A brief chemistry lesson...

What I found confusing about this allergy is that you can't just check ingredient labels and expect to be safe.  This is because Balsam of Peru is not just one molecule, it is made up of hundreds of naturally occurring aromatic alcoholic compounds that are also found in many other natural foods.  So unfortunately, a lot of the time you just have to know where these chemicals are found.

Let's look at some molecules so we can visualize it all better.  The most frequent constituents of BOP are cinnamyl and benzoic esters, which make up between 45% - 70% of the overall composition.  More specifically, these esters are:

Benzyl benzoate

Cinnamyl cinnamate

Benzyl cinnamate

There are hundreds more aromatic compounds in B.O.P.; take a look at this page to get a broader understanding - http://www.cropwatch.org/Peru%20Balsam%20chemistry.pdf

The main problem we have is our reaction to various spices.  This is because what gives a spice its flavour is the numerous aromatic alcohols in its constitution.  All spices have these compounds in various forms and degrees.  As you can see from the names of the compounds above, cinnamon is most likely to be one of the worst for us.

Picking a spice at random, say cumin, we can look at the chemical composition and predict if it will affect is badly (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7KPUlXxOYZAC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=cumin+benzyl+cinnamate&source=bl&ots=UPtek5hQEg&sig=pcWuVMET1jxIrbTX0TD_39p5VwM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VkNyUvK-Mcel0AXkzIDoDw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=cumin%20benzyl%20cinnamate&f=false ).  Straight away we can see that the essential oil of the cumin seed contains 4.47% benzyl cinnamate, and that's not taking into account all of the constituents of B.O.P.

The  bottom line- all spices are going to be a risk for us.  Not all of us will be allergic to all the constituents of B.O.P., but finding out which it is specifically will be a challenge!

A warm welcome to a life without spices

Ok bear with me, I've never written a blog before... There's a first time for everything!  Right? :)

So where do I start?  I have been allergic to Balsam of Peru for nearly 7 years since its sudden development at the age of 15.  Whilst struggling through the first 4 years using strong steroid creams every day, yet still with terrible eczema (on face, hands, etc), I remember trawling the internet for some stories and real-life experience, but there was even less information on the allergy then than there is now!

I was avoiding all fragranced creams, soaps, everything, but had sneakily pushed the lists of foods that should be avoided to the back of a draw...  It just didn't make any sense - I thought if I just didn't touch the food I was eating with my lips or my hands I would be fine.  After those 4 years I realised that I should probably rethink my strategy!

So over the last 3 years I embarked on the long and difficult journey of trial, error and major elimination.  For those that do not have a similar allergy, this may sound relatively easy but trust me - it isn't!  I can tell you that it was totally worth it, life is genuinely so much better!  I use a mild steroid cream once a month maximum, and that is only when I purposefully give myself a day off.  My skin is practically perfect - if I do say so myself :) and I really am a lot happier.

It would've been great to have people with the same allergy to discuss with along the way, but the odd comments I remember finding were dotted around a couple of forums, dated a few years back and pretty inconclusive.  In a world where allergies are becoming ever more common, I suddenly realised that there are plenty of people now discovering their allergies and in the same position as I was a few years back.  So why not start a place where people can come to share their stories, ask for advice, and just read posts that may give new ideas?

I have no idea how it'll pan out so we'll see how it goes...