Karen Presser <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> My son gets frequent bouts of canker sores however his diet is completely
> dairy free as he is caseine allergic.  Wish we could discover the culprit.
>  Have been told that they are viral by his pediatrician.  The pain is pretty
> intense.

It's not neccesarily viral.  Cold sores definitely are, but canker sores
(aptheous ulcers) can be caused by a number of things, including autoimmune
reactions.  I get horrendous ulcerations in my mouth and nose when
exposed to cheap perfumes and "citrus" degreasers (same culprit, d-lemonene).
In fact, the fumes from the degreasers can cause my skin to break out as
well.

This is usually counted as a delayed sensitivity reaction, rather than
an allergic reaction, because it's not histamine mediated.  However, most
anaphylactic reactions aren't histamine mediated either, and most people
_think_ of that as allergy rather than severe sensitivity.  It mostly
makes a difference in what rescue drugs work best.  The real answer in
both cases is to find and avoid the offending substance.

I'm always tempted to stick around department stores that pump perfume
into the air system just long enough that I can show the manager my
bloody nose.  *sneeze*bleed bleed bleed.  Might finally get the point
across.  But I'd really rather just leave immediately and minimize the
reaction.

Lee M.Thompson-Herbert        KD6WUR                  [log in to unmask]
Member, Knights of Xenu (1995).  Chaos Monger and Jill of All Trades.
"There are some people who will argue whether the flames are blue
or green, when the real question is that their arse is on fire."