Allergies

[Amanda N]

So a comment in another thread brought this to mind - allergies.  Not the hayfever or seasonal allergies, but allergies to other things, like food.  I have a friend who is allergic to wheat, soy, oranges, grapefruit, chocolate, fish (not shellfish), tomatoes, cow dairy, and some other things I can't think of.

I am allergic to mangos which is a real shame because I love mangos.

I'd rather be allergic to coconut.

Does anyone else have any allergies?

[Eimi]

I'm allergic to cleaning my apartment...  Just the thought of it gives me a headache... ;)

Actually I'm very lucky in that I haven't found anything that I'm allergic to yet.  But I have always felt sorry for my friends who were allergic to wheat.  That has got to be the hardest allergy in the world to live with.  You would be amazed at just how many things are made with at least trace amounts of wheat!  And they certainly can't go out to a restaurant and just order off the menu...

[Jane]

Nope.  Nothing here.  (Wish I was allergic to housework, though.)

[Vix]

Grapefruit. I can eat oranges, but not grapefruit -- I break out in hives.
Both of my kids were allergic to eggs when younger but have pretty much cycled out of that (they may cycle back in, so both are careful not to have too much chicken or eggs)

My other allergies (besides the seasonal ones) are bee/wasp/hornet stings and medicinal ones (keflex and acetominophen).

[Kastaka]

I have a wide range of hilarious food intolerances (not the same as allergies - I can be in the room with the stuff just fine, and even eat very small quantities, they just make me ill) including onions, tomatoes, peppers and citrus fruit. (This means I am allergic to *meals*. Especially with the onions - everyone puts onions or onion powder in everything, which I'm convinced they do just to irritate me.)

I also get vaguely 'argh I can't breathe' around dust, bleach-laden cleaning products, and grass / cow parsley pollen, but nobody's sure if that's actual allergies or just another symptom of my respiratory system being generally rubbish.

Fortunately I can happily eat all of the usual suspects like wheat, milk, peanuts etc.. Just, you know, anything that provides food with flavour is out.

[Amanda N]

Kastaka, what about garlic?

I always ask about food intolerances and allergies before making meals. I'd make one for you that you could eat if you were close!

[Kastaka]

Small amounts of garlic are definitely okay. I haven't yet been able to work out whether I get ill from large amounts of garlic or whether it just happens that all dishes with large amounts of garlic have contained other stuff that was bad.

[Amanda N]

Well, if you're ever in my neck of the woods, I'll be happy to make you a meal that you _can_ eat.  Since I've cooked for my friend bunches of times, I'm used to altering dishes to suit dietary needs.

[Cali]

I'm allergic to fresh pineapple.  Canned is fine, but something in fresh pineapple gives me blisters in my mouth... not very fun.

[Paula]

I have seasonal allergy to tree pollen and hay...there's thing called cross-allergy, so while I'm not exactly allergic to foods, I can't eat them during the allergy season: nuts, carrot, apple, plum and peas (only fresh, I can eat them canned or cooked, expect nuts.) I can eat nuts in christmas but not in summer. And peacan ice-cream just sounds so delicious. :(

[Amanda N]

I have the normal seasonal allergies, though they are less severe than they used to be.

I'm actually allergic to some scents, though, and that's actually gotten worse.  Some of the bath and bodyworks scents bother me, give me a congested feeling.

I haven't had that with their aromatherapy line, just their main line.  I'm glad, because I really like their aroma therapy line!

[Yvonne]

I have a serious, anaphylactic reaction to nuts. Not you people nuts (because I can smell THAT hoary old joke coming a mile away! :P) but tree nuts - walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.

I'm not allergic to peanuts or coconut, though, which is nice because I LURV peanut butter cookies.

[Jane]

I'm feeling really inadequate now. :lachtot:

[Vix]

I'm feeling really inadequate now. :lachtot:

When I was young I always felt like I was missing something because most of my friends had allergies and I didn't -- turns out all of those "colds" I kept getting were actually allergies.

I also felt left-out when I was young because my friends would come back from the dentist complaining that their mouths were numb from the novacaine. My dentist never used the stuff -- so I still feel that I was missing out.

[Avery]

:( Tree-nut allergies must suck, I love tree nuts so much!

No allergies, other than mild seasonal ones which only result in itchy eyes so I ignore 'em. But I do have a severe milk intolerance that leads to fun when eating out.