News on the omega syndrome

 Well the salt mouth-wash worked, even though I forgot to take further doses. My gums cleared up and there has been no more pain.

This bit of news popped up tonight. The scientists involved seem to be arguing that western diet has switched to an unhealthy balance of omega 6 and omega 3 oils in the last century. So we may not be alone in needing to increase omega 3 consumption. There's not necessarily much new here - it's been known for a while that fish oil improves heart health.

It all serves to reinforce what I discovered originally about the omega syndrome. It's just odd that not many people seem to know about it.


RAS

Wisdom teeth and more

It's been the wisdom teeth on the right side of my jaw causing all the problems over the last week. And as always I'm not sure whether it's worth spending time and money on a dentist or not.

The saga began, I suspect, at a function I attended last week. Champagne and wine were being served in abundance and I could not resist a sip of both. A couple of days later I noticed a twinge in my lower right jaw. This became an ache, and then an agonising ache waking me up at night - so I took some paracetamol and that seemed to calm it down.

I should be so lucky. Over the weekend the upper back jaw flared up and became tender. That seemed to confirm the problem started as an allergic reaction rather than a decaying wisdom tooth.

Sensitive souls don't read on.

Last night as I was brushing my teeth I thought I felt some meat stuck in the tooth at the back - so I gave it a big scrub. Next thing I knew blood was gushing out of my mouth. You probably shouldn't go to sleep with that amount of blood running around your mouth. But I did and woke up alive and ok today. My guess is that the latest problem was an ulcer; I'd forgotten about mouth ulcers and how big a problem they were before I got this under control.

Today I thought it was fine - but eating a meal I realised my right jaw is still very sensitive. So I finally did what I should have done a week ago and washed my mouth out with warm, salted water. There'll be another course of that treatment today.

So it looks as if it was gum inflammation all along. Perhaps there's been an infection too. Somebody said you might as well have your wisdom teeth out in any case to prevent these kind of problems. I really do not want to as it will be an incredibly expensive procedure.

RAS

Ringworm?

A curious red ring, about an inch across, has appeared on my chest. It looks like ringworm but does not itch like ringworm - which I experienced as a child.

I may have found an answer fairly swiftly - a condition called annular erythrema centrifugum. This site says it can be caused by drugs or food "such as blue cheese or tomatoes." Well it's not tomatoes but it might be stilton cheese. Or it might be montelukast. It doesn't seem anything to worry about although the pictures are a little scary.

RAS

Pineapple juice

 A couple of months ago I was craving ice pineapple juice, thinking it was impossible. But the newly refound list says pineapple juice is low in salicylates - so it ought to be okay. And in fact it is the only fruit juice that is okay.

Over the weekend I was shopping and saw a bottle of pressed pineapple juice. That should be fine, I thought.  I reasoned that since pineapple is not on the list, cheap juice made from pulped fruit will be no good but pressed might be okay.

Yesterday I tried it - the first fruit juice I have drunk in two years. There were two problems.

The first was I did not enjoy it. Maybe it would have been better with ice. Maybe pineapple juice really needs to be mixed - perhaps I could mix it with vodka. It was not refreshing.

The second problem was that it was not problem free, not at all. Today the rash is back on my elbows. It had gone away over the weekend. I've taken a montelukast.

RAS

The lost list

It may be obvious - I've been flying by wire for a while. A few days ago I looked on the kitchen pinboard for the dietician's list, only to find it had gone. The reason I wanted it was to remind myself which curry powders are low salicylate. Frankly, my taste buds are dying from neglect. Tuna meals are the pits and as I mentioned before I even find myself going off banana. It's time I attempted home-made curry.

Lo and behold I was rummaging in the garage just a couple of days ago and I found a box of stuff cleared out from the kitchen during some decorating. In there was a list. I'm not sure if it was the dietician's last list as she produced several copies but it was certainly quite a detailed one.

I wish now I'd kept all her lists safely - for there were quite a lot of differences as she put quite a bit of research into the issue. In her original list items such as Golden Delicious apple were safe. In the later list she created two columns "negligible" and "low" and Golden Delicious moved to the low column. I had in my mind a sort of "hardly any" column which represented the foods that started off in the zero column and then moved to low. For also in the low column are foods such as onion and tomato - which I find lethal. Then there is beetroot, which I have been avoiding unnecessarily.

Maybe I will post more observations about the "low" column in the near future.

Then there are parsnip, lettuce and sweetcorn, which somehow crept into my diet and are in fact classed as "moderate". No wonder I've been struggling.

The two curry powders are saffron and tandori and are classed as "low" in this list. I will try to get some.

RAS

Bare-armed or not?

 I have been wondering whether to go bare-armed or not in the warmer weather. My big problem now is on my arms, inside the elbows - today they are again covered with lumpy red spots. They don't itch like hives but become irritated if you touch them. My feeling is they are aggravated by fabrics and also by the warmth of clothes. And perhaps some sunlight would do some good.

Or perhaps they are being aggravated by exposure to the open air? So far as I know pollen is not a problem but other plant matter is. There's the odd brush with a shrub and maybe, as I've discussed before, bits of stuff thrown up in the air by lawn-mowers, gardeners and farmers.

In desperation I smeared some anthisan- an anti-histamine cream - on the arms this morning. It calmed things down briefly but it's left me feeling drowsy and they're inflamed again now after having a meal. That would be the chocolate gateau, I imagine. People still seem to think I can eat chocolate...and I cannot resist it!

RAS

Chocolate cake

 Last night I had a piece of chocolate cake. This morning my arms are covered in bright red lumpy spots. I've taken a montelukast.

RAS

Bananas and a long hot summer

 I am, worryingly, going off bananas. It may be the poor quality bananas we buy. It may be eating two bananas a day, as I tend to do to keep up my five-a-day fruit and veg.

In fact if I think of the prospect of a long hot summer, I cannot see how I'll cope with only iced water and no fruit juice or iced pop for refreshment. I certainly won't feel like eating two or three bananas and apples a day. I guess we'll have to start buying quantities of cheap bananas and making our own banana juice. Does anyone have any good recipes? And can you make apple juice from golden delicious apples?

RAS

Passing by?

If you're passing through do me a favour and tick the survey on the left. It's only one question and I promise it won't affect what I write. There seems to be a lot of people who pass by looking for information and maybe I can encourage you to stop and chat sometimes!
RAS