Today I went on a trip.  It was an easy trip to see my allergy doctor.  It has been 6 years since I have been seen and with the recent add-ons, I thought that I should be seen.

Most of my food allergies are a big annoyance.  Others become a good ribbing from family and friends….I’ve heard all the Sylvester the Cat jokes….puddie tat…..and that is complete with flying spit….. AND then there are the scary ones….the life threatening ones.

My list:

Kiwi:  Anaphylactic…. swell, turn red, mucus coming out of places that isn’t natural, wheezing, throat closing, needing 911 emergency services…..it could kill me.

Banana, Avocado, Chestnuts :  Swelling of tongue, sounding like Sylvester the Cat…..

Pineapple:  mouth burning and possibly the beginning of a slight anaphylactic

Ginger Root and Walnuts:  mouth burning and tongue swelling

For 13 years, I’ve been plagued.  Seems like the list is getting longer and more dangerous.  Reading food labels have become a norm for me.  Reading labels became a reality when I ingested BBQ that caused my tongue to swell immediately because the third ingredient listed was bananas.

But today, the doctor enlightened me.  I wasn’t going to be tested but rather, he is going to compile of list of “food families” that I need to be aware of and beware of consuming.  This complete list will contain my allergies and their families.  I may never develop an allergy to the foods on the list but the possibility is pretty great.

He explained that some food allergens are found in environmental agents like pollen, dust and other seasonal allergies.  He gave the example of the cashew tree and poison ivy have the same allergen.  So if a person consumes the cashew nut may break out in a poison ivy-like rash.  So along with the food families I will have environmental allergens that will most likely cause me problems.  I am already experiencing problems with the adhesive on band-aides.  After using a band-aide I will have a nice pink tattoo where it covered my boo-boo.

Plus, I was told that I need to start carrying a second epi-pen.  Chances are I will never have to use both but if the pen doesn’t work properly or if there was no relieve during a major reaction, the second pen will handy.  I was scared enough to use my pen recently.  I can’t imagine if it didn’t work, what would I have done????  SCARY!!!

Needless to say….. food allergies may be an annoyance but it can be a life threatening ordeal….. something I can not afford to ignore.  This is such a bleak sounding post but I am just thankful that I didn’t have to do the needle test!!!  WHOOP WHOOP!!

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