# Food allergies



## pbheather (Mar 26, 2010)

This is just kind of a rant. I'm not real happy with the Mexican restaurant in my town.

Last night, I went to the Mexican restaurant, and with my food allergies, it's a little hard to eat out. With that restaurant, it was the tomato and dairy allergies. Everything is either covered in cheese, tomatoes, or both. So, I decided to get a simple chicken dish with rice. 

The guy who took my party's orders seemed to understand that no tomatoes could touch any of the food, and if the salad that came with the dish had tomatoes to please exclude the tomatoes. He came back a few moments later and told me that there is tomato paste in the rice, so I told them I don't want it. 

Our actual waiter had with our food, and I saw tomatoes on the salad. I sent it back, explaining no tomatoes can touch ANY of the food, or I will be very sick. He brought the food back a few moments later, and I started eating.

The few pieces of chicken didn't fill me up, so I tried some of my mother's dish, which was some kind of corn tortilla thing around shredded chicken and bell peppers. IT was really, really good. When I felt the usual signs of an anaphalactic reaction (my throat closes up real low, like down by my voice box), I took a few drinks of water to see if it was real, then told my mother I had to go to the ER. 

I took my EpiPen along the way. It was then that I remembered noticing something red on the salad, and realized that the waiter had just taken the tomatoes off the food, and had brought the same plate back. Two hours later, sore hips from the steroid and antihistamine injections, and basically high, I was back at my apartment and went to bed.

Has anyone else had this experience? It frustrates me all to hell that people just don't understand at a restaurant that when I say I can't eat it, not that I don't like it, I really can't eat it. They probably just think I'm being picky. I hate it, and I'm seriously thinking of never going out again, or bringing my own food, as I am in the dating field right now. I don't like feeling like crap, or being all out of it and shaky because of medication counteracting the reaction.


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## katt (Mar 27, 2010)

ugh, I am sorry you went through that!

while I don't have any allergies to anything, I work as a nutrition assistant for our local hospital, and trust me, we hear the horror stories all the time.

we also cater to a lot of people with allergies and the biggest one is gluten. It is so bad sometime!

wish I had advise for you, but thought I would offer a hug!


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## kirbyultra (Mar 27, 2010)

I think a lot of people who work in the food service industry just get so tired andjaded from the wacky requests they get from customers that they don't take serious requests due to food allergy as seriously as they should. My father in law goes around making a huge deal wherever we dine about not putting garlic in anything and not cooking with garlic, simply because he does not like the taste and if he catches a whiff of it in the food he goes totally ballistic on the staff. I think it's just childish and overkill for a food preference... but these are the personalities the staff has to deal with daily I think. It's not an excuse at all, but I'm betting a lot of the time they blow people off because they've seen so many unwarranted complaints and oddball requests.

I am purely making a guess at this but I think that food servers could get penalized at work if they end up sending stuff back to the kitchen for a "do-over"... so they might opt to just pick stuff out that can be picked out... I don't know that this is true, though. 

So sorry you had to go through this... how scary!


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## slavetoabunny (Mar 27, 2010)

My neice has gluten allergies. She was just here visiting last week for spring break and it was a bit challenging taking her out to eat. We were pleasantly surprised to eat at one restaurant that actually had a gluten-free menu.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Mar 27, 2010)

I personally would take my hospital paper work to the restraint i worked in the fast food industry for years.

Well threee but that enough in fast food. Having a milk and slight wheat allergy myself I harp on employees about throwing food away and remaking.

We had one lady go into shock in the store we had the call 911 and all that employee was fired and the family sued the company. 

I would take it back and make a serious request. your health is on the line next time it could be a small child who does not make it to the ER in time. 

You need to make the manger aware and if that does not work ask for regional then go up from there it will get someone attention and the restraint should pay for last nights meal and your hospital bills. 

Personally I think so.


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## aurora369 (Mar 27, 2010)

I agree you should go back to the restaurant and talk to the manager. Allergies are serious and the fact that you went to the hospital is their fault. You gave them very clear directions, and they did not follow them with resulted in your trip to the ER.

The manager needs to be aware of the fact that one of his staff is ignoring warnings about allergies. 

In the future if you want to make it super clear to the restaurant staff, pull your epi-pen out when you explain about your allergies. Tell them you carry your epi-pen for a reason, and that if they serve you anything with tomatoes, you will be using it and then going to the hospital.

-Dawn


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## pbheather (Mar 27, 2010)

I've explained at so many places, and some of them are just like 'well, it's in the dish, so you have to eat it'. Before when I could have dairy, I would go to dairy queen, and ask for them to even wipe down the machine between mine and another's order, but they said they can't do that. I've had a few mishaps there and at Steak & Shake with peanuts just magically making their way into my stuff. I'm deathly allergic to peanuts as well, and try to order something completely opposite of peanuts. But they just don't seem to care. 

In my experience, if they have never had a loved one with allergies, and have never seen a reaction first hand, they don't really know what it all entails. Even doctors don't understand. I've had doctors tell me I'm not having a reaction, when I'm having a reaction, and then my stats go down to 80% within a few minutes, and then they believe me. My allergist is the only one who believes me (other than my family and friends), and that's only because she's seen me go into a reaction, and she's seen my IGE numbers. I have an IGE of 1600, where a normal person has below 100. An IGE, by the way, is basically the amount of allergens your body has. 

People just don't understand, and they don't seem to care, and if they don't have a chronic disorder like allergies, asthma, diabetes, etc, they just brush if all off like it's nothing. I've had PE teachers not understand that when I run, I can possibly go into an asthma attack. They just don't see it everyday, so they don't think about it. It's insane, with the amount of chronic/life threatening disorders in our world, but people can be ignorant.


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## degrassi (Mar 27, 2010)

Unfortunately if you have that severe of food allergies you probably shouldn't be eating out. I would never trust a restaurant enough to eat out if I had allergies that could send me into anaphylactic shock. There is just no way you can control whether they are following your instructions, or contamination could even happen by accident. 

I'm allergic to Scallops(weirdly not other shellfish tho) and gluten and i'm also doing dairy free right now.Thankfully my allergies aren't severe(aka life or death) and I dont' have an anaphylaytic reaction, they just make me very sick. 

I know in my city there are a few "gluten free" restaurants or restaurants that offers "dairy free" or "gluten free" options. If you need to go out for dinner i'd suggest looking for those kinds of restaurants in your area as they will be more sensitive to your allergy and will understand better that you can't have anything bad touch your meal.

But if your allergies are that bad that you go into full anaphylactic shock just by the food touching your food, I wouldn't recommend eating out at all. You never know what kind of cross contamination is going on in the kitchen. A "contaminated" utensil would come into contact with your food and is that worth risking your health?

It sucks but you can always just bring your own food. I've done it, its no big deal.


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## slavetoabunny (Mar 27, 2010)

*pbheather wrote: *


> People just don't understand, and they don't seem to care


I totally agree that most people don't understand.When my gluten-challenged neice was here we frustrated some servers, but most were very accommodating. Im so sorry you had a horrible experience.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Mar 27, 2010)

degrassi wrote:


> .
> 
> I'm allergic to Scallops(weirdly not other shellfish tho) and gluten and i'm also doing dairy free right now.Thankfully my allergies aren't severe(aka life or death) and I dont' have an anaphylaytic reaction, they just make me very sick.
> 
> .



My six year old niece is also only allergic to scallops, but can eat other shell fish. She had a reaction in a restraint and Shena just pick Fizz up and ran out the door drove her to wal green and got her benadryl (sp). She was looking for the right one and throwing things and the pharmacies walked over and look at fizz and said here you need this one, and gave it to fizz. Because Nana could not calm down enough to get the bottle open. She was fine and Shena went back to the restrain to pay and they gave her the meal for free.

Shena did not know that she was allergic so it was not the restraints fault. They still gave it for free.


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## pbheather (Mar 27, 2010)

Even in Springfield, there aren't a lot of gluten free menus and if there are, they basically say bring your own bread, and ask for no bread on the food. I have to go to St. Louis to get an actual gluten free menu, but that's an hour and a half away. I don't want to drive that far for a meal.

Within the last year or so, I developed the gluten, dairy, and tomato allergies. The ones I have had my entire life are peanut, fish/shellfish, green pea, melon, and strawberry (outgrew that one). I developed a shellfish allergy within the last five years. The only allergies that caused life-threatening reactions were peanut and fish. Those were really easy to avoid, no big deal. My smaller ones are really easy to avoid as well.

When I developed the tomato allergy, it has become increasingly difficult to eat out. The gluten allergy has really gotten me away from burgers/sandwiches at restaurants like Chiles, Fridays. I really like those restaurants, and if I don't want a steak, there really aren't a lot of options. Dairy has taken me away from most deserts, and I love desert. 

The good thing is dairy only gives me intense tension headaches, and if I don't eat it for months, then have a small bowel of ice cream, I'm absolutely fine. My gluten allergy is not severe, it gives me some acne, and if I eat more than a sandwich worth of bread, my asthma does act up a little, so I just avoid it as much as I can because of my like for bread. 

There is an injection that lowers the IGE levels, and would take away most of my allergies. That is, if I could take it. Within a few doses, I started having breathing problems. Allergy shots have not proven to be effective, and I have been on them for more than a year. I know they won't fix the food allergies, but they haven't done anything for my seasonal/environment allergies. I reacted earlier this week to those, and I'm about ready to tell my allergist to either stop the injections, or to keep me at a lower level as my maintenance dose. I'm tired of reacting to the shots every few weeks when we get up to the full strength. They're doing nothing but hurting me.

Yes, most servers are very accommodating, and even chefs have been that way. But the Mexican restaurant is run by a Hispanic family, which I have no problem with, but it is highly possible they have hired waiters/chefs that speak little to no English, and really don't care about how their customers fair with their food. There are a lot of illegal workers in the Springfield area, mostly in Beardstown/Jacksonville, and they do not speak English. So, I just won't eat there again. There are other restaurants that have plain meat dishes with plain vegetables that I can have, and people in my party try not to order things I can't have. My family loves fish, but when we eat at home, they always make my food before their food so there is no contamination, and they do not order food that I cannot have at a restaurant so there is no contamination between plates, or on the grill.


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## pbheather (Mar 27, 2010)

I have heard of people being allergic to only certain things, but not others. It's because the other foods are not in the same food family as the allergen. Like I'm only allergic to wheat-gluten, but not any other kind of gluten. I have an actual allergy, and I have no digestive issues with it. Or I can't eat green peas because they are closely related to peanuts.

The odd thing, though, is that with my more severe allergies, I do not have any outward signs that I am reacting. No hives, no swelling. Just my throat closing up and my breathing getting worse. When I get into my lesser allergies, my lips swell, but that's about it. Most doctors are baffled by it.


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## slavetoabunny (Mar 27, 2010)

The restaurants we went to were very accomodating to my neice's allergy. One place fixed her a piece of grilled fish and plain veggies, and it was not even on their menu.


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## pbheather (Mar 27, 2010)

It may not be on their menu, but if they accommodate to the allergies, they will gain more business. Maybe people may not go to a place because they're not so sure the place will accommodate to certain allergies, but if they find out the restaurant will accommodate, they may frequent there when they go out.


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## AEPaul (Mar 30, 2010)

I don't mean to make this a commercial, but what I've got to say is very relevant with the comments posted so far.

I've started a site for those with food allergies and intolerances called AllergyEats (http://www.allergyeats.com), your online guide to allergy-friendly restaurants. You can rate any restaurant in the US (the database has over 600,000 and it's easy to find the one your looking for) by just answering 3 simple questions. All the individual ratings of a specific restaurant are combined into an overall "allergy-friendliness rating" so that others might make a more informed choice regarding where they'd like to dine. The whole database is searchable geographically.AllergyEats also includes restaurant menus, allergin lists, gluten-free menus, nutrition info, and certifications, all where available.

AllergyEatsis only 1 month old, so ratings are scarce in many areas of the country (thoughthe sitehas already begun to go viral in Boston, with other pockets beginning to follow as word gets out). This makes everyone's support even more important. Getting momentum going is the hard part. However, realize that every single rating increases the value of AllergyEats as a tool for all of us!

I would love for you to rate this Mexican restaurant experience for the benefit of all future users. That said, I'd love for everyone here to visit AllergyEats andconsider ratingtheir restaurant experiences. I truly believe that this site is going to be an extremely powerful tool not only to help food allergic diners, but also to pressure "unfriendly" restaurants.

My apologies if this sounded like a commercial, but I created this site to benefit all of us. Thank you.


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## pbheather (Mar 30, 2010)

My family has never coddled me in my condition. And my philosophy is that why should anyone else not be able to eat it if I can't eat it, when it's safe for me, of course. We go out to eat, and I just make sure I find a dish that I can eat. There's always steak and chicken dishes, and if anything, I just ask for all of it to be plain. 

There are certain restaurants I cannot eat because their dishes have what I cannot eat, mostly Asian, but they go when I'm not with them.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 1, 2010)

*pbheather wrote: *


> There is an injection that lowers the IGE levels, and would take away most of my allergies. That is, if I could take it. Within a few doses, I started having breathing problems.* Allergy shots have not proven to be effective, and I have been on them for more than a year. I know they won't fix the food allergies, but they haven't done anything for my seasonal/environment allergies*. I reacted earlier this week to those, and I'm about ready to tell my allergist to either stop the injections, or to keep me at a lower level as my maintenance dose. I'm tired of reacting to the shots every few weeks when we get up to the full strength. They're doing nothing but hurting me.


I know I am jumping into this discussion way late, but just wanted to add a couple of points that I hope are relevant. Almost 20 years ago when I had allergy tests, I tested positive for 45 out of 47 items. Pollens, molds, nitrates, dust mites, corn, tomatoes, yeast, msg,....on and on. Everything except - get this - cats and dogs. My allergies were so bad that my sinuses were constantly congested and I had acute, chronic sinus infections. I'd finish one dose of antibiotics andwould literally be back in the doctor's office within 10 dayswith another full-blown infection. So not fun. 

Anyway, I wanted you to know that I took allergy shots for almost 15 years. Much like you, I had to insist that theystop increasing my dosages because I just could not tolerate them. My head would feel like it was going to explode, the sinuses throbbed, I ached from head to toe, was dizzy, and there would be a kiwi-sized bump on my arm at the injection site. And then I got to do it all over again a week later! I had to maintain at very low dosages for a year or more at a time. I literally had to just creep along for years, and for a while I wondered if it was even worth it. But, by the time I had been taking them for 10 years, I was almost at the "desired" maintainence level, very rarely had a site reaction, and could see a big difference in my allergies, especially the environmental ones. So, I just want to encourage you....it may seem to take forever for the shots to actually help you....but it will be SO worth it when they do. I finally stopped the shots a few years ago and don't have much trouble these days. I know which foods I have to limit intake of, and which times of each season I have to keep the doors shut and the a/c on. Overall, my health is 75% better.

Another thing that helped me was having them inject each serum seperately. The nurses tended to draw them into one syringe, but if you have a reaction, you don't really know which serum is doing it - or if it's both. My insurance made me pay a little extra because the allergist charged for two shots (one in each arm). It was a god-send, though. If the arm that got injected with the dust mites/mold serum had a reaction, I knew that cheese, vinegar, grapes, tomatoes, corn, and other "high mold" items were absolutely off-limits that week, and I changed my pillows and sheets every day. If it was the pollen serum arm that reacted, no outdoor activity - period.

I am sure your allergist has discussed with you the inter-connectedness of certain environmental allergies, withfood allergies. For example, with a corn allergy, you probably also have dust and mold sensitivities (corn, by nature, has both). Corn syrup can also be a problem. With pollen sensitivities, I have to be SO careful about any "herbal" treatments...because most of them are made from...WEEDS. Sounds wacky, but it's true...think about echinacea, st john's wort, etc. Talk about your recipe for anaphylaxis. And these things are supposed to make you HEALTHY, or FEEL BETTER? I don't think so! Not if you have pollen allergies!

I hope you are able to come out the other side, so to speak, in a few years, and find that you are much improved.


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## pbheather (Apr 1, 2010)

Thank you for that support. It seems like I will never get to the maintenance dose, and I just keep reacting and we go down to the bottom and go back up. 

I have 3 different vials, thus 3 different injections. But when I react, there aren't any swelling or redness at the site, so we don't know what one I've reacted to. It's probably the one with cat dander. I am 100% allergic to cats. It's insane. 

When we did the arm tests, she did peanut, fish, horse, cat, and others that I know I'm allergic to, and she wanted to see how bad. I had no problem, really, other than my arms were so red there was no way to see what was what. They gave me an antihistimine and sent me home. Later that night, I was at dinner, and eating my first plain meal, since I had to take all foods that were processed and I was avoiding the allergens that surfaced from my blood work. Near the end of the meal, my throat was closing up, and that was the first time I'd used the Epipen. 

My doctor tells me to use it even if I think I'm reacting. She doesn't want me admitted to the hospital because of a bad reaction. And I can change in seconds. It was that night that my stats were normal, and the doctor saw them drop to 80% within seconds. They immediately oxygen going and a breathing treatment and put an IV in. It was crazy. They never really believe me until they witness it.

Luckily, I have no soy, corn or rice allergies. That would limit my food choices so much. Soy has been a god-send, because it can do so much and taste like so many things. 

I can't take some of the vitamins because it's made from fish oil, and that is one of my severe food allergies. That was a big issue when I went to a local nutritionist, since I'm not getting some of the vitamins I need and those vitamins come mostly from fish.

I went to my gynocologist this last tuesday, and I'm on the depo bc shot. He said there was new studies saying that women on the depo for a long time could have bone issues when they hit menopause. Which means I need more calcium and vit. d than normal people. But the soy milk I drink is fortified with the calcium and vit. d, so I'm good. And he said I can take some other supplements, and there's a list of food, some of them which I can eat, that are filled with calcium and vit. d.

What's weird, with what you said, is I have severe dust allergies, but no corn allergy. Also, you're so lucky you have no cat or dog allergies. You probably aren't allergic to any other animals, are you? It sucks to be allergic to animals. I had a friend who had 3 cats, 2 dogs, and dozens of birds. I'd take my meds and within an hour of being there, I'd be taking my inhaler and having someone to drive me home because my eyes have swollen shut. 

I'm hoping the shots will help. My doctor wants me to keep at it because tho they may not be working now, they may work in a few years. She's been really patient and really good about trusting me when I say something is happening and getting what I need. Right now, we're staying at the same strength that I have tolerated well for a few weeks to see if that'll help. We'll probably move up a little and stay at that one place for a while too.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 1, 2010)

A really good allergist can make all the difference! Glad you have one you can trust. 

It seems to be a strange fact that, when treating allergies - they shoot you full of everything that makes you sick. So why should anyone be surprised when you GET SICK? That has never made sense to me. But anyway, it also explains why your shots will make you pretty miserable...until they make you better. A long time from now. What's the saying? If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. OOPS - foot in mouth!! That is a very real concern, especially early in the process, as you know. But hopefully you will see very real improvements by the time you finish.

Yeah, I don't have too many allergies to animals. Birds bother me some. And I absolutely CANNOT do anything with down feathers or wool. Otherwise I will be fighting with you over your epipen. And stumbling around blind because my eyes are swollen. 

Hey, I blame this whole thing on my mom...MRS. SUPER CLEANNY MOM. Still keeps the most disgustingly clean house on the planet. Allergist said I probably developed the allergies because my body never had to deal with the normal allergens as a kid. But guess what? We did have.......a dog and a cat! 

My own children have nothing to worry about. My housekeeping skills aren't that hot. (Actually, they all have pollen allergies...but not DUST!!)


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## BethM (Apr 1, 2010)

*wabbitmom12 wrote: *


> Hey, I blame this whole thing on my mom...MRS. SUPER CLEANNY MOM. Still keeps the most disgustingly clean house on the planet. Allergist said I probably developed the allergies because my body never had to deal with the normal allergens as a kid. But guess what? We did have.......a dog and a cat!


I know that theory sounds logical and good, but I am not convinced: I always had a dog growing up. And now I am severely allergic to dogs. The house I grew up in was also pretty nasty as far as not being clean, and I played outside in the dirt a lot. (Seriously, my grandma dusted at Christmas, SOME years. I can't remember her ever vacuuming. There was usually some sort of food out in the kitchen, not always in a state of freshness. Kitchen/bathrooms, countertops, etc., were rarely cleaned. Mice, roaches, and other pests.) I am now allergic to dust; pretty much all tree/grass/flower pollen; mold; leaf mold; hay; dogs; and cats (my eyes swelled shut the first time I touched a cat when I was 6, and it's been downhill from there.) I am also allergic to cigarette smoke (it triggers my asthma), despite growing up in the house of a 2-pack a day smoker. 

My body had to deal with a LOT of normal allergens, and I still now have SEVERE allergies and chronic sinusitus, with recurring polyps in my sinus cavities. *shrug*


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 2, 2010)

*BethM wrote: *


> *wabbitmom12 wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Hey, I blame this whole thing on my mom...MRS. SUPER CLEANNY MOM. Still keeps the most disgustingly clean house on the planet. Allergist said I probably developed the allergies because my body never had to deal with the normal allergens as a kid. But guess what? We did have.......a dog and a cat!
> ...


:shock:The theory truly does not apply!


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## pbheather (Apr 2, 2010)

I grew up in Texas and Florida. When we lived in Texas, when I was really little, my parents had I think 3 cats. They fed me the normal baby food, but apparently I went to solids really early.

As far as I know, allergies can be there since you were born, or they can develop out of nowhere later in life. It's the wonders of the every changing immune system within the human body. I read somewhere that it's actually a missing protein within certain cells of the body that causes the body to react to allergens, but that may be internet jumble. 

I developed both my allergies and asthma when I was 5 months old, and I reacted to certain foods immediately from birth, so we kept away from those. My mother kept a clean house BECAUSE of my allergies. We kept the windows closed and the ac on, I didn't go outside a lot. 

A lot of kids who grow up in very clean houses from the start are hit with diseases and viruses harder than kids who went outside into the dirt. Some of us just have a slightly lower immune system than others, and some of us are predisposed to certain conditions (diabetes, asthma, etc). Allergies are elusive, and this isn't supposed to be mean, but kids who grew up both in clean and dirty houses can develop allergies, and it depends on the person how bad the allergies come out to be.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Apr 3, 2010)

I know I am becoming allergic to milk. Every time I eat it I get sick now.

I had a allergy as a kid but grew out of it. 

All well back to rice dream milk.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 3, 2010)

pbheather, you make some really good points. Especially when you consider that kids who grew up in the same households often have VERY different immune systems. Four of us grew up with my "Mrs. Super Cleanny Mom". My sister and I have all of the allergies and food sensitivities, and she also has allergy and cold induced asthma. Our brothers....none. And, they are healthy as horses, getting maybe one cold a year, and they SMOKE!! Go figure.

I think it's also important to note that one can also "outgrow" - or "grow into" some allergies. While people who have life-threatening allergies will probably not outgrow them, other people can develop them suddenly at any time. My allergist told me that my children (now teens and young adults) could very well outgrow most of their allergies, or the allergies will at least become less severe. The immune system develops as we grow...and as we are exposed to more things.  So, in some ways, it is better to have the allergies as a kid, because by the time you are an adult, you may have developed at least some resistance. You may not have the allergies as severly, or they may quietly fade away altogether.

As with all things allergy related...I think these are guidelinesrather than rules. I bet we all know - or haveexperienced ourselves -EXCEPTIONS to these statements, lol. Isn't that what makes allergies so "fun" to deal with?!


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 3, 2010)

*Mrs. PBJ wrote: *


> I know I am becoming allergic to milk. Every time I eat it I get sick now.
> 
> I had a allergy as a kid but grew out of it.
> 
> All well back to rice dream milk.


Ya, that one is pretty common, unfortunately. Can you eat yogurt with active cultures? Many people find that easy to digest. My 18 year old can't drink milk, but tolerates most other milk products pretty well, especially when they are cooked (like cheese in a casserole.)


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## pbheather (Apr 3, 2010)

My doctors have told me that because I developed the allergies young, and because I am female, that I am unlikely to grow out of them. A boy with allergies really young will have a high chance of growing out of the allergies. 

I have a milk allergy, and it's not digestive, which is odd, I guess. I was having extreme tension headaches for two years before I found it I was allergic to milk. The allergist I go to told me to stay away from milk, and other allergens, and my headaches went away but for about once a week, and that's from stress. Otherwise, I'm headache free. 

I have actually gained allergies in the last year or so. I developed my milk, wheat, and tomato allergies in that year, and it has been a big change food wise. Before, it was fish/shellfish, melon, peanut, green peas, and strawberries (did grow out of that one ). Those were really easy to stay away from. The tomatoes, not so easy. It's in EVERYTHING I like pretty much. Wheat is getting easier because the local grocery store is adding more and more gluten-free bread stuff. Milk is not easy when I go out, because a lot of sauces have milk, and I like ice cream, but there's some good soy alternatives. 

Yea, all of these are guidelines. There really aren't any rules other than stay away from your allergen and get treatment when it's needed. Everyone has different allergies, and even if they have the same allergies, it may be different tolerances.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 5, 2010)

*pbheather wrote: *


> *My doctors have told me that because I developed the allergies young, and because I am female, that I am unlikely to grow out of them.* A boy with allergies really young will have a high chance of growing out of the allergies.
> 
> I have a milk allergy, and it's not digestive, which is odd, I guess. I was having extreme tension headaches for two years before I found it I was allergic to milk. The allergist I go to told me to stay away from milk, and other allergens, and my headaches went away but for about once a week, and that's from stress. Otherwise, I'm headache free.
> 
> ...



:shock:I had never heard the difference between male vs. female in regard to allergies! That is so interesting.

Your last paragraph is right on the money too.The seasons even affect the severity of my allergies. It makes sense, because you can get "overload"....I have to really watch corn near the end of summer, for example, because the pollen from it is EVERYWHERE (In Indiana anyway, lol), as well as the molds, etc, that are related to it. But, in the winter, it is only a minor annoyance, and infrequently at that.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Apr 8, 2010)

wabbitmom12 wrote:


> *Mrs. PBJ wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I know I am becoming allergic to milk. Every time I eat it I get sick now.
> ...



I get the potties from the back end when I eat or drink anything with milk in it. Its has been happening a few years now and I never understood why. Then a friend of mine told me to write down everything I eat. Every time I had anything with milk in it I had the runs shell we say. 

When I eat Ice cream I cough. Uncontrollably for about 30 minute afterwords. So I grew out of my milk allergy at about 5 or 6. 

So if I think back when I was like 19 and never realized it tell now. My doctor wants to do a test but my new health insurance has to approve it first.

But I know I asked my mother and she said it is the same reaction I had as a kid.


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## Brandy456 (Apr 8, 2010)

I hate that people just assume you're a picky eater when you ask for something not in your dish.
and even if you were, taking tomatoes out of a dish, if they were smart enough they'd notice TOMATOES LEAVE ACIDIC JUICE BEHIND. 

I somewhat allergic to Shrimp. I don't have an epi-pen, and I don't go into that 'shock' that some people do. I just get heaves and I can't breath. People just think I don't like shrimp and I give up, if restaurants can't hire people who care for the well being of their customer, then their not worth re-visiting. 
I'm sorry you had to go through that.
I remember when I went down to Nova Scotia, my uncle and aunt own a restaurant there and I worked a bit for them (nothing much else to do) and had to clean pots and whatever material used before we start a dish when someone requested something changed in the meal.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 9, 2010)

*Brandy456 wrote: *


> I hate that people just assume you're a picky eater when you ask for something not in your dish.
> and even if you were, taking tomatoes out of a dish, if they were smart enough they'd notice TOMATOES LEAVE ACIDIC JUICE BEHIND.
> 
> I somewhat allergic to Shrimp. I don't have an epi-pen, and I don't go into that 'shock' that some people do. I just get heaves and I can't breath. People just think I don't like shrimp and I give up, if restaurants can't hire people who care for the well being of their customer, then their not worth re-visiting.
> ...



:shock: WOW!! That is a LOT of extra work. It makes sense when a person has such severe allergies that it could be life-threatening, but I never even thought about how careful you would have to be with the cooking utensils.

It makes me think of something else...anyone with severe peanut allergies can relate, I'm sure: We had a young boy at our church named Ben (he was like 8 or 10, I think) who had a life threatening peanut allergy. The church board decided togrant the request of his parents to make the church a 100% nut-free building. No foods were to be brought in for dinners or fellowships, Sunday School class snacks, etc, with nuts of any sort. This little guy was SO allergic....if a crumb from a cookie with a peanut in it fell under the table in his classroom, and he walked in,it could cause anaphylaxis. His family NEVER ate out because they just couldn't trust the restaurant people to be careful enough. One or two scary emergency room trips convinced them it was better to eat at home, where you knew how everything was handled.

At church, if people forgot the nut-ban, his poor parents would literally be cleaning the church from top to bottom. Not a small feat...wehave almost 350 people in our congregation, so you have an idea of the size of the building. Besides the sanctuary, thereare 2 fellowship areas, 2 kitchens, 8 bathrooms, 2 nurseries, and at least 20 classrooms. The crazy thing was, ittook MONTHS for people to really takeBen's plight seriously enough to follow the ban 100%. It seemed like every time you turned around, someone would bring in cookies with peanuts....labelled"WITH NUTS".SORRY!!!! DING, DING, DING!!! WRONG! KeepingBen from eating cookies with nuts was only a small part of the battle, so to speak. It was theCRUMBS that could be carried around on shoes, for days and days, to every single area of the building.It was like some peoplejust couldn't grasp it. I mean, they were"trying" to be careful by labelling the items "with nuts"....right?!

When I worked the kitchen or the fellowship times, we would watch like hawks whateveryone brought in. At the first sign of "THE LABEL", we would immediately take the dish out and put it in one of our cars before it could accidentally get unwrapped.Then someone would have to hunt down the contributor, after the event, and explain why the ban was a COMPLETE ban....while trying not to hurt or offend their feelings. 

Some people would ask, why was it fair for Ben's parents to ask the church members to make this allowance for him. But, you know, it was really just a matter of giving up something that was NOT essential, in order to protect the life of this little boy that we all loved (and to preserve the sanity of his poor parents.) Really, it was a small thing to ask or do, when you consider what was at stake. I believe that once everyone really got it in their heads...really UNDERSTOOD the reasons forit...the 100% nut ban was followed willingly, and without resentment, by the vast majority of the members.


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## BethM (Apr 10, 2010)

*Brandy456 wrote: *


> I hate that people just assume you're a picky eater when you ask for something not in your dish.


This is perpetuated by people like my sister-in-law. She INSISTS that she's deathly allergic to shrimp and other shellfish. However, when she's in town we all go out for dim sum, and she will get the noodles that have shrimp in them and then just pick them out (with the chopsticks she eats with) and eat the noodles. One time, we had dofu skin rolls, and I cut mine in half and two whole shrimp fell out. I pushed them behind something else, and looked at her: She at two of those rolls and didn't even NOTICE there were shrimp in them, no allergic reaction whatsoever. 
She also sometimes claims to be allergic to all fish, but I have seen her eat salmon.

I really dislike her for this. She does it because she gets more attention from "being allergic" to fish than she does for simply admitting she just doesn't like it.


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## BethM (Apr 10, 2010)

*wabbitmom12 wrote: *


> It makes me think of something else...anyone with severe peanut allergies can relate, I'm sure: We had a young boy at our church named Ben (he was like 8 or 10, I think) who had a life threatening peanut allergy. The church board decided togrant the request of his parents to make the church a 100% nut-free building. No foods were to be brought in for dinners or fellowships, Sunday School class snacks, etc, with nuts of any sort. This little guy was SO allergic....if a crumb from a cookie with a peanut in it fell under the table in his classroom, and he walked in,it could cause anaphylaxis. His family NEVER ate out because they just couldn't trust the restaurant people to be careful enough. One or two scary emergency room trips convinced them it was better to eat at home, where you knew how everything was handled.


I hope that kid is never on an airplane with me. I always take a big can of mixed nuts (including peanuts) with me when I have to fly, or sometimes a peanut butter sandwich. I find flying so exhausting, I feel like I need the extra protein to deal with it.


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## TribalJMD (Apr 10, 2010)

I've got a weird one for ya, I'm allergic to Strawberry Soda. Nothing else strawberry flavored, no candy or the real thing, just the soda.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 10, 2010)

*TribalJMD wrote: *


> I've got a weird one for ya, I'm allergic to Strawberry Soda. Nothing else strawberry flavored, no candy or the real thing, just the soda.


That is a strange one. But, I can believe that, because my daughter had some really weird allergies when she was tiny, from birth until about age 6. Some of them included anything RED. You would think "Aha! RED DYE." But, it could not have been just that. She couldn't even eat watermelon!I used to have a list of "No No's" in her diaper bag, and some of the things on it were: Skittles, life savers, candy canes, red licorice, jellies & jams, strawberries, watermelon, tomatoes, taffy, any juice except apple, etc.She usually got severe hives and a site reaction on both sets of cheeks. (face and bottom.). She could eat apples, but of course the flesh is not red...just the peel is, and that didn't seem to bother her. I was never so happy as when she outgrew these allergies...her brothers and I used to sneak strawberries for a snack when she napped! She loved them so much, we had to hide them in a covered bowl in the fridge so she didn't know we had them in the house.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 10, 2010)

*BethM wrote: *


> *wabbitmom12 wrote: *
> 
> 
> > It makes me think of something else...anyone with severe peanut allergies can relate, I'm sure: We had a young boy at our church named Ben (he was like 8 or 10, I think) who had a life threatening peanut allergy. The church board decided togrant the request of his parents to make the church a 100% nut-free building. No foods were to be brought in for dinners or fellowships, Sunday School class snacks, etc, with nuts of any sort. This little guy was SO allergic....if a crumb from a cookie with a peanut in it fell under the table in his classroom, and he walked in,it could cause anaphylaxis. His family NEVER ate out because they just couldn't trust the restaurant people to be careful enough. One or two scary emergency room trips convinced them it was better to eat at home, where you knew how everything was handled.
> ...


I am almost 100% positive they would never consider flying with Ben, considering that many airlines do still give peanuts for a snack. I know what you mean, though. I usually try to carry nuts or seeds with me when traveling, too.


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## BethM (Apr 10, 2010)

The allergy to red things reminds me....My mom developed an allergy to cinnamon when she was in her mid-30's. She had always been fine with it, then one day she somehow ate a whole package of Red Hots candies. The tissues in her mouth and throat swelled up and felt burnt for a few days immediately afterwards. Now, she can't eat ANYTHING with cinnamon in it. No artificial flavor, no real cinnamon. Well, she sometimes will, but is always uncomfortable afterwards. Once she had a piece of apple pie I made, it had 1/4 tsp of cinnamon in the whole pie, and she only had a half of a slice- her mouth was sore for days after. 
Since I am now in my mid-30's, I try to avoid anything with intense cinnamon flavoring. I still use natural cinnamon, but I don't want to tempt fate with cinnamon gum or candy. (My mom's sister is also a little bit sensitive to it, as is Her daughter, so it might be hereditary somehow.) My mom is also allergic to bananas.


As for the red....red colors in fruits and vegetables (and fall leaves) are red due to anthocyanins. Maybe your daughter was sensitive to them?


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## Brandy456 (Apr 10, 2010)

Who else is allergic to Shrimp?


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 11, 2010)

*BethM wrote: *


> The allergy to red things reminds me....My mom developed an allergy to cinnamon when she was in her mid-30's. She had always been fine with it, then one day she somehow ate a whole package of Red Hots candies. The tissues in her mouth and throat swelled up and felt burnt for a few days immediately afterwards. Now, she can't eat ANYTHING with cinnamon in it. No artificial flavor, no real cinnamon. Well, she sometimes will, but is always uncomfortable afterwards. Once she had a piece of apple pie I made, it had 1/4 tsp of cinnamon in the whole pie, and she only had a half of a slice- her mouth was sore for days after.
> Since I am now in my mid-30's, I try to avoid anything with intense cinnamon flavoring. I still use natural cinnamon, but I don't want to tempt fate with cinnamon gum or candy. (My mom's sister is also a little bit sensitive to it, as is Her daughter, so it might be hereditary somehow.) My mom is also allergic to bananas.* My mom and I are also both sensitive to bananas and cinnamon. Are wonder if the two foods are related somehow (as in a certain chemical that is causing the problem)? Mom's is much worse than mine, having developed and degenerated over the course of a few decades. She can eat bananas in banana bread and that is all.For her, fresh bananas= weird mouth AND terrible sour stomache. Pretty similar for cinnamon, but not quite as severe. *





> *Mine is more of the weird tongue/mouth after consuming it, especiallyif not part of a cooked recipe. Slightly swollen and itchy tongue and mouth. DefinitelyCANNOT chew cinnamon gum (which I love), but some candies are okay, if I eat just a couple ofpieces. Absolutely cannot eat a powder sugar cinnamon-coated donut.*
> 
> 
> As for the red....red colors in fruits and vegetables (and fall leaves) are red due to anthocyanins. Maybe your daughter was sensitive to them? *Ooo! Ooo! New term! :biggrin2: I stopped seeing the allergist when I didn't need the shots anymore, so I'm not up on terminology...what is anthocyanins?! I had never any clue what the red allergy was...you may be solving a 15 year old mystery for me! Please enlighten!!*


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## BethM (Apr 12, 2010)

*wabbitmom12 wrote: *


> > *Ooo! Ooo! New term! :biggrin2: I stopped seeing the allergist when I didn't need the shots anymore, so I'm not up on terminology...what is anthocyanins?! I had never any clue what the red allergy was...you may be solving a 15 year old mystery for me! Please enlighten!!*


Anthocyanins are an antioxidant that are found in plant tissues. They occur inside cells, mostly in outer layers of tissue. They are responsible for purple and red colors in plants. Apple skin, tomatoes, strawberries, etc, get their red color from anthocyanins. Some can appear purple (eggplant skin, grapes, etc). It seems that the anthocyanins work something like a sunscreen, absorbing particular wavelengths off light to help prevent sun scald on sensitive tissues (like fruits). 
When leaves turn red in the autumn, it is because of anthocyanins. A cold snap will kill the chlorophyll (green) cells in leaves, so the red that has been there all along will become visible. 

I don't know if that is what your daughter was sensitive to....but it's the only thing I can think of that is common to all red fruits. I also don't know if anthocyanins (or chemicals containing them) are used to make food dyes, as she was also sensitive to artificially-colored red things. Could be, though. 
*Concord grape skins are often used to produce food dyes (often listed as "natural color"), and would still contain the anthocyanins, but if she wasn't allergic to purple grapes, that shouldn't have bothered her.


As for bananas and cinnamon...
I just spent some time looking that up. I can't seem to find a link between the two, but I wouldn't rule it out. Do you have trouble with any other tree bark? 

*Also, remember that most "cinnamon" that is currently on the market these days is actually from the bark of the Cassia tree (Cinnamomum cassia), and is not actual cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). So people with "cinnamon" allergy are actually most likely allergic to cassia. 

Interestingly, my husband is allergic to bananas and all kinds of melons, also oranges. All of those things will make him vomit, unless consumed in very tiny amounts.
His sister (the shrimp-allergy-faker) is allergic to mangoes. I think this one is fairly common. Mangoes are closely related to poison ivy, which she is also extremely allergic to. The sap from the tree and fruit skin can cause poison ivy-like outbreaks, due to their similarity. Cashews are also related, but few people in this country come into contact with the fruits/sap of the trees.

I've read a bit that allergies to certain kinds of pollen can trigger allergic reactions when you eat a food that has chemicals very similar to those in the pollens. I guess an allergy to birch pollen can cause a reaction to avocados, peaches, bell peppers, and other things; and an allergy to ragweed can cause a reaction to melons, fresh cucumbers, zucchini, and other things. I'm seeing banana on both lists, at different websites.

However. Once again, I am the exception. I find myself allergic to every kind of pollen I come into contact with, but don't seem to have food allergy/sensitivity. Too weird.


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## wabbitmom12 (Apr 12, 2010)

*BethM wrote: *


> However. Once again, I am the exception. I find myself allergic to every kind of pollen I come into contact with, but don't seem to have food allergy/sensitivity. Too weird.


Thank goodness for small blessings


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