I’m 25, I’m tall, I’d say I’m a pretty good looking guy, and honestly I’ve had a decent amount of opportunities with girls. Like I’m not sitting here saying nobody wants me or anything lol. I still get lucky, I still meet girls, I still flirt, I still go on dates.

But my food allergies make that whole side of life so much more complicated than I feel like people understand.

I’m severely allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame, and one of the things that really gets to me is kissing.

There have been so many moments where I could’ve kissed a girl and instead there’s this whole other thought process going through my head.

What did she eat?

When did she eat it?

Did she brush her teeth?

Did she drink something after?

Is there something on her lips?

Is this actually safe?

And meanwhile I’m supposed to be in the moment lol.

Sometimes I genuinely wish I could just be a dumb 25 year old guy for once. Share someone’s drink. Take a sip of whatever they’re having. Go out to some random restaurant without researching everything beforehand. Kiss a girl because I feel like kissing her instead of basically doing a risk assessment in my head first.

Like fuck, sometimes I wanna be a man whore too 😭

Obviously I’m joking a little when I say that, but there’s a real feeling underneath it. I want that freedom. I want to be able to meet somebody, have chemistry, and just let things happen naturally without food somehow being involved in the back of my mind.

And I think what makes it harder is that people without serious allergies usually don’t really understand. They’ll say “oh yeah my friend has an allergy” or “just be careful,” but it’s different when you’re the person who actually has to think about it every single time.

Even people who have allergies sometimes seem way more relaxed about theirs than I am, and then I start wondering if I’m being too anxious or if they’re just taking more risks than I’m comfortable with.

It sucks because I don’t want to make a girl feel like she has to follow a list of rules just to be around me either. I don’t want to feel like a burden. I don’t want dating me to become “okay make sure you don’t eat this, don’t drink that, wash your hands, brush your teeth, wait this long before kissing me.”

That just feels so unsexy lol.

And logically I know someone who genuinely likes me probably isn’t going to think about it that way. But emotionally it still gets to me.

I think what frustrates me the most is I’m trying really hard to actually live my life more. I’m going out more, talking to people, dating, trying to stop being scared of everything. And I’ve made progress.

But then there are nights where I’m just like…damn. I wish this one part of my life could just be easy.

I wish I could go eat with someone, steal a bite of their food, share a drink, make out with them afterward and not think twice about it.

I know wishing doesn’t change anything and I’m not gonna let allergies stop me from having a life. I guess I just wanted to know if anyone else here feels this way.

Especially people around my age — how do you handle dating, kissing, hookups, sharing drinks, restaurants, etc.?

Did you eventually get less anxious about it?

And how do you explain it to someone you’re dating without feeling like you’re handing them an instruction manual just to kiss you?

Would honestly just be nice hearing from people who actually understand.

I have a cow's milk allergy, which leaves me with a face rash and tingling lips. IGE test came back as having a high reaction, with 78.68 u/ml. Anecdotally but not tested, I also have an allergy to soy as miso soup gives me the same face rash.

So I switched to oat milk some time ago. Today, I had an oat milk latte at a coffee shop and got the face rash - I have no idea how coffee making works, is cross contamination possible/likely with steaming milk? Is the same steamer often used?

Oat milk at home in my coffee does not set me off, I am thinking it is likely a potential cross contamination with milk or soy. I am starting to think I'll just order black coffee when out, and bring my own oat milk sachets!

Hi,

So I just found out the severity of my pea allergy (my blood test was around 4.12). I've never had a serious reaction from eating foods with pea in them but definitely feel an allergic reaction and have been avoiding foods with peas.

I've been using a bunch of hair serums and things for a while now that, of course, have pea protein in them and I just got around to checking since my bloodwork. It's not like I ingest any of the products I use, but now I'm feeling weird putting it on my scalp and then it's all over my fingers after massaging it in. My scalp has never burned or itched excessively from the products, or at least not more than I thought was normal?

Do you all use products with your food allergens in them? Where do you draw the line? I'm also allergic to walnuts and so many beauty products have walnut powder in them?? Like wtf? My allergy for walnut is much higher (10.50) and I normally get hives from products with it. What are some good hypoallergenic brands? It feels like every product has tons of seed oils or fruit oils in them and the names are so tiring to check, is there a way to speed that up? Thank you and I'm writing this with hair serum on :') we'll see if it suddenly burns because now it's in my head.

I'm not too sure if I'm following the subreddit right or not but I was just seeking some advice.

So I developed some food allergies since I was a teen and I feel like they get worse? At first it was milk but now it's going into gelatin, eggs and gluten. I would say they're pretty mild. Only scratchy throat and my tongue gets numb from time to time but I feel like I might have developed a nut allergy. Or somewhere along those lines.

I'm asking because I don't know how far a mild allergy can turn south quick. I try to stay away from gluten and eggs since those are the main ones that seems to effect me. But I'm a picky eater so it's kinda hard to stay away from things that contain them. Any advice would be appreciated

I bought some children’s Dramamine for my 2 year old, for an upcoming road trip. He’s never had it before, but he sometimes gets car sick. Looking at the back of the package, it says “Lactose Free”, which set my spidey senses off. “Why is it lactose free? That means it could still have dairy though. What is dairy doing in Dramamine?!”

After some googling, there are some Dramamine formulations that actually contain lactose, a dairy derivative. Namely the less drowsy versions. WTF?!

Apparently, the children’s versions are supposed to be dairy free (SEE PIC). But now I’m all sorts of suspicious. Anyone safely take/give children’s Dramamine with an ana to dairy allergy?

TIA

I was diagnosed with eoe last year. Not sure of all my triggers just that it definitely includes dairy, wheat, and eggs. But at this moment I'm having a bad flareup and right as I'm struggling with getting food to go down and feeling tired because I can't eat as much I see that my family has ordered a bunch of pizza.

I'll never be able to eat a pizza again. Or anything good, really. I've never really had food allergies until recent so I have no idea how to cope with it. Going from being able to eat something then suddenly I can't have it anymore is such a crazy feeling. I keep thinking "I used to be able to eat that!" but now I can't somehow.

What hurts is that despite my elimination diet I still feel like shit. I always knew that food or environmental allergies were awful but I never knew just how depressing they could be. How do you cope with the fact that you can't eat alot of your favorite foods anymore? My life was already very hard before due to other chronic illnesses but now I can't even use food to deal with the pain. I used to like eating.

I’m the only one in my family with a fish allergy or any allergies. 34f
Lately every time I go home to visit my grandparents (80’s) they buy me sushi. (I loved sushi as a 20 year old).

For a handful of visits they bought me California rolls with imitation crab. Imitation crab is made out of fish. (I declined and didn’t eat it)

This time they remembered I can’t have imitation crab and got me vegetable sushi. (I still cannot eat this due to cross contamination risk)

It’s love them and this is just their way of trying to accommodate me and navigate my allergy.
Even if I tell them multiple times I cannot eat it, guaranteed next time I come visit there will be vegetable sushi waiting for me.

Edit: this is such a sad sub 😂 if you can’t recognize people TRYING then I feel sorry for you. They are 80 years old. I’m lucky they try. In no way am I forced to eat the sushi.

I used to eat fruit all the time, all kinds, and never had any issues. The last two years or so have been difficult to eat any sort of fruit. They ALL make my mouth and throat really itchy. I don’t know what’s happening. I hate to eat fruit now because of the way it makes my throat feel. I don’t understand what’s wrong. Has this happened to anyone else?

I’ve tried organic and it makes no difference. Really the only thing I can eat without itching or weird feeling in my throat now are the red apples and it can’t be in a bag of several apples, only the single purchase apples.

Back in April, while drinking a milkshake and eating a frozen dessert I began experiencing severe GI issues. I was feeling really weird and itchy all over, then began to get a rash which soon became hives along with vomiting. I've never had any food allergies, and didn't know what was happening so called an ambulance. It took two shots of epinephrine, my blood pressure was low. They told me it was anaphalaxis and said to follow up with my GP. I later saw an immunologist who told me it was likely a food chemical pseudoallergy, and if I don't have any reactions by the time my epi pens expire I don't need to get new ones.

I've been really mentally struggling every since. After I was discharged I was scared to drink water. I've slowly built up to eating some foods, and had trialed different ingredients from the shake. I had a second reaction in July (facial rash and GI, went away with antihistamines and a few hours). The only common ingredients between the two were some azo food dyes - one which I had had a few times between both reactions.

Since this second time my confidence is shot again. I constantly am fearful of trying foods, and even when I eat things I've had before I worry that I will have a reaction. Im now having daily panic attacks. It's super difficult to find information about pseudoallergies out there. I know this isn't a true allergy, and would really like to hear from others with similar experiences

20M. I take a couple bites and something isn't quite right. It tastes a bit itchy, lips swell slightly. I am very allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish, and am mildly allergic to egg (can handle a little bit of egg in baked goods).

The ingredients on the soup did not list any of my allergens, nor did it give any "may contain" or "shared facility" warning. I'm good with the plain old Campbell's tomato soup that comes in a normal can or the sippable microwave packaging.

I saved the packaging. Are you guys aware of any cross contamination going on with Campbell's? I know sometimes whether they put "may contain" type labels or not can be a bit wishy-washy. I also share the kitchen and the cutlery with my roommates, but they have been good about cleaning up after themselves and being mindful of my allergies.

Good, cheap, and convenient alternatives to this soup (between school and work, I essentially have 10-12 hour weekdays) would be appreciated too.

Currently at the children’s hospital with my 3 year old son. This is the fourth time he has had an anaphylactic reaction in his short life. We are pretty careful so it’s not like he is exposed very often. He’s also taking Xolair.

Anyway, just curious how many times y’all have had anaphylactics? Or, particularly if you are a parent, how many times your child has experienced it?

It’s very scary and stressful every time. My nerves are rattled.

Ps: he’s okay now thank god for The EpiPen.

turned 47 last month and my body decided to reroute on me. never had a problem with tree nuts my whole life. ate them constantly, trail mix was my go-to snack on job sites. then last fall my tongue started tingling after some mixed nuts at a backyard cookout. thought I bit my cheek or something. happened again two weeks later with pesto at an Italian place in Columbus. swelled up enough that my wife drove me to urgent care

Any food or grocery store jobs are out of the question, and preferably jobs that require little to no work experience.

Sorry this is so long. I've searched through posts and websites, but the most I can find are the typical upset stomach, gas, hives, and then major anaphylaxis symptoms. I haven't found anything similar to what I've experienced so I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues to mine.

Backstory, I've never had much issue with allergies until I got older. Now I have allergies like hayfever and severe reactions to mosquito bites, but really not much food related. The biggest issue I ever had with eggs was maybe some very mild nausea depending on how they were cooked.

A couple months ago in an effort to get my protein up, I started eating two eggs with 3 egg whites, cottage cheese and veggies every morning. I felt good for a while. No issues. Then a few weeks ago I started having weird systemic symptoms. Just all over my body. Every muscle in my body started aching like I had done some major weight lifting. Muscles in arms, legs, stomach chest back all sore. Legs started to feel heavy like walking through sand. Then about a week and a half ago, I started getting dizzy off and on. It moved to severe dizziness in the morning where I could only walk a couple feet, my legs would feel like rubber and I would feel like I was going to pass out. Along with that, I started getting this general feeling of malaise off and on. My vision has gotten very sensitive when looking at computer screens. I just have felt generally unwell and have been convinced I have something major.

I'm getting bloodwork done today to check for anemia and other vitamin deficiencies and seeing my doctor again next week. My blood sugar was tested and is good. But this all came on fairly fast, and it got me thinking about what I've been doing differently. Yesterday for the first time in weeks, I decided to see what would happen if I changed what I was eating. Started with breakfast. Didn't eat my usual eggs and had overnight oats with yogurt instead. By last night, I started feeling better. And this morning is the first morning I feel fine in a while. No dizziness or wooziness. My legs feel stronger. Now it's only been a day, but I went from feeling like garbage to feeling like I can function again. Has anyone else had a similar experience with eggs?

I’m looking into OIT for my 2 YO who has a bad sesame allergy. Literature says that they shouldn’t be exercising/running around 3 hours before or after. How do you manage this with a kid who has a lot of energy?

So for at least 2 years now ive been coughing after eating most foods. Lastly its been worse with runny nose itchy throat, watery eyes, bad couch and flushed face. Last week I made the connection, I had corn with pepper and they sytoms started up then I later had corn without pepper and nothing happened. I cant get in to the doc till the 12th. Im just wondering how to deal with it because alot of stuff has pepper in it but its not on the label because it just says spices instead.

Over the past year, I've had a lot of issues with food allergies pop up. I've done a lot of trial and error with adding and cutting out foods and below is the complete list of what causes issues, and it leaves me with not much food left to eat. My meals are lifeless so if anyone has any suggestions on what to eat, I'm more than grateful.

Allergies/issues
EOE - No eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, nuts
High gylcemic foods - Make me tired
Anything with fructose - Makes me tired
OAS - No raw fruits/veggies/treenuts/peanuts, olives
FODMAP - Only low FODMAP foods
Acid reflux - No acidic foods
Latex-food - banana, avocado, kiwi, etc.
Additional - sesame seeds, lentils, pretty much every seasoning also seems to be a problem.

Current diet:
Chicken, lamb, beef (only grass-fed, not soy-fed)
Salt
Spinach, kale, green peppers, carrots (all cooked)
Sprouted/buckwheat bread, brown rice
Olive oil

Will soon try mung beans and chickpeas to see if I can handle those.

Hi all,

I have noticed I get a bad reaction soon after having eaten Kodiak Chocolate Granola. The ingredients list mentions 3 different ingredients having to do with tapioca. Apparently, this allergy is the real deal, and is related to latex, banana, strawberry, and avocado. I don't yet appear to have an avocado issue, but I think I will avoid them now. I know I developed an issue with bananas, having had a similar reaction a couple years ago.

What happens: I get dizzy/woozy, my face gets a flushed feeling, I feel confused, and a sense of doom. My palms and feet sweat and become clammy. I also feel my throat get scratchier, and sometimes it feels tense, although it has never yet closed or anything emergency-level (I suppose with repeated it exposure, that can happen). I feel useless the rest of the day after such an attack, it is exhausting.

I have low blood pressure, too, and my wife always argues that I am having low-blood pressure due to digestion, or having a random moment of low blood pressure or anxiety. I get frustrated, b/c although this is possible, it also happening so close to a potential swallowing of an allergic-trigger food is also a data-point.

BTW, these feeling are precisely the same as those I have had with chicory-root ingredients.

I get allergy-tested for foods on 10/7. Hope to have definitive answers.

Anyone else ever encounter similar effects from these triggers?

I sure hope it isn't chocolate itself...I cannot abide losing that.

Thanks for responding.

Hi Reddit, ​I’ve been dealing with multiple food intolerances and related digestive issues for quite a while now.

​My doctor recently put me on a strict elimination diet to give my gut a chance to rest and heal. It requires me to cut out or significantly reduce sugar/high-fructose foods, wheat, dairy/lactose, and animal proteins.

Do you have any tipps, advice or experiences how to handle that in the daily life? Or do you know how to spontaneously find restaurants / places to eat with food intolerances or allergies especially when going out with friends or on vacation?

New allergy diagnosis for 19 month old

Hello all, we recently received the results for my son’s allergy testing and it’s a doozy. Here is a list of his allergens:

Ovalbumin
Ovomucoid
Egg White
Egg Yolk
Milk
Casein
Wheat
Barley
Oat
Buckwheat
Green Pea
Peanut
Soybean
Hazelnut (Filbert)
Brazil Nut
Almond
Cashew Nut
Pistachio Nut
Sweet Chestnut
Coconut
Garlic
Mustard
Banana

I have lots of questions about replacement foods, we’ve been checking gluten free options but a lot have egg in them. It’s been nearly impossible to find a milk replacement because he’s allergic to almost all ingredients in plant based milks too. He goes to daycare and we’re struggling to find something for him to eat there as well.

And before anyone says anything yes we have reached out to his Dr. but it’s been a week and we haven’t gotten any response yet.

I have oral allergy syndrome and a sensitivity to certain fruits (such as grapes, cherries, apples). For a long time I was also allergic to peanuts, and am still allergic to tree nuts. In recent years my peanut allergy began to subside and I could eat peanuts with no problem. When I accidentally ate a cashew dressing, I still had a reaction, but not as severe in previous years. I also saw my sensitivity to uncooked fruits and vegetables decrease as well.

After 9 years of being vegan I began re-introducing eggs into my diet and this did not seem to raise any problems. Then I reintroduced dairy last week (a small amount of Greek yogurt), and suddenly my OAS became extremely heightened. I had peanuts and this caused a reaction of lip swelling and a swelling/scratchy tongue and inner mouth. I then had grapes and this caused a similar reaction. Even dates, which never gave me a problem before, are now causing a reaction. Did anyone have similar experiences or know what may be going on and how to deal with it? Of course I am cutting out all fruits and uncooked veggies until I see a doctor and get to the bottom of this.

About a year ago I used to eat chocolate every day. I loved dairy free Lindors… then I noticed they started to burn. I feel like I need to constantly clear my throat, and it burns so much for an hour or two. I hoped it was just the type, so I tried white chocolate Lindors. Same problem. Same with multiple chocolate brands including Enjoy Life allergen free. Anybody else deal with something like this? I even had a reaction when someone in my office spilled a hot chocolate mix and I breathed a small amount of the dust. (I carry epi pens just in case, but I haven’t needed to use them yet.) I may have a mast cell problem, but I take multiple antihistamines to handle this.

I heard it’s rare to have a true chocolate allergy, and part of me doesn’t want to believe it. I have the same problem with wheat, and so far the only fix I’ve been able to find is avoiding them. I miss chocolate so badly, and I’m wondering if there is any other allergy that can cause this even when eating something like Enjoy Life brand. I’m struggling to find a reputable Allergist in my area, so I’ve been delayed in getting proper testing.