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Suggest Treatment For MSG Intolerance
Question: Twice in my life, at least 35 years ago, I experienced a feeling that my brain was swelling inside my head and pressing from the inside on my eyes, nose, ears, and formen at the back of my skull. These two times happened after a few spoonfuls of soup at a Chinese restaurant and after a couple bites of a pickled red bean dish at a Japanese restaurant. The sensation lasted 15-20 minutes and did not seem to be accompanied by difficulty breathing or palpitations. I'm going to Japan in a month and am wondering what to do if something similar happens again. I'm sure in the past 35 years I've encountered MSG without incident, but wonder if that could be the cause, but mostly what to do if I experience it again while I'm out of the country.
Brief Answer:
Get allergy testing
Detailed Answer:
Good evening.
As a headache subspecialist and adult neurologist I have numbers of patients who have issues with MSG which is a very real possibility of what happened long ago. It is possible that you will have "grown out of" any further allergic types of reactions to the substances in the food....or it is possible that your immune system is simply not as reactive as it was 35 years ago. However, you can't necessarily bank on that being the case.
Therefore, I would recommend that you seek out an allergist or immunologist before going to Japan and have what's known as ELISA testing performed against things such as gluten, MSG, and other common spices, condiments, or major nutrients used in Japanese cuisine. You could also have skin scratch testing done in case results are either equivocal or frankly negative just to be sure you don't have an allergy.
If positive to anything then, you may discuss with your doctor how to go about either becoming desensitized or if you may be able to carry around an epipen with you in case of emergency.
I hope I've satisfactorily addressed your questions. If so, may I ask your favor of a high star rating with some written feedback?
Please send me more comments or inquiries in the future by going to my web address at:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
I would be honored to answer you quickly and comprehensively. Please keep me informed as to the outcome of your decision and your testing results. I'm interested in knowing if you in fact have an allergic response to something specific within Japanese cuisine. If not, we may have to go back to the drawing board before you say "Bon Voyage."
This query has required a total of 12 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile a return envoy to the patient.
Get allergy testing
Detailed Answer:
Good evening.
As a headache subspecialist and adult neurologist I have numbers of patients who have issues with MSG which is a very real possibility of what happened long ago. It is possible that you will have "grown out of" any further allergic types of reactions to the substances in the food....or it is possible that your immune system is simply not as reactive as it was 35 years ago. However, you can't necessarily bank on that being the case.
Therefore, I would recommend that you seek out an allergist or immunologist before going to Japan and have what's known as ELISA testing performed against things such as gluten, MSG, and other common spices, condiments, or major nutrients used in Japanese cuisine. You could also have skin scratch testing done in case results are either equivocal or frankly negative just to be sure you don't have an allergy.
If positive to anything then, you may discuss with your doctor how to go about either becoming desensitized or if you may be able to carry around an epipen with you in case of emergency.
I hope I've satisfactorily addressed your questions. If so, may I ask your favor of a high star rating with some written feedback?
Please send me more comments or inquiries in the future by going to my web address at:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
I would be honored to answer you quickly and comprehensively. Please keep me informed as to the outcome of your decision and your testing results. I'm interested in knowing if you in fact have an allergic response to something specific within Japanese cuisine. If not, we may have to go back to the drawing board before you say "Bon Voyage."
This query has required a total of 12 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile a return envoy to the patient.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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