three days. He boiled water with fresh purslane and applied it as a cold compress for a few days. He was fine. After that, he drank milk and had no further problems.

Don’t mess around with your face if you have a food allergy. I’ve seen too many people apply all the repair essences and redness-removing creams they stocked at home on their faces. Some people followed online remedies and applied aloe vera and ginger on their faces. It was originally just a mild allergy, but it suddenly turned into contact dermatitis, and it didn’t heal for half a month. The skin barrier in the acute stage is equivalent to a big hole. Whatever nutrients you apply are like spreading seasoning on the wound, which will aggravate the irritation. Just wash your face with warm water and don't apply anything. At most, use a mechanical dressing to lock in moisture. If the itching is severe, apply 3% boric acid solution or normal saline for 10 minutes. It is more effective than any home remedy.

Of course, not all situations can be dealt with at home. If there is large-scale oozing on the face, accompanied by fever and unbearable tingling, don’t hesitate to go to the hospital. If there is a secondary bacterial infection, it is really possible to leave pigment marks, so don’t gamble with your face. To be honest, I have treated so many patients with bad faces due to food allergies. The ones who did not recover well in the end were all done by themselves: they either secretly applied strong hormone ointments to suppress them, and then the skin broke out more severely in a few days; If you really encounter it, don’t worry. Stop applying all the things on your face first, recall what you have eaten recently that you don’t usually eat, and if you are really unsure, go to the hospital to see a doctor. It is much more useful than searching randomly on the Internet and worrying.