I get a lot people landing on my site searching for a reason why they have a puffy or swollen feeling in their face or throat. I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I had this problem when I first changed my diet due to food allergies, but thought I would explain it further. I’m not a doctor, but I can tell you what my doctor told me that worked for me…

Back when I first began my stomach problems, before being diagnosed with food allergies, one of the first things my doctor recommended after hearing my complaints was that I needed to try some time of heartburn medication. At first I dismissed the suggestion “knowing” that I did not have heartburn. I thought only old people got heartburn. Turns out heartburn happens to lots of people.

Commercials always show heartburn sufferers looking like they have some sort of chest pain. My heartburn was mostly felt in my throat, sometimes even making my ears feel stuffy. My throat often felt so swollen it almost didn’t feel like there was room to swallow. I would often find myself with my cold hands around my jaw or neck trying to relieve the pressure and make myself breathe easier. Once, I even made a special trip to the doctor to have her look down my throat and make sure nothing was hindering my breathing.

Zantac (Ranitidine) completely illiminated the swollen feeling for me. After my diagnosis, my allergy doctor said Zantac would be the best thing for me to take if I ever ate something that made my stomach feel upset. In taking it for that reason, I realized the swollen feeling was taken care of as well. I’ve been taking it everyday since then. It’s perfect for an allergy stomach because it’s an H2 blocker, the same class as Benadryl, which means it works similarly in the body. I found this explanation:

H2 blockers, or histamine-2 receptor blockers, are medicines that decrease the amount of acid made by the stomach. Histamine, the same chemical that causes congestion in allergies, is responsible for stimulating acid production in the stomach. When histamine is blocked, acid production decreases.

For me, my diet changed drastically after my food allergy diagnosis. I think that the stomach pains I may have had before were multiplied when I eliminated the bread and pastas which may have helped soak up the extra acid, and added more acidic things like extra fruits. I’ve also learned that when I do start to feel a little swollen in my throat again it often helps if I just grab a small snack, sometimes it just means my stomach is getting too empty.

Hope this helps.