Contact Dermatitis.

Ever heard of it?

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Well, as you can see Web MD refers to it as a type of skin reaction caused my a “foreign substance”.

Enter “foreign substance”

Yep, that’s right, after the other night’s DELICIOUS bowl of strawberry ‘n cream oats, my upper lip decided to rebel against me…or technically speaking, my antibodies reacted in a way that was not much appreciated.

I woke up the next morning with a weird sensation in my upper lip. It felt a little swollen, chapped, and dry. While driving to work, I noticed a slight burning sensation and a little discomfort so when I got to the hospital, I checked in at employee health to see what the deal was.

Knowing that I have an allergy to kiwi (lovingly referred to as oral allergy syndrome where my lips and throat swell and itch), I was worried that I was having some sort of similar response to something I ate but for the life of me couldn’t figure out what it was. When I explained everything to the doctor, she asked me if I had had any fruit in the last 24 hours…

Um, any fruit like my beloved strawberries?

“That’s it!” she said.

🙁

Then she proceeded to write me a prescription for a steroid and load me up with samples of ibuprofen and Zyrtec.

Can I have a little aside for a moment? Of course I can…this is MY blog isn’t it?! 😉

Ok, so for years I’ve been living life along with the other millions upon millions of people who believe that modern medicine is the only option out there. Well, that is NOT my belief anymore. While I understand that there is a time and place for modern medicine (instances of severe trauma and/or other life threatening occurrences), it has come to my attention in the last few months how much it seems that the world relies on modern medicine as an answer to everything. I’ve also found that it is hard to have such a change in beliefs when you work in a modern day hospital.

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Everyday I see people come into the hospital toting their never-ending list of medications and/or the actual medications themselves in their handy dandy Walmart bag and it just makes me wonder how much of it is actually necessary.

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I understand the need for some medications…I just think our society relies on them too heavily. I mean think about it. Let’s say “Susie” was just diagnosed with diabetes. Now most doctors will glaze over the fact that perhaps a little diet and exercise would help, but really push the need for pharmaceutical drugs. But let’s say, for entertainment purposes, that “Susie” decided to start walking everyday and eating more well-rounded meals full of fiber and low-glycemic carbohydrates and miraculously her blood sugar began to stay at a more manageable level.

Oh my gosh, I could talk ALL day about this subject, but I’ll try to stay focussed on what got me here!

Steroids. Anti-inflammatories. Antihistamine blockers.

For a small swollen area on my lip??

I took the prescription and the samples and smiled as I thanked the doctor and went back to work. Then I threw the medical paraphernalia in my purse and pulled out some cocoa butter lip balm. The way I figured it was this: if it gets any worse, I’ll take the meds.

And you know what? I DIDN’T get any worse. It took all day of applying and REapplying lip balm to keep my lips from getting dry (obviously avoiding the “m” word here), but, other than it being a little annoying, by the time I woke up this morning, I was perfectly fine.

Overmedicating. Suppressing the body’s natural responses.

That is what I’m NOT okay with!

The doctor told me that I’m not necessarily allergic to strawberries, but that I should limit my intake and rather than biting into them, (where my lips will touch the skin of the berry) that I should maybe chop them up or even throw the whole berry in my mouth.

So, that being said, allow me to introduce you to tonight’s dinner:

Hey, just following the doctor’s orders! 😉

They ARE chopped!

Sourdough bread French toast coated with Mighty Maple*

with a “spattering” of fresh berries

and a drizzle of maple syrup!

*Mighty Maple has officially redeemed itself! Word of advice: this peanut butter was meant to be served warm!

♥ Oh MM, I take back all those nasty things I said!

I didn’t mean it…really I didn’t! ♥

And don’t worry, I have meds if I NEED them! 😉

Dare I ask? What are your views on modern vs. alternative medicine?

Do you have any food allergies? How do you deal?
I can’t eat kiwi at all. The last few times I had it, my reaction seemed to get worse and worse. But I do know some people who seem to know just how much of the “illegal substance” they can tolerate before having a reaction. Ugh, wish that were the case for me! I miss my little green fuzz balls!