The effect of food and exercise on the skin response to compound 48/80 in patients with food-associated exercise-induced urticaria-angioedema.

Food-associated, exercise-induced urticaria-angioedema is increasingly being recognized. We studied five atopic individuals in whom ingestion of food was followed by exercise-induced urticaria-angioedema. The combined effect of food and exercise on skin wheal response to compound 48/80 and histamine was studied. Symptoms could be reproduced in only four of the patients who performed strenuous exercise after ingestion of food to which they were skin sensitive. When symptoms appeared, that is, after a combination of food and exercise challenge, there was a marked increase in the wheal response to compound 48/80 (greater than 200%) and not to histamine. Food or exercise challenge alone did not induce any significant change in the skin reactivity to compound 48/80 or to histamine. It was concluded that mast cell releasability could be increased when the patient was subjected to combined factors.