The Allergy Thread

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
i have a fair amount of pollen related allergies, which the DC area sucks for. I am also allergic to Vancomycin as I had a reaction when receiving that last year.

anitram what do you do? med school? bio related stuff?
 
I am extremely lucky b/c I have no real allergies. My dad's side of the family has TONS (especially my uncle who sleeps with three inhalers under his pillow and has serious reactions to certain foods). I'm mildly lactose intollerant, but even that has gotten better over the past few years. I think it was more of chronic upset stomach b/c of growing than a true allergy. When our pine tree pollinates, I get really stuffy and get a headache, but the thing has so much pollen, it covers the house and car with a yellow layer so you'd be odd if you DIDNT have some type of reaction.
 
My son has a life threatening allergy to all tree nuts and peanuts. He will go into shock if he eats the tiniest bit of almond or walnut etc. we have to carry an epi-pen (shot) wherever we go. If he were to accidentally take a bite of a Snickers, we have to give him the shot and call 911. We are extremely cautious.
 
DiGi said:

anitram what do you do? med school? bio related stuff?

I do research (Immunology) and my educational background is in the same field.
 
I'm allergic to shrimp. My throat gets very dry and itchy and starts swelling up, and my eyes also swell up. It's not exactly a fun or pretty reaction. :barf: Just the smell of shrimp makes my throat feel funny. I'm fine with crab though. Never had lobster, but I'm not in a rush to try.
 
My eldest daughter is allergic to dust mites, pollen and the perservative found in CC's and other foods.

When pregnant with my second daughter I was part of the trial to see if fish oil will make a difference. Taking the tablets was not the most pleasant of experiences (they repeated for hours - not good!).

As part of the study myself and my baby were tested for sensitivity and possible allergens. I am allergic to cockroaches!!!! (I HATE COCKROACHES WITH A PASSION and now I know why!) She had some sensitivities but not full blown allergies.

The study is now finished and the researchers believe that there is a link between the two. A larger study of approximately 5000 women from all over the US is underway to confirm the results.

So, I guess, seeing as it doesn't hurt, if you are pregnant taking fish oil would be a good thing.

Thanks Anitram, your explanations were much clearer than my texts.
 
Last edited:
when I was a kid I was really allergic, to loads of things:

dust mites (chronic asthma)
nickel
sugar
all dairy
wheat
additives (all colourings, flavourings and preservatives)
potatoes
citrus fruits
etc etc etc

it was not fun being a child who couldn't eat chocolate or crisps or sweets or bread or anything really. I was very skinny

when I turned teenage I grew out of the allergies and went mad eating everything under the sun. I've never really lost the weight since :lol:

but recently my allergies are making a reappearance. My allergic reactions have never been fun - massive itchy hives all over my body, swollen face etc. I used to have to carry around antihistamines incase my tongue swelled up. Nowadays, I get more facial rashes and swellings. Not fun if you're at work, and your face just randomly swells up and goes blotchy. People have been known to stare :laugh:

I'll always be really allergic to every metal other than sterling silver though, I think. If any other metal is touching my skin for more than like a minute, I come out in a huge swollen scabby rash. nice.

and I've still got the asthma :down:
 
My son has a peanut allergy, but thank goodness it is not severe. He just gets hives and puffy.
:uhoh: I craved peanut butter while pregnant and ate tons of it, so I think it is my fault, that his little body thought that peanuts were very bad!
 
Diemen said:
I'm allergic to shrimp. My throat gets very dry and itchy and starts swelling up, and my eyes also swell up. It's not exactly a fun or pretty reaction. :barf: Just the smell of shrimp makes my throat feel funny. I'm fine with crab though. Never had lobster, but I'm not in a rush to try.

I am the exact opposite. If I eat crab I turn into a red ballon from head to toe. I can eat shrimp until I am blue in the face though.
 
I do not think that anyone will be able to beat my wife when it comes to food allergies:

Poultry
Seafood/fish (except fresh Walleye and Pike for some odd reason)
Beef
Dairy
Corn (which is in everything - corn syrup, corn starch)
Melons
Grapes (though not wine, thank God)

We eat a lot of Pork, Lamb and vegetables. Amazing the amount of stuff that you can make from ground pork - burgers, tacos, chili, meatloaf. Tastes almost the same, though the burgers are a little dryer.
 
I'm allergic to cephalosporins, a class of antibiotics. My doctor put me on Keflex once because I had this massive swollen lymph node (like, the size of one of those big jawbreakers) on the back of my neck. I started taking it and I got hives all over and was short of breath.

Other than that, I have a steel constitution. ;)
 
verte76 said:
I'm allergic to onions. I can't get anywhere close to them without getting a runny nose and really red, burny eyes.

Ha-ha! Don't think that is an allergy, happens to everyone, some are just more sensitive. Whenever I cut up an onion, I ball like a baby.
 
Tear production and eye irritation when you cut up an onion isn't an allergy, it's a reaction to the presence of volatile gases. If I remembered my biochem better, I'd be able to tell you what gases they are, but I believe they are sulfur-containing.
 
beli said:

As does cutting them inside the freezer. ie put your hand, the knife, the onion inside the freezer etc.

With my culinary skills, that would result in an amputation. :wink:
 
Back
Top Bottom