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Alicorn comments on Fix My Head - Less Wrong Discussion
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I went to an allergist when I was ten or eleven ish and got a scratch test for what I think was supposed to be everything under the sun (albeit for headache-unrelated reasons; this was an attempt to track down another problem that remains a mystery). I wasn't allergic to anything the allergist tried, and those things seem too obvious to have skipped... right?
Perhaps. Allergies change naturally over time. I certainly wasn't getting these headaches when I was 11 or 12.
Regardless of whether these are necessarily allergy headaches, they do sound like they're caused by sinus inflammation, and Zyrtek and other antihistamines treat this inflammation directly. I keep recommending Zyrtek because I found it to have no consequential negative side effects.
If you don't mind my asking, what was the problem? If you want a diagnosis for your headaches, then every scrap of medical data, especially other unexplained problems, is potentially related and useful.
The particular problem the allergist was hunting is that sometimes, the palms of my hands (especially the fingers) swell up and feel warm and itchy. This isn't profound enough to be that visible - they're slightly red and puffy but it's nothing dramatic - but it makes it challenging to bend my fingers all the way and it's uncomfortable. It happens at seemingly random times, indoors and out, and goes away by itself after some minutes. It can be either hand; sometimes it's both at once. It used to happen more often and has slowed way down; the last time it happened to me was sometime in maybe June, I think.
Other random unexplained problems:
Permanent itch on the outside of the heel of my left foot. (Since roughly 2007.)
Weird dyspnea causing me to gasp, sigh, and yawn a lot, but I never pass out, and my bloodwork and PFT and stress echo all came back normal. (Since roughly 2008, worsening gradually.)
Heart palpitations, intermittent. (Since earlier this year.)
Sometimes for no reason one or both of my ears gets red and feels hot, as though it's sunburned; this goes away by itself after about an hour. (Since the 2008/2009 winter, hasn't happened in a while).
Scratch tests have a fairly substantial miss rate. If you have actual suspicions about something specific you might be allergic to, it's better to have a blood test. They probably won't offer an across-the-board blood test, though.