Q: I have been suffering from allergy from milk products, cabbage family and moong ki daal for the past 2-3 years. I get rashes and a lot of itching on my body. I have been married for a year and a half and planning for a baby. Recently I got my blood tested and found that my Hb level is 12.5 (normal), but my Eosinophil count is 6%. I am taking an ayurveda treatment, due to which I have improved my immunity, but there is no noticeable improvement in my allergy. I am not consuming things I am allergic to. Is there any hope for me to get rid of it? Will it affect my baby's health in any way? Will it have any effect on breast feeding my baby?

A:It is not clear from your enquiry whether your food allergy diagnosis has been confirmed by blood (IgE RAST) or skin-prick testing. If not, and your itching and rash persist, in spite of the changes you have made in your diet, you may have idiopathic urticaria, which can appear without any allergic or other cause, and can persist for 2 years or more, usually clearing up spontaneously. However, as your eosinophil count is high, you may have intestinal parasites, which can sometimes cause the type of rash you describe. Perhaps a stool test or an anti-parasitic treatment would help. Urticaria usually responds well to anti-histamine treatment, but the more modern, non-sedating, antihistamines are not yet known to be safe in pregnancy. The older type antihistamines like chlorpheniramine are known to be safe, but often cause some sedation. Urticaria can improve during pregnancy, and is not any danger to the baby.