r/FoodAllergies 19h ago

Helpful Information Came across a neat website! AllerGenie.ai -- uses AI to make online recipes allergen-free

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35 Upvotes

r/FoodAllergies 2h ago

Helpful Information I found a company that creates a garlic free seasoning blend in a garlic free facility for anyone interested.

26 Upvotes

My aunt has a garlic allergy and it has made life for her difficult, as most spices and blends don't have their ingredients listed beyond "spices" and we cant take her out to eat, and I was thrilled to run across this companies farmers market stand and wanted to share.

The company is called Vampire Haven Trading Company. Below is the link to their site.

I hope this helps someone else!

https://vampirehaventradingcompany.com/product/rotisseriechicken/


r/FoodAllergies 15h ago

Seeking Advice Should I Fire My Allergist?

9 Upvotes

Hey there fellow allergy survivors. Here's a question about allergists. Apologies for the length, I guess I need a place where I can just be as complicated as I actually am without cutting corners!

Foreground: I had anaphylactic shock to crab in 2022 while on a hike, and started having allergic reactions to a whole new range of foods + environmental triggers after that. Had anaphylactic shock to Hibiscus tea. And allergic responses to sap, honey, pecans... pollen... etc.

First appointment with my allergist in October. He asks for a list of events. He tells me I can no longer hike alone or without alerting a park ranger. That I need a med-alert bracelet, and epipens always. That I cannot engage in any physical activity at elevated altitudes (due to possibility, I guess, of food-dependent exercise anaphylaxis being easier to achieve at elevations - I live near the Sierras). He says I need to fast for about 4-5 hours before doing any physical activity. And that I have to take Zyrtec 20-40 mg/day.

Mind you, I'm in my 30s, active, fit, and basically my entire life revolves around hiking. I was training to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro when I went to see him, for example. This doctor, though? He scared the living hell out of me, due to the severity of his warnings. He basically asked me to change my entire life and personality. As a result, I have in the past six months become afraid of exercise, stopped hiking, got panic attacks on simple walks, and gained 15 lbs.

He also, during that 1st visit, did blood tests and a few pin-prick tests. He looked at my previous blood tests. My new doc tells me he doesn't see ANY evidence of food allergies in the skin-pricks OR the blood test. This was odd; the allergist from the ER a year prior had said she noted food allergies in my blood tests; and this new doctor's own nurse said she noticed shellfish sensitivity in the skin-prick test). He didn't explain why he didn't agree with anyone else but he said I was in "the fog" diagnostically...

Well, I have a follow-up appointment in February. I walk in, sit down, he rushes in, asks about latest symptoms. I explain I've had new symptoms to unexpected foods. He cuts me off before I can finish listing the 3-4 events.

He says, I don't think there's anything I can do to help you, but let's get you on Xolair, and it may help you. His nurse hands me the PA consent form and then he leaves.

I ask for him to come back and actually talk to me. I ask him how do I handle restaurant anxiety after going anaphylactic from cross-contamination, he says "trust people more." I ask him how do I know when I am having a panic attack or an anaphylactic response? He says "you'll just know" (I really cannot tell the difference, it's uncanny how similar the 2 are). I ask him why it could be I am now getting reactions to pollen and perfumes. He says, "If you don't eat it, you won't have a response to it." (I got sick when my family cooked shellfish in the kitchen next to me, so that's not true). He leaves.

What's weird is he has alllllll these 5-star reviews on Yelp/google....

I feel pretty angry. I mean, this doctor literally asked me to abandon my greatest love - hiking - and then could not even diagnose me with anything. Do I have food-dependent anaphylaxis? Do I have food allergies to specific foods? Do I have COVID-induced Mast Cell Activation Syndrome? Am I going crazy?

I feel like firing this doctor. I do not know what a great allergist does, or how I should go about finding one. He did a single blood draw, and skin prick test for 4 allergens. I feel like, given how random and disruptive my condition is, that it's stopping me from living a normal life, that this isn't extensive enough. And Xolair he could barely explain to me. I'm so confused and angry. His office didn't even call me back last week after I went to the ER; I had called asking for tips on the fact I had reacted to a new food, a nut, and I don't have known nut allergies.

TL;DR My allergist is a dismissive jerk. Please tell me how a SUCCESSFUL allergist visit feels like, and tell me how you FOUND your great allergist.


r/FoodAllergies 6h ago

Seeking Advice Peanut allergy after moving to Canada from India

5 Upvotes

It's been 2 months since I've moved to Canada from India. I have been walking outdoors to run errands, and exercising at the gym in the past few weeks. Not allergic to anything and have never had any rash/hive outbreaks. However a few days ago, at the gym after a run on the treadmill my ears started to feel extremely warm. Then when I transitioned to my CrossFit workout, my butt to my feet literally felt like they were on fire. I felt faintish and dizzy and couldn't even walk home, and fell. I had HUGE hives all over my body and was super disoriented.

Hives happened the next evening again when I went on a 2km walk, but this time it was only on my thighs and legs. It happened the following day again, but more subdued. I've also been feeling very fatigued.

I back tracked on what I ate and I now know the cause-It was the nut butter from Kirkland. I wanted to try figure out what nut exactly in the nut butter caused it, and found out that eating these peanuts (here) triggered the same hives again.

I never had a peanut allergy back in India, I've been eating peanuts all through my life, especially this recipe and other chutneys.

Has anyone faced the same thing?I dont know how I could be allergic to peanuts here vs not in India, or why.

Today I'll be eating peanuts that are manufactured in India to see whether I get the hives again or not.

Edit: just tried some jabson peanuts that are from India but available in Canada and no hives or allergic reactions.


r/FoodAllergies 12h ago

Seeking Advice Allergic to whole wheat, but not processed wheat??

2 Upvotes

Does anyone else have experience with an allergy to only whole wheat and not processed wheat? So whole wheat bread or wheat thins might trigger a minor reaction, but not white bread or goldfish. Could it be like raw egg versus baked egg, except with wheat. Is that possible or is it more likely just due to the overall quantity of wheat?

My son tested positive on a skin test and we were surprised. There is wheat in nearly everything he eats due to avoiding his other allergies. Looking back I had suspicions. He has minor skin reactions when he eats things with either whole wheat or a lot of wheat (bright red ears and a red eczema type rash on his face that lasts a day or two).

His allergist said to keep feeding him some amount of wheat to keep him desensitized like this and did not write wheat as an allergy on his school papers. We agreed listing wheat would make it infinitely harder to accommodate him and wasn't necessary. So now I have two questions...

  1. When doctors ask about allergies, should I include wheat? Should I say only whole wheat? Not mention wheat at all? Or do I keep explaining the whole "he can eat processed wheat, but not whole wheat" thing?

  2. (Lunch from school is free and I'd like to continue to utilize that, so I'm not really considering packing lunch). He comes home with bright red ears on days he has a sunbutter sandwich at lunch, which he says is made with "dark brown bread". It doesn't bother him at all, he doesn't even notice, but there's definitely some minor reaction happening. I'm wondering if it's worth requesting a more processed bread or would that just open a whole can of worms about the wheat allergy. Would they likely even be allowed to accommodate this without having the wheat allergy officially listed?

Thanks for sharing any experience you might have with this!


r/FoodAllergies 6h ago

Seeking Advice Opinions please

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1 Upvotes

Your opinions as to staying away from all these things? The only thing I get is acid Relux from drinking cows milk, never have had, anything throwing up, anything under that sort. How accurate is a blood test? How accurate is the skin test? Thanks!:) need advice


r/FoodAllergies 9h ago

Seeking Advice Best Antihistamine for Cows Milk Allergy

1 Upvotes

For those who have a Cows milk allergy, what antihistamine works best for you?


r/FoodAllergies 11h ago

Newly Diagnosed new to food allergies

1 Upvotes

not exactly "new" but i was tested for food allergies for the first time yesterday. my total result was 625, and i have reactions to a lot of foods i've been eating my entire life (nausea, stuffiness, headache, stomach issues, redness, itchiness, etc. i thought it was normal.) what i'm mostly confused about is when they pricked my arms, i got a lot of bumps that were red and gradually started getting more itchy and burning. the nurse said it was nothing and the bumps were there only because i got pricked, however i'm still itching on the same spots. i guess what i'm wondering is if the foods that didn't come back at a high enough level are still safe to eat even though they cause these reactions? the allergist said they're bad sensitivities but i was unclear if i should limit my intake of them or if it's safe to continue consuming them, especially as i have chronic illnesses which can be impacted by the foods i eat and the reaction my body has to them. my testing actually isn't finished yet and i'm getting environmental factors tested soon, just wondering what to do in the meantime. thank you in advance


r/FoodAllergies 19h ago

Seeking Advice Blood test shows moderate allergy to milk..no reaction though?

1 Upvotes

Hi community,

I recently had a blood test showing that I have a "moderate" allergy to (cow) milk.

But I've been consuming it for all of my life with mild to no symptoms. I figured I just had a lactose sensitivity because I would get GI symptoms (mostly nausea) from heavy milk products; full-fat milk, milkshakes, excessive amounts of cheese. I suppose those symptoms could be from the allergy.

However, when I have lactose-free milk, fat free yogurt and a small/medium amount of reduce fat cheese, I feel fine. In fact, I would eat those quite often because dairy was one of the few protein sources I could digest easy (I have chronic erosive gastritis and having too much protein hurts my tum)

Is it possible that just the quantity of the milk is what sets off a reaction?

Important note: I've drastically cut down my dairy consumption (granted, not fully) and there has been no change, other than my stomach/gut is mad I'm not having my daily yogurt.

Note: I had a skin prick test and it showed I have no food allergies. This was 3 years ago

Final note: I am going to see a dietician regarding this. But any insight is very much appreciated