Food Allergies

kgord

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Do you or does any member of your family have food allergies? What kinds of precautions do you use to keep the item out of your home? I guess it must consist of lots of label reading. I know some people can even develop food allergies who may not have had them previously.
 
Its not really an allergy but I can't do mayonnaise. God knows why as I can eat eggs and oil with no problem. But Mayo gives me a vague sick feeling in my stomach for several hours after eating. Nothing dangerous. Taramasalata has the same effect, yet I can happily guzzle caviar! Luckily we are all bomb proof here, otherwise! Its the food prejudices which I find irritating. One doesn't like black olives another hates anchovies another won't eat mashed potatoes etc.etc. And I'm not talking about toddlers but grown-ups!!
 
I personally have no allergies but allergies are now part of the basic food handling exam ,and there is more training in this area ,and individuals have different levels of intolerance to foods ,ie some gluten free diets could not have chips fried in oil the breadcrumbs have been in but some are ok,
It's still hard as a food handler at the end product to guarantee the food has not been contaminated by nuts or well you can get the idea..it could have been contaminated in the factory or transport etc
 
I'm allergic to milk. All dairy in anything no matter how little or what had been done to it, but I can tolerate the 'made in the same factory as'. It is only consumption of, not exposure to thankfully.

The result is that our home is dairy free and that most things are cooked from scratch. There is a lot of label reading when we are out. Even things I knew were fine have to be checked it there is the slightest changed in the label, from new packaging to that awful phrase 'new recipe'! My husband is dairy free which has helped his snoring issue and guests east dairy free as well. If they really need milk in their coffee or tea, I have some long life milk sachets which I expect will go bad before they are all used!

Eating out is getting easier than it used to be. I can usually eat at vegetarian restaurants without much issue. One of the larger pizza chains now has a dairy free option for each course and one of the oriental chains has several main meals that are fine. Otherwise I have to ring up and talk with the Chef that is on that day and arrange with them what I am having in advance.

But as a rule, I don't eat out much because of the worry, buy I know by the 2nd bite if there is going to be a problem!
 
My son has a cashew and pistachio allergy. We discovered this allergy when he was 5 and ate a dessert that had pistachios in it. He immediately said his throat was burning. At first I thought he was just overreacting to the new taste but then quickly clued in he was allergic. He went on to vomit so violently that his eyes were bloodshot by the time he was done. He went for allergy testing and we were told to stay away from all tree nuts. As he got older he continued to do the food testing every 3 years and now he is only to allergic to pistachios and cashews. Ever since he was diagnosed with the allergy he knows not to eat food that isn't prepared from home or he will ask if there are nuts in the food. We also let restaurants know he has a food allergy and of course school. He carries an epipen with him. I read food labels carefully as well.
 
I'm not really allergic to anything but I can see how that can be a problem when you're eating in a restaurant. My friend has peanut allergies and she always asks what's in dish to the waiter to the point of annoyance but she has to for her health, thank goodness most restaurants can accommodate strange requests too.
 
No allergies to food in our household, except my husband not being able to eat fresh pineapple because it irritates his mouth. Don't think that's an allergy though, more just a bit of sensitivity to the acidic nature of pineapple.
 
Sadly there are allergies in this household. I'm allergic to all milk products and not just cows milk products, any dairy products and this means that I have issues with everything because dairy finds its way into so many things.
I am about to be sent for for allergy testing at a Manchester clinic which specialises in it, so I won't have to do what my doctors surgery wanted me to do which was drink some milk in front of them and... I refused!
My asthma specialist has referred me because of an issue I had with one of my capsule inhalers. I had to change to the much more expensive nebulae version of the drug after the only other ingredient in the capsule produced an allergic reaction in me. The other ingredient is lactose monohydrate. Now I'm not certain it is lactose that I'm allergic to because I react to non cows milk products as well but I guess I could be allergic to lactose as well as casein which is what we have always assumed I'm allergic to. And this is anaphylactic shock allergic rather than an intolerance to/upset stomach style response.

But it means food labels have to be checked really carefully and most things get cooked from scratch.
 
I actually have an undefined food allergy. The first time it hit me, the only food I had was a tuna sandwich so the doctor assumed that tuna is against me. The symptom is the thickening of my lips. Fortunately, the antihistamine tablet works fast on it. But on the subsequent attacks, I had been to a banquet or a feast with so many dishes so I couldn't pinpoint what caused the histamine in my body to act up. However, the attack is rare nowadays and none for the past year.
 
I'm allergic to peanuts and have to be careful when eating out, that a dish doesn't contain nuts. Especially if I'm travelling! Thankfully though I won't end up in hospital if I consume nuts, I'll just have trouble digesting my food and my throat and mouth swells.
 
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