(15 March 2013 Add-On: For a more comprehensive list of symptoms, please take a look at my more recent post on this subject, "Corn Allergy: Symptoms". It will likely, hopefully be more helpful to you than this particular post, as this post was made on a bad day out of frustration.
I'm here to talk to you today, dear reader, about a very serious thing. Yes, very serious indeed. I hate to use a blog post for this, quite honestly, because I feel like a complainer. I'm not, not typically. But! I feel that being one of the people affected, I should mention it sometime. Plus it's important. Corn allergies. I know that a lot of people don't think it's for real a serious problem, but it is. The reason why they don't know is because there seems to be a conspiracy or something centered around the stupid stuff. Which I won't dive into too much.
You see, corn is used in a lot of things. It's a food, yes, but it's also used in things like plastic, hand soap, shampoo, dryer sheets, boxes, and who knows what else (I know who! The people that put it in there!). And there are I believe the number was 183 derivatives for corn, and therefore 183 names that corn can fall under. That's a HUGE freaking list! Seriously. But, we've actually found out that if the percentage of corn contained in something is small enough, they just don't bother listing it. And that's perfectly legal apparently. Sometimes, though, store people are very nice and very understanding and will call and bug people to find out for you if there's corn in something.
It's basically hell for all of us suffering from a corn allergy. And when I say "suffering", I mean suffering. It's the most torturous thing...if only I could describe the pain a way that would throw it out into the light 100%. And it's not always we react to consuming it. Some of us react to strong smells, a classic example being popcorn. Some of us, a lot of us actually, react to just touching it.
I know for me, when I "get corned" as we put, I'm almost literally bed-ridden for at least three weeks of pure agony. I can't function like a normal person, which is how I was living a good percentage of my life up until a year ago. We didn't know I had such a bad allergy - I actually have a much longer list of allergies than just corn - and none of the doctors we went to were willing to try for an allergy test. Finally, after years and years of searching, testing, and questioning, we came across a doctor who incorporates natural healing into his medical practices who was willing to. In fact, he suggested it to us before we even asked. And we were like, "YES, please!"
Anyway, I could get off on that story forever. So I'll get back to talking about the allergy. Well, first I have to mention this: Psychiatrists (that I didn't actually need to see) told me that I was "Bipolar, but not entirely classic", and that I "have Aspergers, but it's not completely classic and it's very mild". I don't. But, it totally looked like it. That's right, the corn allergy can mimic those two things. (Moral of this paragraph: If you have someone tell you they think you have one of those, but it isn't classic, look into allergy testing before you let them stick you on medication! Speaking of medication...corn starch is used as a thickener in pretty much all medicine, just in case you didn't know. And, yes, corn is used in Benadryl...so if there's a pharmacy near you that can compound stuff, and you have an allergy to corn, ask your doctor to ask that pharmacy to compound you some corn-free Benadryl...it'll come in handy.)
So, I'm going to list the allergy symptoms - which I've had pretty much all of them. I got the list off of a site, that I'll provide the link to...it's a really good, informative site. I'd recommend glancing through it at least, if you're interested.
Traditional
1. Anaphylaxis
2. Asthma attacks and/or shortness of breath
3. Breathing and/or swallowing difficulties
4. Drop in blood pressure
5. Intestinal issues, such as stomach discomfort/cramps/pains, diarrhea, nausea, and/or vomiting
6. Migraine headaches (Me: This is always the first thing to signal I've been corned, for me.)
7. Rashes and/or hives
8. Tongue, face and/or throat swelling and/or tingling
Non-Traditional
1. Depression
2. Disturbed sleep
3. Eczema (Me: I believe that's acne.)
4. Fatigue
5. "Fuzzy thinking"
6. Joint pains
7. Hyperactivity
8. Inability to concentrate
9. Lethargy
10. Mood swings and/or behavioral changes
11. Night sweats
12. "Raccoon eyes"
13. Recurring ear infections
14. Respiratory conditions
15. Sinus conditions
16. Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)
Again, I recommend looking at that site. One thing not on that list, is "increased anxiety"...I get that. Makes interacting with people very difficult, sometimes even people that I know really well.
So, you look at that and I really hope you're going, "Oh, my word. That's awful! How many people are dealing with this..?" A lot of people, actually. And probably a lot of people don't know that's what's going on with them. Again, a lot of people don't think it's serious. The people who are making money off of corn, don't want there to be an awareness. That would make them lose money. Greedy jerks.
I've heard stories of moms who have to keep their kids home almost all the time because it's so bad, the allergy. And it's best to try and avoid it so that if the reactions are bad enough you don't have to go the hospital because you'd have to be constantly having to check to make sure the doctor or nurse really did check to make sure what they're sticking in your kid, or you even, really is corn free. You don't want to go the hospital for a corn reaction and get even more in your system there.
I know for me, I was at home more than I was at school. And a lot of people, I've found out recently, apparently think I've been faking everything. To those people I say: "You are among the jerkiest people I know." Granted, I don't know exactly who it is that thinks I'm a faker. But you see, by that, that people don't take it seriously.
A lot of us that deal with this allergy always fantasize about the day we'll see a label on something that says, "CAUTION: Contains corn." just like the, "CAUTION: Contains nuts." and stuff. It sure would be nice.... But that's not the case, and it just makes the allergy all the more difficult to deal with.
If any of you reading this have an allergy to corn, and if you just found out about it, or if you even suspect after that symptom list that you have an allergy...I have a few things that are good to know:
1. Baking Powder has corn. Unfortunately, it's a necessary thing in cooking and cleaning sometimes...so here's a recipe that my dearest mother found to make your own Baking Powder;
1. Baking Powder has corn. Unfortunately, it's a necessary thing in cooking and cleaning sometimes...so here's a recipe that my dearest mother found to make your own Baking Powder;
1/3 C Baking Soda
2/3 C Cream of Tartar
2/3 C Arrowroot Powder
2. Xantham Gum is corn.
3. Xylitol is typically corn. (So, don't get that "Epic" gum...I found out the hard way. Although "Epic" gum is great if you don't have to worry about corn!)
4. Sorbitol. Sorbitol that is found in toothpaste and mouthwash and the like. It isn't corn. BUT! It's broken down and processed using corn and therefore becomes a product of corn.
So some brands of toothpaste you can try out are "Squiggle" and "Jason Sea Fresh". Which if you're anything like me, the Jason one will flip you out because it has Blue Green Algae in it...but, I've come to really like that one a lot. It was just the concept of the Algae that made me freak out. It's great toothpaste though. But a lot of corn allergy people, from what I hear, use the Squiggle and really like it.
5. Yeast is grown off of corn in almost all cases. And that's probably part of why I got a Yeast Overgrowth a year ago...that was pretty terrible.
6. Be careful what vinegar you use; for example: Distilled White Vinegar is made using corn. (Which unfortunately means, "No mustard for you!"...tragic because I used to love mustard.)
7. STAY AWAY from Latex.
8. Avoid getting in a car crash best you can; Airbags have corn starch on them. Horrible, isn't that?
9. Salt. Use either Sea Salt or Canning Salt if you can. You see, salt is iodized. That "iodized" part, for salt, has corn. If you have an allergy to shellfish, Sea Salt is actually best to avoid.
Just a few tips for you there. Trust me there's so much more. But those 9 are ones that are kind of like, "What..? Really??" along with, "Oh, that's what that is!" that we didn't find out for a while. OH! There's one more tip, no four.
10. Citric Acid is corn. Citric Acid is used in a lot of drinks, especially like soda. Citric Acid is also used to wash things, such as baby carrots.
11. Meat. Try and get meat from a local farmer or something. And make sure that, we'll say "cow" for example, the cow is grass-fed, grass-finished, and is washed in water. Because what you eat is what you are, but more importantly: What the animal eats is what the animal is. If the animal eats corn, the meat may as well be called corn.
12. YES, Canola Oil is made with corn! Use coconut oil instead...it's better for you anyway. (And that reminds me: Corn isn't a vegetable like a lot of people think; it's a grain.)
13. A lot of things that have perfume type deal smells, has corn. So, lotion and perfume obviously, but also air fresheners, scented candles (tragic...I loved scented candles), cleaners...all sorts of things.
I think I'll leave it off at that. Yeah, I just wanted to make a post to hopefully raise some sort of awareness. As I said, I hate to use a post for this because I feel like a complainer...but, well, I'd much rather look like a complainer and help spread some information about it than anything. Besides, I think I mentioned in my "Introductory Post" that I'd likely make a few serious posts here and there.
Good day, and make sure to read food labels before purchase! =) And I think my next post will be a continuation of this...a list of things that we've found to be corn-free. Food, of course, but also things such as zip-lock bags. Take Care.
