Food Allergies, mixed message.

[mycrofft]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/suffer-phantom-food-allergies-journal-american-medical-association/story?id=10626826

The reason I did not put this in the media section is that it is not about EMS per se.

The unnamed "government study" reveals that many, many people believing they are allergic to foods are actually not due to false positives and failure to follow up with scratch testing, and to follow up as the patients mature. Also, poor communication and understanding between the pt and the MD causes confusion between intolerance (e.g., lactose intolerance, yielding abdominal highjinks like gas and diarreah), and a milk allergy (usually to the protein, causing an immune-mediated physiologic response or medical emergency).

HOWEVER, as closely as this falls to my observation, they do not name the study, and the Dr Karen Boyle they interview seems to be a urologist, not a specialist in the pertinent field.

In my experience, people with food allergies (I have known a few genuine ones) are not healthy, and do not tend to advertise their troubles to the world as some intolerant or Munchausenian ones do.

Come on, ABC, give us some rigor!! Sheesh...<_<

PS: want rigor? Read this:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/161/1/15
As of 2001, about 100 food mediated anaphylaxis deaths annually.

 

[Aidey]

This doesn't surprise me much after seeing how many people say they have medication allergies that don't make any sense or aren't really an allergy.

I don't know how many times have people tell me they are allergic to acetaminophen but can take Vicodin*. My favorite was someone who told me they were allergic to benadryl. When I asked what kind of reaction they had the pt said it made them sleepy. It seems like a lot of people don't understand the difference between an allergy and a side effect in medications, so it makes sense that people would be the same way with food.

* I do understand that people can be allergic to certain dyes/preservatives that are found in one brand but not another, these people seem to often know that is the issue, and what brand they are allergic to.

 

[Outdoornut]

I blame websites like WebMD...people 'self are diagnosing’ themselves based on lists of symptoms.

Haha...I will never forget last year a colleague of mine was experiencing ‘severe’ abdominal pain for a number of days…I told her to make a doctor appointment but she decided that WebMd’s symptom checker would suffice. Later she came to me happy that she had ‘figured it out’ and told me her problem….couple hours later I found her back in the office, back on the website…apparently the only solution for her other diagnosis was surgery and she didn’t have time for that so she was “trying to find something else” that would work better within her schedule BUT with the same symptoms…..she never figured out why I found that funny.

On the note of allergies though. Anyone familiar with iodine allergy?? When we treat water on long trips have to use a couple drops of chlorine bleach (rather than Iodine tablets) because apparently there are more and more people with iodine allergies (many who don’t know it too). Thought that was interesting.

 

[mycrofft]

Ask them if they react to shrimp or other sea invertebrates.

I had two relatives who react badly to sulfites, but it is not an allergic reaction. It is more insidious, and caused a general decline in their health with symptoms resembling asthma and general malaise. Theyn D/C'ed the sulfite sources: much better.

 

[Aidey]

^^^ That reminds me of the Sulfa antibiotic vs sulfite food additive issue. There are a lot of people who think that because they are allergic to one, they are allergic to the other.

 

[AnthonyM83]

I think the reasons stated in your summary seem to be correct.

I had childhood allergies to milk, all kinds of seafood, cats, eggs, and peanuts. Scents like perfumes would trigger my asthma.

Now, I only have moderate allergies to cats and peanuts. I now drink crazy amounts of milk, love eggs, like seafood, and can tolerate cats if I pop the right antihistamine. Peanuts though still itch like crazy with some inflammation.

Wouldn't have known all that if I didn't love milk, love eggs, love fish sticks, and dated girls who had cats. I also took allergy shots as a kid, though. I loved the foods so much I'd keep having tiny amounts here and there. Large amounts would cause hives and mild hypotension and extreme itchiness, but never airway problems, so it gave me room to taste sometimes.

 

[Seaglass]

I have a number of bizarre allergies, and nobody takes them seriously because of poor testing methods and attention-seekers with too much internet time. I can see why people think I'm crazy--some of the ones I have are really rare--but it still gets really frustrating.

They've changed a lot over the years. Some old ones have gone away, and some new ones have shown up. No apparent pattern.

On the note of allergies though. Anyone familiar with iodine allergy?? When we treat water on long trips have to use a couple drops of chlorine bleach (rather than Iodine tablets) because apparently there are more and more people with iodine allergies (many who don’t know it too). Thought that was interesting.

Another big problem with that allergy is with contrast solution. If you're having a bad day over in radiology, you might get someone with an allergy to that and a pretty bad reaction to barium sulfate. That would be me.

 

[Aidey]

You guys should read the comments on the ABC article, it offers good insight into what researchers and educators are up against. I thought the article was pretty clear that it was not talking about people who have anaphylactic reactions, and instead the much more vague non serious "reactions". Yet nearly every poster discounts the article because of anecdotal experience, or because they have serious allergies.

 

[Seaglass]

You guys should read the comments on the ABC article, it offers good insight into what researchers and educators are up against. I thought the article was pretty clear that it was not talking about people who have anaphylactic reactions, and instead the much more vague non serious "reactions". Yet nearly every poster discounts the article because of anecdotal experience, or because they have serious allergies.

People with serious allergies often get touchy about allergies in general because they're constantly discounted. I've had friends sneak allergens into my food, random waiters get angry when asked about the contents of dishes, and can't count the number of bizarre "it worked for me!" remedies I've heard. It's not surprising to see some overreact.

 

[Aidey]

I understand (to a point at least, latex allergy and asthma that does NOT get along with pepper spray). I just hate seeing "all or nothing" reactions because they inhibit reasonable resolutions. Not just with allergies, but with anything.

 

[MrBrown]

There has been some hype in the last few years here about kids who have "allergies" so the doctor prescribes them an Epipen. It's gotten bad enough that one school here has banned peanuts from its grounds.

They had some bit on telly where the principal showed little Johnny and pulled out his magic adrenaline autoinjector saying "oh poor lil Johnny only has five minutes to get his adrenaline or he dies".

I agree there are people out there who are at a genuine risk of anaphylaxis, however most of the people who claim to be "allergic" to something aren't truly allergic and as has been touched on previously, self or not properly diagnosed.

 

[Seaglass]

I understand (to a point at least, latex allergy and asthma that does NOT get along with pepper spray). I just hate seeing "all or nothing" reactions because they inhibit reasonable resolutions. Not just with allergies, but with anything.

Me too. Which means I hate people in general, I guess.

 

[Sasha]

I tell people I'm deathly allergic to bees so they don't expect me to be the one to kill one that's gotten in the truck/house/building etc. I'm not really allergic, I just don't want to get stung.

I assume some food/drug allergys are because they don't care for the food and don't want to get grief or people trying to force the food down their throat, or a drug they don't care to be under the influence of.

Like my grandmother knew I hated eggs, yet every easter she tried to make me eat them. I doubt that would've happened if I was allergic.

 

[mycrofft]

I liked the ABC article but it has weak foundations.

Why did they use a urologist for their talking medical head?? (Well, porbably as qualified as Dean Adell was when he started).

Seaglass, no, it the little people under your car seat and the magic amulets that make people think you're crazy. Ditch the tinfoil beanie!

Kidding. Sorry about your history, and it is ironic that many people with genuine problems get back-burnered while the histrionic ones get front row and muddy the waters.

 

[Seaglass]

Like my grandmother knew I hated eggs, yet every easter she tried to make me eat them. I doubt that would've happened if I was allergic.

My experience says otherwise. I've had a lot of people keep trying to make me eat things because they assume I'm just being picky, or that medical problems are just a sign of a lack of faith. More seriously, I've also had people slip stuff secretly into my food so they could prove I wasn't really allergic and that I really would like it if I'd just be more open-minded. Free food challenge=fail.

Seaglass, no, it the little people under your car seat and the magic amulets that make people think you're crazy. Ditch the tinfoil beanie!

Dude, you are a dinosaur. The hat is only a fashion statement, but it's still a must-have these days.

 

[mycrofft]

Haha.

Common scenario at my (now, FORMER) work:
"Any medical allergies?".
"Yeah, peanuts".
"How did you find this out?".
"My mother told me".
"You eat Chinese food out?",
"Yeah".
"Hm. Might want to check that allergy".
"Dude, I just HATE peanut-butter sandwiches!".<_<