Nuts!

Like three million other Americans, I have a tree nut allergy. I'm also allergic to sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and some tropical oils. My allergist maintains I'm allergic to peanuts, but I've been eating peanuts without any reaction for my entire life. Skin testing isn't terribly accurate for food allergies, in any case.

I never eat nuts if I can help it, and I always read labels. I carry two EpiPens wherever I go, children's Benedryl tablets (when I have a reaction, I chew up Benedryl. Nasty if you don't get the children's grape flavor!) I make a pest of myself when I go out to eat, asking the wait staff to verify which recipes are safe. I often have my husband taste foods for me if I'm still ambivalent, just to make sure. Is this enough?

Nope. I've still had problems -- a peanut topping at Red Robin changed to mixed nuts (without the change being noted on the menu) meant a trip to the ER. A friend gave me a chocolate and swore it didn't have nuts in it -- and it didn't. It had hazelnut paste, and I was not happy for hours afterwards. I went out to lunch today at a nice Indian restaurant -- and even though the waitress was diligent and checked everything for me, I still had a reaction, though not a severe one, thankfully. As I'm typing this, I'm a little loopy on Bendryl, so forgive me if I ramble. =)

In a perfect world, I'd have the time, energy and resources to always cook at home, just to make sure. But unfortunately, I love Szechuan and Moroccan food, both of which are loaded with the things that make me sick.

It was very helpful for me to find so many useful online resources -- I felt, for the first time, that I wasn't alone with these allergies.

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Page last updated: 27 June, 2001

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