I turned 30 in August of 2014. In September of that year, I started to get hives almost every day. I’m no stranger to hives—I have had seriously bad allergic reactions to certain antibiotics and hot tubs with too much chlorine, but these were isolated incidents and they were few and far between. I never considered myself a person who really suffered from allergies.
But back to these hives. I was doing squats at the gym one September day when I noticed a bunch of red bumps along my chest. At first I thought they might be some kind of heat rash (September in Arizona is still basically surface-of-the-sun-hot). Or maybe that my sweat was causing me to break out…but then the itching started.
The hives returned almost daily and seemed to get itchier every time they reappeared. They were all over my forearms, my ankles, my neck, and my chest. Some of the worst ones lined the sides of my upper legs. I remember lying in bed trying not to scratch while the uncomfortable itching kept me up at night. I took allergy pills and they helped a little bit, but the hives always returned.
Each day I paid attention to what I was eating and drinking to try to figure out what was causing the hives. As soon as I developed a theory, I realized why it wouldn’t work.
One day my friend and I went out for dinner. We got spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer. After dinner, we got some ice cream. Back at my house, we started to watch a movie when my hands started to swell up to twice their size.
“Are you okay?” my friend asked as she noticed me trying to scratch some hives with my swollen hands.
“I’ve been getting hives every day. I don’t know what’s causing it,” I said with a shrug.
“Maybe it’s dairy,” she said and my eyes got wide.
“Oh my God. I think you’re totally right!” I said. I could almost hear an angelic choir in my mind as I realized that dairy was my common denominator.
That night after my daily does of Benadryl, I started researching dairy allergies. An allergy is different than an intolerance. Most people who can’t have dairy suffer from lactose intolerance, which means they can’t properly break down milk products. The dairy allergy is caused by an allergic reaction to casein, which is the protein found in dairy products.
In the morning I looked at the ingredients of the foods I most commonly ate throughout the week. Almost everything had dairy or casein in it. Even the whole wheat bread I ate with peanut butter after the gym. A quick glance at my Benadryl bottle showed me that the pills I was taking to stop the hives had dairy in the coating, which meant they were making the problem worse!
I was so relieved to finally have a culprit—I wasn’t crazy. But then I realized what that meant. Even with my limited research, I could still see that dairy. Was. In. everything. Like, everything.
My hives were so bad for a while that I had to get all new cosmetics and toiletries because even they had dairy as a moisturizer. Within a matter of weeks, I went from a person who never had a problem with allergies to a person who was allergic to almost everything.
It’s been two years since I realized I’m allergic to dairy and done what I can to avoid it. I’m not perfect, though. There have been a few times where I gave into a bagel with schmear or ate a
piece of pizza or two. Since I do not have dairy on a regular basis, my reactions are not as bad as they once were. I do still get hives and swelling, though.
I’m going to feature a lot of dairy-free recipes and tips on this blog to help you guys avoid it. Whether your body also revolts against you for enjoying the occasional latte or piece of cheesecake or you just want to stop eating so much cheese, there will be some unique ways to circumvent this usually hard-to-avoid ingredient.