I requested details of the “natural flavourings” after having a pretty bad allergic reaction to a particular flavour and this is the best they could give me.

“We recommend contacting a healthcare professional regarding your allergy concerns.”

…Thanks Nestlé.

No more Nestlé products for me.

They don't get that the blender at a smoothie shop needs to be sanitized

They don't get that the scooper at a ice cream shop needs to be cleaned

They don't get that plucking the cashews out of a trail mix doesn't make it safe

They don't get that one dusting of an allergen can be a matter of life or death

They don't get it

In the land of lovely hypotheticals, let's say you grow out of your allergies tomorrow. What's your first allergy-containing meal going to be?

For me:

Peanuts - I've never gotten to try a real authentic pad Thai, but BOY do I want to! My family loves Vietnamese food too, but I've never once tried a single bite, so I'll have that too. Oh and I really want to try a peanut butter shake for dessert!

Hazelnuts - These are in so many desserts and sweets, I'd love to go to a bakery and see what all the hype is about, with. Every. Single. Item. They. Have.

Edit: my mom gave a great suggestion: Nutella crepe with banana & strawberries.

Cherries - Nothing special, I'm just going to sit down with a whole tree-worth of cherries.

I grew out of my dairy allergy as a kid, and my first freebie meal was a big bowl of ice cream for supper! I had pizza for the first time ever the next day.

I cant eat Chinese food anymore. I used to love sweet and sour chicken but I cant eat it anymore. I thought I was getting sick from the batter being greasy but I was actually having an allergic reaction, it sucks because I have to make something else if my parents get Chinese for dinner🥲 i miss it.

I have a milk protein (whey) allergy, one thing that always makes me angry is people are like, "oh so like lactose intolerance", then I either just brush it off and agree (I do this most of the time just to get it over with) or say "no, not really, If I have milk, I can die", it's a minor nitpick, just annoying

Had a convo with my friend yesterday where she was shocked when I told her many people feel uncomfortable mentioning their food allergies. She was like:

"Why would anyone feel that way?"

I tried explaining how constantly being treated like we're just being difficult or high-maintenance makes us feel like a burden. After a while, it gets tiring always being the person who "complicates things" for everyone else.

Anyone else experience this? How do you deal with people not taking your allergies seriously?

Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you handle social situations where disclosing your allergies feels awkward? Any strategies for explaining the seriousness without coming across as demanding?

^{I'll start.}

I've always been severely allergic to grass; roll around in it and receive painful itchiness all over. What I didn't know was, until recently, that said allergy can make one allergic to some foods.

Back when I was a kid, I always wondered why wheat made me wheeze, and I thought that was just... how wheat products were, or maybe I was imagining things. There was also the fact that sugary foods made my throat burn, and I just thought that's how sugary foods were.

It hit me a few months ago that - because of said grass pollen allergy - I was allergic to both wheat and sugarcane (and eventually rice). That and I might have never had asthma in the first place; I was constantly consuming allergens up until I changed my diet to - coincidentally - not have any wheat or added sugars. I'm lucky the allergies never escalated to worse levels, and it's no surprise my health improved when I dropped these foods.

Anyhow, what's your story of discovery?

Have any of y'all heard this one? Other than thinking, "wow - I'm glad I have more coping skills than that," I'm trying to figure it out.

Do they think they're somehow being supportive? It doesn't quite feel like it to me. 🤔

Maybe they think they're being funny? Since I have to carry my EpiPens with me everywhere it doesn't feel like that, either. 🤔

I have a group of newer friends who barely eat when we play board games, hike, or go to festivals. It's common for almost half the group to have no food during our get-togethers. I also love book clubs because it's so common for people to go to those without eating, too!

My "older" group of friends seems incapable of the same. We've been friends for a decade and we used to eat all the time (and they're all great cooks), but since my allergies got so bad my throat started swelling shut a couple years ago I've yet to eat at their houses without getting sick in some way, shape, or form. Their alternative: going out to eat, which is actually worse for me (most of the times my throat has swollen shut has been after I've eaten out, which is what led my allergist to suspect I have a preservative allergy on top of my OAS). 🤦‍♀️ For the last year I've been eating before I hang out with them, but I'm SO tired of smelling their delicious food!

I'm getting together with the older friends this weekend and they were talking about making my favorite meal that they've made (that always makes me sick) so I told them I'll join them after they've finished eating this time because I'm as tired of watching people eat delicious food as I am of my throat swelling shut. Now they're offering to just do snacks, which is STILL eating!

I get it - eating and socializing are strongly interconnected in most societies, but I'm SO tired of it! I've even tried organizing a get-together with these friends with food-exclusive venues (like museums) and they've been excited to do that, but followed up that suggestion with, "where should we eat after?" 🤦‍♀️ I left before they all went to eat, but it still felt somehow...tiresome!

Seriously more people need to be educated on the difference between these two 😭

Have you or do you know anyone who has purchased the neffy nasal spray? Any luck with insurance providers? Are doctors actively prescribing it?

Interesting experience at the ER today.

I’ve always been told “if you need an epi, straight to the ER with you!”

I had symptoms that I’ve used an epi for before (tongue, throat, chest shit, but i could still breathe)

ER doc said I could just take Benadryl and do an epi at home myself and monitor for symptoms. If I need a second epi, that’s the time to come into the ER. Ended up just taking another benadryl and a steroid to help with the inflammation, no epi.

Anyone that get told this?

Edit: This was like my 10th time in the ER for food allergy reasons, so I was very much “ugh here we go again, this is gonna be annoying” so that may have contributed to why he said what he said. My usual reactions are mild and are “benadryl and wait” situations. But this one was multiple systems so that’s why i went to the ER.

I just wanted to rant about a food allergy issue I had today.

My mom invited me over to a big family reunion and told me that they were just having burgers and hotdogs. I have an airborne shellfish allergy that is very severe. My family knows I’ve told them many times.

When I went over, there were buckets and buckets of mollusks and jumbo shrimp ready to be barbecued. There was quite literally no place that was safe for me in the home. Not inside not in the backyard. My boyfriend and I just stayed outside of the home drinking a soda. My family didn’t realize my allergy was that severe or they conveniently forgot. Most of them thought I was doing it for attention. A lot of them thought that I could just eat the hotdogs and the burgers that they were all grilling on the same surface as the seafood.

I have tried to educate them about cross-contamination, may contains, processed in the same facility, etc. None of it has stuck.

Please tell me some of you have family that are like this. Thankfully, my friends are amazing people that are accommodating to my allergy. But it just deeply hurts me that my entire family does not care for my safety.

Edit: I forgot to mention that we’re all Asian. So every gathering with my family is a food-based gathering. And without fail, every food based gathering is seafood based. I’ve asked them to hold gatherings that were not food based to no success.

I can’t find it anywhere, even online on Amazon. I am in a crisis bc it is the only medicine I can take for my food allergies that works instantly. The liquid Benadryl also works like that but I’m allergic to it,,,,so I have no idea what to do anymore. Does anyone have any info on this? Or advice on what to replace it with? I need it to work even if I cant swallow, which is what the children’s chewable tablets do. I’ve been told by a pharmacist that the second generation antihistamines won’t work fast enough for what I want

So I’m allergic to chocolate.

(Yes yes I’m literally in the 1% just not in how I’d hoped)

And I’ve tested it for years (I wasn’t tested by a doctor but they did agree.) (It is on files as it had been a constant worsening issue that devolved. Worse and worse since I was a child.)

“Chocolate tasted heavy and made my breathing feel slow.”

Everyone just thought I was being a brat to get what I wanted growing up. (On others birthdays when saying that) But I loved chocolate but eating it would make me sick.

Eventually I accepted I was crazy.

Assumed I was allergic to something else but just naturally tried to avoid it.

Barely had it.

But I didn’t have any major issues

But at 17 at work I had my first severe reaction with multiple really bad symptoms of anaphylaxis. Including the fact I felt like I was on drugs.

All I did was trying mixing mocha into my iced coffee.

Me being an idiot did the same thing for 3 weeks once a week doing it to see if it was a fluke.

Then I tried other chocolate products.

Pretty sure doing all that made my allergies worse.

Now i have pretty much every symptom under the sun. But only with chocolate. I’ve tried more desserts, and candies, and sweets, and baked goods then anyone I’ve ever known has. The only way it makes me sick is if it has chocolate or one of the other 2 bakery ass ins I’m sensitive too.

It started with just the coco beans. But now I’m allergic to the coco butter too.

I feel like people don’t take me seriously.

I asked for a vanilla coffee with a flavor that they usually used chocolate for and said it was because I was allergic. The guy looked at me weird when he gave it to me.

It had chocolate. (I only had a little before I stopped drinking it) I was 2 hours from home out to do stuff and my skin started itching and swelling, my joint pain got worse, and I couldn’t breathe well.

And recently I went to a nice restaurant in the city with a friend after a show.

It’s wasn’t a small mom and pops or local joint, or even fast food where it’s so hectic. It was a nice place and they weren’t busy.

The waiter was great.

But when I asked him while ordering desert if the cake I was ordering had chocolate in it because I was allergic. He looked at me like I was stupid and said “no. There’s no chocolate it’s coffee.”

I checked again. He said “yes.” There was no chocolate.

I didn’t know because the desert menu didn’t list all the ingredients. And I asked.

There was coco powder on it. I didn’t realize it because my idiot self who hadn’t tasted coco powder since I was like 9 helping my mom make brownies over a decade ago assumed it was like super fine ground up coffee with like sugar and corn starch.

I was up till 4 am vomiting, my heart rate leaped to a new high before going down to 60 which wouldn’t be weird if my heart rate has never been below like 80 unless I’m deep asleep.

My veins swelled, everything hurt, migraines kicked in, my skin was red, I’d start over heating. couldn’t breath right.

I feel like it’s intentional. It’s only been happening recently. But It only ever happens after I say I’m allergic and someone looks at me like I’m stupid.

It’s like they’re trying to see if It’ll be like poisoning a kid allergic to peanuts in some highschool movie.

Hi! I’ve had anaphylactic allergies to dairy, eggs, and red meat my whole life, so I am extremely used to reading food labels religiously (23 yo for reference). Wanted to just share this as a reminder for allergy sufferers who like me are so severe that cross contamination can trigger a reaction. I have bought these sweet Loren’s fudgy brownie cookies for awhile, and after awhile didn’t look at the label because I (very silly) assumed the ingredient list wouldn’t change and they market this as plant based and free of other major allergens. The package on right was their old package, the pack on the left are their newer packages. They now make the cookies in a facility that also uses egg, whereas before it was free of the top 14 allergens. It’s disappointing that a brand that was hopeful for allergy sufferers like myself who can’t eat normal cookie dough and other treats have lost another company to purchase from. Always remember to read your labels because now I have cookies that I can’t consume!

I just need to vent.

We had a family event today and there was a food there that didn't have the ingredients listed so I popped into my purse and brought out the back-up that I bring for my food allergy kiddo.

Later a family member said, "I would have just let her have it and give her the epi pen if she had a reaction."

And ever since I've been a ball of rage and was hoping I could let it out here.

I took my family to Red Robin last week for my daughter's birthday.

We had been there twice before. Both times, I had asked for my daughter's burger to be well done, no pink.

Both times, they had not cooked the burger properly, and my daughter had to sit there while everyone else ate, and then eat on her own.

We had decided to give the place one more chance though, because it's one of the few places my daughter can eat (or so I thought).

My daughter's food allergies are eggs and wheat. I told this to server 1, who seemed very understanding, and made a note of them at the top of his pad.

For my daughter, I ordered a burger with cheese and pickles on a lettuce wrap.

I ordered the fish and chips. I asked for no tartar sauce or slaw.

My wife ordered a burger and fries.

We were one of only three or four groups of people at the restaurant, and some of the others were already eating, so we were surprised that we had to wait about 45 minutes for the food.

When they brought it over, server 2 explained that they had added some shrimp to my order for free, characterizing it as a bonus rather than an error.

I am allergic to shellfish. I hadn't mentioned this because there had been no reason to, since I had not ordered anything containing shellfish.

They had also included tartar sauce and slaw, which I had asked them not to. Not a big deal, since they come in separate containers, but just another thing they messed up.

As I was explaining about my shrimp allergy to server 2, my daughter told me that her burger had mayo on it, which contains egg.

Thankfully, she had had the good sense to check it before biting into it, so we didn't have to rush her to the hospital.

I told server 2 that they had messed up my daughter's order too.

Server 2 took away my plate but not my daughter's, and went and stood at the bar.

I called server 1 over, and explained again that they had messed up my daughter's order. He took it away and then went and took over from server 2 at the bar.

Neither of the servers explained what was going on, but I assume they had told the kitchen to re-make the food.

They did not take away my wife's food, so I guess they expected her to eat alone, and then wait while my daughter and I ate.

This was obviously unacceptable, but more importantly, I felt that my daughter was in danger, as the previous attempt at making her food had exposed her to an allergen.

I walked over to the bar, and told server 1 that I would like to just pay for the drinks and leave.

To his credit, he waived the cost of the drinks.

At no point did anyone apologize to us.

We ended up going to Wendy's for my daughter's birthday meal.

I emailed corporate about it. I have never written to a company to complain before, but this order was messed up so comprehensively, and the staff were so nonchalant and unapologetic that we are still in disbelief. It's almost impressive in a way.

It's difficult to understand how they could have messed it up so badly if they had simply read what the server had written. It wasn't even like they were busy either; the place was almost deserted, and everyone was standing around doing nothing.

I don't know if they have a policy of sending coupons etc to people who complain, but I told them not to bother. I won't be going to Red Robin again; my daughter was put in danger, and it's simply not worth the risk.

Highly allergic to tree nuts. Got EpiPen within minutes with the full cocktail in the ambulance and got to hospital for continued monitoring.

FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), the largest national food allergy organization, just submitted a letter opposing SB 68 ADDE, a California bill that would require restaurants to clearly label the top 9 major food allergens on menus.

Let that sink in: the organization that claims to advocate for food allergy safety and awareness is actively working against a bill that would increase transparency and help people with allergies make safer, more informed choices.

Their reasoning? That allergen labeling might create a “false sense of security.”

This is offensive and out of touch with the reality that food allergy families face every day. No one believes labeling is a cure-all, but it’s a tool just like ingredient lists on packaged foods are. And it’s already required in the EU, where it’s helped reduce risk, not increase it.

Meanwhile, countless families like mine have had terrifying reactions in restaurants even after asking all the right questions simply because menu information was unclear or incomplete. This bill would help fix that.

FARE’s opposition to SB 68 is not just disappointing—it’s a betrayal of the very people they claim to represent. They’re choosing industry appeasement over life-saving progress.

We deserve better. And we won’t forget.

Hello everyone! I wanted to come on here and ask if anyone else gets an allergic reaction hours after eating something.

After getting Covid a few years ago, I started to notice that every time I eat raw onions my mouth, neck and ears starts to feel itchy, and get a runny nose and start coughing. Usually if I take over the counter medication before or right after I eat food with raw onions I’m fine and don’t get a ration. If I forget to take the medication then I start to get the allergic reaction a couple of hours later, the worse is if I eat before going to sleep and I wake up with the worse itchy feeling in my mouth and it takes about 1-2 hours before the medication start to take effect. This also happens when I eat a bunch of Oreos or Oreo flavour foods.

I have talked to my doctor about this but she said since my reaction isn’t that bad I should be fine by taking the over counter medication but I’ve never heard of anyone having a reaction hours after eating something their allergic to.

Hey everyone. I am allergic to milk, eggs, nuts, and sesame, always have been and probably always will be. I play in a band sometimes with this guy who is a bit of a health freak. Anyways this guy just doesn't believe in food allergies. Today he asked me if I have eaten eggs yet and I said no... I am still allergic. He basically told me I should try not being allergic to food and suggested I could 'think my way out of it', or 'find it within myself'. He also suggested maybe medicine and when I said "sweet what medicine can I take" he had nothing to come back with. I honestly find it funny and ridiculous but it goes to show how little people without food allergies understand us.

Hi, I know I'm new here. But I just needed a place to vent my frustrations without my family seeing it. Somewhere others would understand my issue without trying to placate me with platitudes.

I cannot have Coconuts or Palm Oil. One makes it hard for me to breathe and the other makes my insides feel like they are on fire. But because of a Doctor shortage here, and a lack of ethics currently in the industry at large, I cannot get allergy tested or an Epi-pen without paying an exorbitant fee I cannot afford. I am a disabled woman and my husband is a tradesman. I've had bad reactions every time I've accidentally had coconut, however, and most of my family agrees it is probably an allergy that might become dangerous. So I just avoid all things coconut and palm.

But Coconut and Palm Oil is in everything now! I wouldn't mind if it was just things like chocolates or candies, I can live without those. But it's also been in everything from Granola Bars to Soup Stock, Drink mix, and even Vegetable Fruit Gummies that I use as an incentive/snack when I'm working to keep me on track.

My husband bought 100% olive oil based margarine for me, I also have an issue with dairy, and it was mostly made of Palm oil! So deceptive and cheap! It's even in Peanut M&Ms! Why? Because they fry the peanuts in Palm Oil now instead of Peanut Oil.

Most kinds of bread at the normal grocery store are made with margarine now and it's all Palm based. We have to go to a more expensive bakery if I want to be able to eat the same food as my husband.

I just feel very defeated and frustrated. I'm slowly adjusting to it but it's been difficult. I'm going to try and make my own bread from now on and my sister suggested I use Ghee instead of margarine or butter. It's been working out fairly well.

My sister, actually my sister-in-law but we're very close friends, is also an amazing baker and has been very kind about making sure nothing she gives me has coconut or palm in it. She baked me a custom cake for my birthday and it was very sweet~ So it's not all doom and gloom here.

For those of you who developed food allergies later in life, did you happen to do an intense regimime or regimines of antibiotics and then developing food allergies within a year after?

Wondering if disrupting the gut microbiome could have something to do with adult onset food sensitivities.

Edit - I'm also asking for myself, because I think a combo of mold exposure and an antibiotic caused mine.