<p>The salads are often just your typical green salad as would be offered at a pre-set dinner or luncheon…lettuce, croutons, not much else. Usually at those types of events, there will be a creamy dressing and a vinagarette type and I’ll choose the latter. But yesterday it was a steak salad with a thick spicy chipotle dressing of which I had little.</p>
<p>IF this isn’t all happening at the same restaurant, might those restaurants be using the same supplier? If so, the ingredients should be available to the restaurants and therefore you. If you’re sure it’s the dressing, you might ask. Or you could chew a bit of the lettuce by itself to see if it is the fruitfresh-type stuff (citric acid) they put on the lettuce.</p>
<p>Do you have any trouble with any wines (sulfates?)</p>
<p>I have much more reaction to food that is not grown organically ( for example- carrots), than I do to organic food ( although I am gluten and lactose sensitive).</p>
<p>I haven’t read through this whole thing, but it’s my feeling that combinations of things may be causing trouble although seperately both are fine.
[Food</a> Additives ~ CSPI’s Food Safety](<a href=“http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm]Food”>Chemical Cuisine Ratings | Center for Science in the Public Interest)</p>
<p>The reaction happens at places ranging from Chiles and Jason’s Deli to seated dinners at fancy hotels, to mid-priced restaurants, to a few weeks ago, one of the nicest places in town.</p>
<p>No problem with wine other than an almost instant migraine from some cheap reds.</p>
<p>Sorry, but you’ll have to get a rat to carry out your experiments. My mouth and throat hurt so badly from Monday’s salad that I can hardly eat. (I guess that’s an added weight loss bonus from ordering a salad!)</p>
<p>The experiment isn’t for us, it’s for you, to help identify the source of your reaction. We’ll give you third authorship on the publication :)</p>
<p>…“And many higher-end restaurants make vinaigrette dressings using tree nut oils.”</p>
<p>Found on Google…</p>
<p>I’m going to suggest sulfiting agents. I don’t know if the type used would be the same in red wine. You may be sensitive to it, however the reaction presents in a different way. It would be good to find out. If so you should avoid sulfa drugs. A blood test at an allergist could rule this out. With the amount of suffering I would think it’s worth it, barring insurance coverage.</p>
<p>Could it be an allergy to gums (xantham, guar, carob bean gum)? These are emulsifiers they use in salad dressing and other foods. Some people are pretty allergic.</p>
<p>“an almost instant migraine from some cheap reds”</p>
<p>Probably the sulfiting agents, as blue suggests.</p>
<p>From medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com:
Sulfiting agents - food preservatives composed of potassium or sodium bisulfite or potassium metabisulfite. Sulfiting agents are used in the processing of beer, wine, baked goods, soup mixes, and some imported seafoods and by restaurants to impart a “fresh” appearance to salad fruits and vegetables. The chemicals can cause a severe allergic reaction in people who are hypersensitive to sulfites. The reactions are marked by flushing, faintness, hives, headache, GI distress, breathing difficulty, and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness and death.</p>
<p>“…almost instant migraine from some cheap reds”</p>
<p>I had no idea there was a term for it:</p>
<p>[Red</a> wine headache - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wine_headache]Red”>Red wine headache - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>21 articles popped up in Pubmed when I searched for “red wine headache”, like these two:</p>
<p>[Food</a> and drink. Red wine headaches. [Harv Health Lett. 2002] - PubMed result](<a href=“Food and drink. Red wine headaches - PubMed”>Food and drink. Red wine headaches - PubMed)</p>
<p>[Red</a> wine headache. [Lancet. 1988] - PubMed result](<a href=“Red wine headache - PubMed”>Red wine headache - PubMed)</p>
<p>:eek:</p>
<p>On the subject of a potential sulfite sensitivity, when I was diagnosed with my sulfite allergy I was warned not to eat bagged lettuce by my allergist.</p>
<p>Where is the NYT when you need them? CC could use some positive press. How about a headline reading “Concerned Members of the College Confidential Community Aid Fellow Parent: Help Uncover Medical Mystery and End Years of Suffering”. Okay perhaps a slight stretch of the truth. Hang on, my Velcro suit is getting itchy.</p>
<p>Interestingly I also have an allergy that only happens at fancy restaurants. I get a completely stuffed up nose that disappears within a half hour of leaving the restaurant. At first I thought it was the cocktail, but I can drink that cocktail at friends’ houses with no problems. I’m thinking in may be some cleaning solution that is lingering in the air.</p>
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<p>Hmm concerned members of CC, that may rule out sulfites, because I eat bagged lettuce at home with no ill effect. This is truly something that ONLY happens in restaurants.</p>
<p>Maybe you need to tip a little better so they’ll stop trying to kill you ;)</p>
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<p>I was once at a very fancy seated 5 course dinner to celebrate the closing of a deal. The boss’s second in command had a severe shellfish allergy. The boss’s secratary chose the menu in advance and three of the five courses had shellfish. The second in command leaned over to me and said “I think his secretary is trying to kill me.”</p>
<p>Obviously my post was tongue-in-cheek. Point being, there’s a great deal of community and help that goes on here. People pull together to support, and occasionally enough ideas are tossed around that sometimes an OP is led to a possible solution. This is in stark contrast to what is normally portrayed in the press.
I hope someone offers something that helps you find an answer missypie.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you how much help I’ve received in various areas from the folks on CC.</p>
<p>Hey, if any of the suggestions from the no-dairy thread help solve some of my digestive woes, forget the NYT, I’ll get you guys an award. :P</p>
<p>This is probably not the culprit, but was there any mango in your dinner that night? Many people are allergic to the skin and it can do a number on your mouth.</p>