Gary will test a theory for a maximum of 24 hours. Then he forms an opinon and the opinion trumps the scientific method.
He is now convinced that the answer to his skin problem is not drywall allergy, but is nightshade allergy. He cut tomatoes and bell peppers out of his diet and felt better. Well, he felt better for a day.
I would love for his issue to be that fixable. It seems too good to be true.

6 responses to “Gary’s skin: part 876”
A lot of people do have nightshade reactions, so… maybe? I’d note that some reactions can be multifactorial (aka: you’re fine to eat a tomato, just not a tomato *and* [other food you are very mildly sensitive to, like smoked cheese or something], or not a tomato when there are high pollen counts, or exceptionally high stress, or whatever pairing of “by these powers combined, I am Captain Reaction!” sorts of things there are that don’t do anything noticeable alone but when you stack them, there are problems).
(but also yes, wait and see.)
(BUT ALSO: no more drywall allergy, HOORAY!!!)
KC – Well, he has stopped talking about that particular allergen. But now he evaluates every single thing that goes in his belly. Right now bran cereal makes him itch, along with tomatoes. Bran cereal.
Is the bran cereal the one that looks like little noodles? That stuff’s got artificial sweetener in it and some people have issues with it. (I did, but mine were digestive rather than skin.)(how long, after a gastroenterologist recommended that specific cereal to me, did it take for me to figure out that it was making my IBS way worse instead of better? OVER A MONTH of daily intake. But that was because a doctor told me it would help, so surely it couldn’t make things worse…)
(basically, check ingredients; itching is *probably* not the bran itself, but there’s all sorts of stuff in boxed cereal; more than you would expect, generally speaking.)
(if he’s having itchies thanks to hot oat bran cereal plain, then maybe dodge oats, though; I don’t know of anyone allergic to oats, but presumably *someone* is and that someone might be Gary?)
KC – nope, basic Raisin Bran. It’s so frustrating because he’s been eating relatively healthy, tomatoes, bran cereal and the like.
Yes, bran cereal is basically healthy, as are tomatoes (as long as you do not have nightshade problems) and yes, subbing those with less healthy things is not what we want. I hope he finds also-healthy (oatmeal! mushrooms and onions and garlic and celery and sweet potatoes and all the other non-nightshade vegetables!) things to sub in for the tomatoes and raisin bran.
KC – he is really missing the tomatoes.