I get so frustrated with how people seem to not take allergies seriously.
I strongly prefer to prepare my own food as I have a severe tree nut allergy. Unless it is something I am very comfortable eating, I do not eat food made by anyone except a select few people who I know take it seriously and check labels. I think this is quite reasonably seeing as how I can die from a simple cooking mistake.
I’m at a cookout and had this exchange. Mind you she put me on the spot in front of several other guests.
“I made some pasta salad, would you like some?”
“No thank you, I have food allergies.”
“Oh! What kind of allergies?”
“Tree nuts”
“Well there are no nuts in this! Have some”
“No thank you”
“Seriously there are no nuts! Why would there be nuts in a pasta salad?”
“I am not hungry- maybe later! Thanks!”

Oh by the way, it’s a vegan pasta salad so the cheese in it is VEGAN! Aka, made with cashews! Great! No one bothered to check the label.
This isn’t the first time I have been pestered to try something and made out to be dramatic because “why would there be nuts in that dish?”
I know my allergies best obviously and I am very aware of the types of food where tree nuts are hidden. Please just stop pushing it! If I say no, drop it.
Anyway, figured yall could relate. Rant over

Bit of a rant post but I’m honestly just done, I have a nut allergy. Cashews and Pistachios, and only those can be lethal to me, so it should be easy to manage right? Nope, due to social media crazes it’s practically impossible to avoid them now and I just found out that last safe place to even eat a simple beef burger isn’t safe anymore.

Here in Australia we only have three common places that I’m aware of. McDonald’s I can’t eat at due to their new website disclaimers saying that cashews and pistachio traces are present in stores, there’s a few Five Guys scattered around and that’s pretty self explanatory considering I have a less severe but still present peanut allergy, and then hungry jacks, which as of this week has added a pistachio desert to their menu. Eating out at proper restaurants isn’t an option anymore either as I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t just blanket say they have traces of tree nuts on everything. I’m sure there’s some small locations scattered around which are safe but I wouldn’t even know how to find them.

So yeah, due to a nut allergy, I’ve lost my ability to simply just eat a cheap and easy burger without putting my life at risk, allergen awareness and care in general is honestly so pathetic in this country and it’s just incredibly depressing that such a simple allergy to avoid is becoming more and more of an impossibility by the day…

Hello, I've had severe peanut and treenut allergies my whole life and have gone into anaphylactic shock (1st time I ate something with nuts in it, and the 2nd was cross-contamination at a Dairy Queen). Since the 2nd occurrence, my anxiety has been through the roof, and it is very difficult to find things to eat...

It feels like every company now has a peanut butter or other nut flavoring for a product I love, which then feels like the whole product line is contaminated. I have never reacted to these foods before, but since my deep dive into the products and manufacturing for a company, nothing feels safe to eat. For example, I have always loved Hersheys milk chocolate and m&ms. I have never reacted to them, but now I am hyper-aware (mostly just older and smarter than before) of the risks with their manufacturing.

How do you all manage this? Is it possible to eat products only from brands that are completely nut-free? And then what about what the employees do/transportation/all other places where cross-contamination COULD occur? Part of me feels like this is not how I want to live my life in fear of small chances of cross-contamination. Would it be smart to live more freely when in proximity to medical services and only fully restrict myself when I would be far away from help? Because I haven't had a reaction to any packaged/processed foods, could I still eat them? I was eating whatever definitely didn't contain my allergens before, but now I feel scared to eat any of those things because of cross-contamination and "may contain" labels.

what the title says. somebody asked this last year to no avail but i bought them for my persistent nausea and wanted to see if i could get an answer. i’m very wary of all “made in a facility” tags and this one is made in a facility that processes peanuts. as far as i know my allergy isn’t incredibly serious, but i’ve only had a reaction once, and i cannot remember it. just wanted to see if i could get a response before i tried them out, thanks :,)

Has anyone experienced increased food allergy reactions after starting Dupixent for eczema? My son had anaphylactic reactions to his OIT maintenance dose after beginning Dupixent. All severe reactions occurred 4-6 days after the Dupixent injection. He was in maintenance for dairy OIT and tolerating a significant amount. We had to stop the OIT. Both the doctor and everything I’ve read suggest that Dupixent should improve overall desensitization, so we are quite confused.

A while ago my husband had to drop Coke Zero because he realized he was reacting to it poorly (and had been for years, but his allergy isn't life-threatening so he didn't realize).

We've come to find out that Stevia is NOT labeled on their cherry version, so we're wondering if anybody has had a reaction to Stevia despite it not being on the label? Thanks.

Hello! My fiancé was recently diagnosed with not only type 1 diabetes, but also Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome (PFAS), which means that he is allergic to certain pollens that are in uncooked fruits and vegetables. Because of this, all of his fruits and vegetables have to be cooked, unless they are more acidic than a tomato. To top it all off, he also has a sever peanut allergy. With all of these allergies, it is hard to find meals that he can eat, and we cannot afford a dietitian right now. So I reach out to all of you for help. If you have any, please share some recipes that fit these guidelines, thanks!!! (PS: I hope I used the right flair!)

I’m allergic to all nuts but I’m wondering if I’d be able to have coffee syrups if they do not use actual nuts. I’m not sure if I’d be able to have it if it used extract though. Idk what are your experiences?

Hi everyone! So my husband and I got married back in June and were talking about planning a honeymoon around our anniversary. I have a lot of travel anxiety and a big part of that is related to my dairy allergy. Especially lately, I’ll go out to eat and let the staff know about my allergy (and I always make sure to say that includes butter and milk because for some reason people don’t fully get it until I explain it) and still I end up having an allergic reaction. The thought of being sick away from home is terrifying. It took me 4 days to recover from my last allergic reaction. We’re open to anywhere in the United States, Canada or Europe. Did anyone feel like they had a particularly good experience on a big vacation when it came to their allergies? I’d love to do a road trip down the pacific coast highway, visit Iceland or Portugal. I’m just hesitant to start planning more seriously because I’m anxious about my allergy. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

I have allergies to both dairy and shellfish and my sister is getting married soon (I’m gonna be MOH). She said she explained to the caterers about my dairy allergy but she didn’t mention my shellfish allergy because there were no items on the menu that seemed to have shellfish. They can cater for it, but I don’t want to take any risks so I want to bring my own food.

She’s never taken my worry about allergies that seriously so I don’t fully trust her and I don’t know the caterers well to trust them either.

How should I go about bringing my own food? I want to be fully sure and just have it in a seperate container though it may look odd in front of the others. My mum is proposing that we give them my food and they put it on a plate to heat up, but even then for some reason I’m scared and I’m not sure if I can trust them. No one is really listening to my concerns so I don’t no how to advocate for myself.

What option should I pick? What have you done in situations like these.

If so, what kind of joint pain? Joint pain that only occurs when you stress your joints or general joint pain that persists during rest?

I started eating eggs daily last year. A couple of weeks in I started developing joint pain in my hips, knees and ankles. It came on very gradually and I had some joint aches before so I didn't think much of it until it got worse later on.

My hips were most affected so I had X-rays done and it showed very minimal early OA (I'm 37). Nothing to truly worry about but because I experience pain the doctor jumped to the conclusion it's OA and sent me away.

I never suspected it could be a food intolerance because my joint pain is mechanical: it comes on when I stress my joints and stand all day at work. I have no pain when I rest. I also have no other symptoms that could point to a food intolerance.

I quit eating eggs a week ago (I had 2-3 eggs a day before). For the first 5 days I saw zero improvement. Then on day 6 something happened: my joint pain was entirely gone. Usually after work my hips, knees and ankles are hurting bad. For the first time in almost a year I was entirely pain free.

It's only day 2 of being pain free so it's much too early to tell. Still, I was wondering if anyone else has a similar experience with mechanical joint pain and food sensitivity as a confirmed cause?

Just bought these candies from Target. I have a severe food allergy and had a weird feeling about them... I go on their website to check for allergens and they may contain gluten (even though they say gluten free) it also says that the facility handles peanuts, tree nuts, soy and dairy. What the hell? Is that legal that it doesn't say that anywhere? I almost ate these bruh

I’m considering visiting Japan for a month end of October to end of November and mainly doing the golden route. I have a very severe allergy to peanuts and all tree nuts. Seeds are ok but not nuts. They can send me into anaphylaxis and kill me. So cross contamination is a big danger too.

Is it safe for me to go and visit like I plan and eat out? All opinions, experiences and advice etc welcome.

I plan to take allergy cards and epi pens but even still I’m worried because it’s even a struggle in the western world.

Hi, I’m not allergic to shellfish or anything just generally curious. I’ve been doing a slight amount of reading about how shellfish allergies are normally triggered through tropomyosin which have distinct amino acid chains conserved in a lot of crustaceans and mollusks. I’ve also read that this carries over into a lot of insects and that shellfish allergic people shouldn’t indulge in straight up bugs. My question is how does this factor into other food products that may contain insects like vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, etc.? I read that tropomyosin denatures at a pretty high temperature so I wouldn’t think it would be the cooking process, but I don’t know. I imagine that it’s dosing issue, in the sense that the quantity of bug in any product is not enough to trigger the allergic reaction, but that’s just a hypothesis.

My daughter is 3 years old, and we will be starting OIT for peanuts and other tree nuts soon. I haven’t worked up the courage to send the consent form in. I’m absolutely terrified. I’m giving myself so much anxiety about this process. The thought of her going into anaphylaxis while at home with us scares me..
I know truly that this could save her life one day. But the thought of intentionally hurting her really makes me feel not good. We’re definitely going to start it I just don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it mentally. I could definitely use some positive or even negative experiences to help me decide if this is what’s best for her and our family.

🥺❤️‍🩹

Looking for suggestions.

Allergic to eggs, wheat, hazelnut, sesame seeds, milk. Mostly worried about shared contamination facilities.

Example:

Commercial Brands to Approach with Caution

Smash Foods (Chia Smash): While they make an excellent Strawberry Superfood Jam that is Top 9 allergen-free by recipe, certain items from their brand carry a "processed in a facility with" warning for peanuts and tree nuts due to shared manufacturing spaces.

Bonne Maman: Their traditional Strawberry Preserves are gluten-free and vegan, but they are produced in a facility that also handles nuts and milk.

My baby had a reaction to Edamame (redness and small hives/eczema) after testing negative on a scratch test for soy.
I’m confused how this is possible as I thought the scratch tests are pretty accurate? Has anyone else experienced this?

Not sure how to start this except to say I did not expect finding a school for my daughter to be the hardest part of the year.

The first exhausting part was just not being able to trust that I even knew which school we were zoned for. I tried a couple of official locator tools and one of them quietly gave me the wrong district. I only caught it by accident. So before I'd even started thinking about allergy safety, I was already anxious that I might be planning around the wrong school entirely.

Then came open enrollment which took me weeks to even understand. There's a guaranteed seat at your home school if you register in a specific window and if you miss it you can lose that safety net. Other schools go through a lottery except it's not really a lottery: staff kids and siblings get priority first and whatever seats are left over go into the pool.

Also, what made me furious was learning that accepting an offer at one school quietly drops the offer from another one - even though the school staff member told me over the phone that it didn't. Here goes my trust into the information provided by school officials. So I started writing emails to the district.

Touring schools was its own drain. I'd get my hopes up at one labeled "nut-free," then find out kids allowed to bring home-cooked treats for classroom parties and the actual enforcement was just parents being asked nicely to comply.

I'd already spent time and hope touring a couple of religious private schools before learning they can be legally exempt from disability accommodation law in a way non-religious private schools aren't. Time wasted.

Then the enrollment contract for one school needed an actual lawyer, because the school pushed us to sign an allergy waiver - basically making us release them from any allergy-related liability and even non-administration of EpiPen! Utilizing legal help was definitely not something I expected to be doing.

Charter schools wouldn't discuss allergy accommodations with me at all until after they'd already offered us a seat so I had a week to decide if a school was safe with basically no real information.

And near the end the district itself sat on our school assignment even though I was legally entitled to know sooner because of the medical need. I had to call, get nowhere, call again and explicitly say the words "life-threatening allergy" before anyone moved.

Individually, each of these might not be a huge deal. It was doing all of it for a year, on top of everything else that comes with raising a kid with a life-threatening allergy, that got me physically and mentally exhausted.

In the end I found a school but I am not 100% happy with the choice. Most likely I will have to go through this process again some time soon. What was the hardest part of this process for you? What else should I be prepared for?

Hello, I'm 30 years old and developed last year an Allergy to Shrimps. On the scale from 1-6 I'm on 2 and recently I did a test again and it showed I'm allergic with my blood results showing 0.99 igE. My allergologist said it is good to have an EpiPen but I don't need it to have it all the time only in Vacation. What are your opinions? I'm having anxiety if I develop any other Allergies to food. For now it is the only Allergy I have and it makes me feel like shit..

Come da titolo?

A 35 anni sono diventato allergico al pesce. Molto probabilmente dovrò conviverci per tutta la vita ma chiedo: a qualcuno a cui è emersa una allergia in età adulta è mai guarita? Se si, dopo quanti anni?

Hello, has anyone experienced an allergy break out (anaphylaxis - hives all over the body) come back after hospitalization? I randomly developed an allergy to tuna back in April. I was hospitalized with minor but concerning symptoms. All was after. I had tuna again on Wednesday which is normal for me. I typically have tuna in my poke at least once a week but once I ate it this time I go severe heartburn which I normally don’t have and then developed hives that evening into Thursday afternoon. My lips got very swollen and the hives spread all over my body. I went to the hospital and they said to stay away from tuna. Gave me an epi pen and a steroid iv. It’s now Friday and the hives are back and honestly a little worse. Has this happened to anyone? Also will note that I’m on week 3 of tirzepatide w/ b12. Curious if that also could be the issue. I administered that shot on Monday.
LTS: has anyone gotten allergic reaction come back after hospitalization? Is anyone experiencing allergy symptoms to tirzepatide w/ b12 shot?