Allergies, Anaphylaxis, Eczema, Topical Steroid Withdrawal & Asthma

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About What Allergy

About me and my blog

What Allergy is written by Ruth Holroyd who is allergic to many things, including nuts, dairy, soya, wheat, latex, nickel, dust and pollen. Ruth has been blogging now for many years, since she first created What Allergy back in April 2009. Since them her blog was voted in the Top 5 UK allergy blogs and in the Top 10 UK Health Blogs by Vuelio and regularly gets between 20-30,000 unique visits a month with some blog posts getting hundreds of comments each. She won the Free From Hero Award in 2021 and the blog regularly wins awards.

Ruth has been in TV, speaks regularly on the radio and has also cmapaigned at the Houses of Parliament to help raise awareness about allergies, anaphylaxis, asthma, topical steroid withdrawal and eczema.

Ruth Holroyd proudly shows off her two books

About me aka. Ruth Holroyd

I set up this blog in April 2009 kind of by accident. I had time on my hands and it seemed like a good idea to share the research I was doing to explore my allergy journey, most of which I was finding by surfing the net. Since then it’s grown from a bit of a hobby to a huge undertaking that I still manage in my spare time. By day freelance copywriter, by night avid allergy, eczema and asthma blogger, patient expert and advocate.

I write most of the content on the blog myself but also love guest blogs if you have a relevant story to share, please get in touch.

Owner and writer for What Allergy? Ruth Holroyd said, “Don’t ever let your allergies rule your life, live your life to the full despite having them. It may sometimes seem tough but remember all the foods you CAN eat, be healthy, happy and stay safe.”

I wrote two books on anaphylaxis and eczema

If you love reading you might be interested in my two books:

  • Anaphylaxis: The Essential Guide: An Action Plan For Living With Life-Threatening Allergies
  • The Shape of Skin – poetry for people with eczema, sensitive skin and topical steroid withdrawal

Always writing…

I also wrote Ruth’s Allergy Diary for the Foods Matter website for many years. There are some really fun ones, including Dear Dairy, and why I lie about my allergies.

This blog is a collection of information, tips, restaurant and product reviews etc. and is aimed at helping others to learn to live with their food allergies and the risk of anaphylaxis. Anyone with one or numerous food and substance allergies and intolerances will understand that it’s a challenge, but with careful planning and sensible strategies you can conquer the pitfalls of shopping, eating out and dinner parties all become easier.

Please get involved and comment

This blog is no fun without you lot, so please comment on blogs, give your support and share your stories and experiences too. That’s how we all learn and it also helps others realise they are not alone.

Email (ruth at whatallergy dot com) if you have any questions, suggestions for future articles etc.

Follow What Allergy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatallergy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatallergy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatAllergy
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ruthholroyd
Linkedin: If you need a food, allergy or health writer you can also contact Ruth on (ruth at whatallergy dot com) or connect on LinkedIn.

You can also subscribe to receive regular blog post alerts, which means you don’t have to keep checking, but instead can choose which subjects and articles interest you. All subscribers of the What Allergy blog get access to loads of fun free resources which are growing day by day. Click here to subscribe.

Work with me!

From judging at the FreeFrom Food and Skincare Awards to many professional conferences, The Allergy Show, Foods Matter, the BSACI and EAACI, I’m keen to help raise and spread awareness of the real, lived experience of atopic conditions.

  • Check out my Advocate page, which is packed with details of the brands I work with, speaking engagements, TV appearances, my books and more.
  • You can also Follow What Allergy In the News!

Please get in touch via email or social media using the links above.

Welcome to my blog!

https://whatallergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_2853.mp4

Hello, I’m Ruth, author and blogger

Ruth

 

Hi I'm Ruth. I've grown up with eczema and multiple life-threatening allergies and collected more as I've got older.  It started with a peanut allergy and now I'm allergic to milk, wheat, soya and many more. In this blog I share tips, advice and things I've learnt living with allergies, asthma and eczema with a focus on topical steroid withdrawal. You can buy my books, which are brilliant by the way! The first is Anaphylaxis: The essential guide and the second, The Shape of Skin, healing poems for eczema and sensitive skin. The reviews speak for themselves. If you want to chat you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (links below). Do get in touch. And please comment on blogs, it makes a humble blogger do a little happy dance!

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Categories

Allergies Anaphylaxis Asthma Awards Coeliac Cold Sores Cooking Digestion Eating Out Eczema FreeFrom Awards Hay Fever Indoor Allergies Industry News Mental Health Natural remedies Nutrition Poetry Product Review Rant Recipes Restaurant Review Skin care Topical Steroid Withdrawal Travelling Vegan

The Shape of Skin – poetry for eczema

The Shape of Skin poetry for eczemaThe Shape of Skin

Strange, striking and sensitive poems for people with eczema, psoriasis, topical steroid withdrawal and troubled skin.

Readers comments include: "Powerful, relatable, Absolutely bloody fantastic (pun intended)..."

Buy it now on Amazon

Buy ‘The Anaphylaxis Guide’ Now

Anaphylaxis - the essential guideAnaphylaxis - The Essential Guide. An action plan for living with life threatening allergies.

"This book is such a great wealth of information and a delight to read! A must read for anyone with allergies or connected to an allergy sufferer. Congratulations!" Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, Natasha Foundation

Find out more

get help - in distress?

Pollen Free Flowers and Plants

Read my blog, "Allergen and pollen free, artificial plants for your home"Faux la fleur artificial pollen free plants

Please Review my book on Goodreads

Ruth Holroyd's books on Goodreads
The Reluctant Allergy Expert: How to kill the fear that anaphylaxis could kill you The Reluctant Allergy Expert: How to kill the fear that anaphylaxis could kill you
reviews: 3
ratings: 3 (avg rating 5.00)

Get Free Resources

Get Free Resources

  • Food, Mood and Symptoms Diary
  • Topical Steroid Withdrawal handout for doctors
  • Anaphylaxis Action Plan
  • 50 x Food Real Challenge
  • Eat the Rainbow Food Challenge
  • More coming soon!

Click here to Subscribe and you'll receive a link to download!

Follow What Allergy on TikTok

For even more hilarious content, check out my new TikTok account

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Chocolate, cake mixes & more – Top14 Free

Read my product review for Gnawbles, like Maltesers and Ferrero Rocher rolled into one.

Gnawbles freefrom top 14 allergens

Use Coupon Code WHATALLERGY10 FOR 10% OFF everything you buy!

Natural skincare for Eczema / TSW

Balmonds Natural SkincareBalmonds Natural Skincare - Use code: WHATALLERGY for 20% off

Testimonials

Find out why people love this blog!

“I think your blog is fab – I send it to everyone who has skin problems and allergies.” 
Sarah

Read more testimonials here.

Archives – Find old blog posts

Mental Health

Set intentions not resolutions for 2024

Why do we think eczema is ugly?

OMG! Me in a film on eczema and mental health

Eating Out

My coffee shop allergy – reacting to milk vapour?

Coeliacs and Vegans have it easy

Milk and wheat allergen free fish and chips

Asthma

Do you need Health Insurance for Allergies & Asthma?

Did Covid cause asthma and eczema flare?

What if you couldn’t have your Ventolin inhaler?

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