What are you allergic to?

[Jimbo]

Well, an allergy can develop from many things, and some really weird ones have come my way in the Emergency Department.  One poor person was allergic to chocolate and ketchup.  Most common types we get is that someone eats something with shellfish and didn't know it was in it, and comes in all bloated up; second most common type would be nuts.

Pretty much you won't get an allergic reaction to the antigen until the second time of exposure and the severity depends on how hyped up your immune system is to the antigen.

I do hate the assholes who come in claiming to be allergic to every non-narcotic pain reliever under the sun, just so they only will get a shot of their favorite brand of narcotics for their headache that brought them to the Emergency Department.  People like that make it so freaking hard for nurses and medics like me to be impartial after dealing with manipulative assholes like that.

[Nevermore]

I'm allergic to mangos, of all things.  I break out into a very nasty rash and get swelling anyplace the juice of the fruit touches my skin.  I've never actually tried eating any of the fruit; I figured that would be a Bad Idea.  Doing a little research, it turns out that mangos belong to the Anacardiaceae family, which includes cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, poison ivy and poison oak.  Cross-reactivity has been found among pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, and mango seeds, but this cross-reactivity doesn't extend to mango pulp.  Which makes sense, since I love pistachios and cashews and have no problem with them.

Aside from the mango thing, I don't have any allergies that I know of.

[Sky]

I grew up a country boy, eatin' raspberries off the vine in the woods and feasting on little woodland critters. Jumping into a snowbank is my idea of waking up. I can throw off a cold in half the time of everyone else who gets it (I rarely medicate). Had a bee sting swell up my hand like a softball when I was a kid (or a balloon, if you're into Floyd), but they don't bug me (sorry bad pun) now.

The closest I came to dying was being in the fucking hospital, it's how I learned I was allergic to amoxicillin. I'm afraid of hospitals, because I know the majority of people who work in our local hospital, and they're all the fuckups from high school, plus some doctors who couldn't get better jobs. Scary shit. There is a standing order among my family that if something bad happens, we are to go to the 'big city' hospital, even if the trip is risky.

Haven't been to the doctor outside a couple physicals for jobs since I broke my hip when I was 13 (don't fight on monkey bars). Until my molar cracked last year, I hadn't been to a dentist since I was 18, I just take care of myself, I guess. The body is a machine, you have to program it to be strong or you'll be a pussy. Might happen anyway, but I think people who over-do the antibiotics and OCD cleaning and stuff are pussifying themselves. My girlfriend is always pulling out the hand sanitizer, it's weird.

[Signe]

I have a reaction to poison ivy... but I thought everyone did.  Is that not the case?

I have a reaction to semen as well... usually choking.

[Jimbo]

I have a reaction to poison ivy... but I thought everyone did.  Is that not the case?

Nope, I'm not allergic to it, and neither is my son, my mom is way allergic to it.

Not sure if it is the fact that I'm one of those dumb hillybillies who got an education who grew up running around in the woods doing pretty much what Sky did too  :-D  Got to luv pan fried squirrel with a mess of bluegills.

I've been working around sick people since 1990 and have only been sick about 2 times where I've had to miss work (both times from the puke-n-poop bad ass stomach flu from hell), but doing stupid stuff like riding my mountain bike down a staircase and breaking a leg...well won't go there 

[Strazos]

Oh yeah, I'm allergic to Amoxocillin as well. USAF doctors gave it to me for an ear infection as an infant, it screwed me up and gave me pneumonia. I lost all my baby fat, which I am just now starting to gain back a bit of.

CVS pharmacy insists I'm not really allergic to it, so I'm hoping they give it to me at some point just so I can sue them. Idiots.

[Bunk]

As a kid:
 - Cats
 - Pollen
 - Fresh hay
 - Cedar (gave me hives if i touched it)
 - Suposedly Milk (never believed that, as I drank a ton of it and never had issues)

Now:
 - Fresh Hay
 - some pollens - your basic Spring Hay fever

As a kid my Hay fever was alomost debilitating. Its gotten progressively milder since my early twenties though. Usually nothing more than a runny nose for a week each Spring now.

[Sky]

Man...I envy your hayfever. So many days spent haying for my neighbor...

[Fargull]

Mold I think, get sinus crap when the mold count is high here.  Not allergic to anything else, except maybe the current powers that be in the oval office...

[Jamiko]

I had no allergies until my early 20's when I moved to Phoenix for a year. After returning to Minnesota I was all of a sudden allergic to many things. All year around too. I have been getting allergy shots for the past 8 years or so and I'm pretty much fine except for still being allergic to some cats. I blame the pollution in Phoenix.

[Pococurante]

I'm afraid of hospitals, because I know the majority of people who work in our local hospital, and they're all the fuckups from high school, plus some doctors who couldn't get better jobs.

I remember fresh out of high school wondering how all my most dysfunctional drug buddies wound up all working in the same hospital - not that they all applied but that any of them got hired.  Just never quite got around to admitting myself to that particular place.  OTOH it's amazing how many things in the hospital cry out to be made into a bong.

[UD_Delt]

As a smoker I'm allergic to all types of crap. Cut grass, pollen, molds, etc... As a going on 2 year non-smoker now most of those things don't really bother me at all anymore. I use to be able to count on a 2 week anti-biotic requiring sinus infection twice a year evey winter->spring and every fall->winter. Now I maybe catch a 1-2 day cold during those times of year.

Really the only thing that bothers me anymore is strong fragrances like perfumes, candles, air fresheners and such. They cause instant congestion, red itchy eyes, etc... I avoid elevators at all costs anymore for fear of being trapped in that confined space with a woman who bathed in perfume that morning.

[cevik]

Speaking of allergies, last year around christmas my mouth kept breaking out in bizarre ways, gums swollen, canker sores like crazy.  Was terrible, but what can you do about it eh?  I just figured it was a bad run of luck or something.  I remember it was right around the time we roasted up a bunch of pecans, because I remember thinking "man the salt on these pecans is making my mouth worse, I should stop eating them." But damn they were good..

This year my wife was talking about how great the pecans were last year, so she drove out to the orchard and bought us a bunch.  I roasted them and we ate them over the weekend.  Now my mouth is all torn up with canker sores, my gums are swollen I can barely talk (it's hard to sleep at night because it's hard to find a good position to lay in that doesn't hurt my mouth)..

I'm suspecting that I'm allergic to pecans.  It sucks because I love roasted pecans (but honestly I love not having big gaping sores in my mouth more, so I guess it's an easy, if heartbreaking, choice)..

Up until this week, I've never suspected myself of being allergic to anything..

[Llava]

Not allergic to anything I know of.

However, this last Spring I was a giant ball of mucus.  So maybe I'm developing allergies. I hope not.  It seemed equally bad for everyone, though, even people who usually don't have allergies, so maybe it was just a really bad year for that.

I can get irritated by some stuff- tobacco smoke, for instance, if I'm stuck in a really smoky room for more than a half hour or so my eyes start tearing up and stinging.  But I don't think that really counts as an allergy... more likely it counts as being a non-smoker.

[Signe]

You would make a crap pot head.

[Strazos]

And I'm sure he's going to have some restless nights because of that.

[Polysorbate80]

I have a reaction to poison ivy... but I thought everyone did.  Is that not the case?

There's a fair number of 'immune' people, but almost all of them will become sensitized with enough repeated exposure; the amount required varies amongst individuals.  A very small number of people may be totally immune.  Folk remedies say you can supposedly desensitive yourself by ingesting leaves from the plant, but you'll sure as hell never catch me trying it.

for the record, I'm allergic to:

-animal dander (cats are the worst)
-mold
-pollen
-many varieties of grass and shrubs (lawns make me itch, and I will *never* have any of those goddamn annoying prickly hedge-things at my home)

[Samwise]

Folk remedies say you can supposedly desensitive yourself by ingesting leaves from the plant, but you'll sure as hell never catch me trying it.

Wow.  I'm less inherently skeptical of "folk remedies" than most, but if that's not a case of homeopathy gone horribly horribly wrong I don't know what is.

[Ironwood]

I have spent the last five years building up an immunity to Iocaine powder.

[cevik]

A very small number of people may be totally immune.  Folk remedies say you can supposedly desensitive yourself by ingesting leaves from the plant, but you'll sure as hell never catch me trying it.

Just for the record, to that no one tries this, this is a very good way for a particularly sensitive person to end up in the Emergency Room.  Ingesting the leaves will most likely result in a cortisone shot.  Also be very wary of inhaling the smoke created by burning leaves, if you are highly allergic try to stay away from any fires that you may suspect contains poison ivy, again this will most likely result in a trip to the emergency room for a cortisone shot.

[voodoolily]

I have a reaction to poison ivy... but I thought everyone did.  Is that not the case?

There's a fair number of 'immune' people, but almost all of them will become sensitized with enough repeated exposure; the amount required varies amongst individuals.  A very small number of people may be totally immune. 

I found out a very scary way whether or not I'm allergic to poisonoak (a close relative). Since I'm a botanist, I can identify the shit even without leaves, so I generally just avoid it. But one time I was at some hot springs adjacent to a river trying to get back to the trail (which had washed out in a flood the previous year), so I thought, hey, I'll just climb up this cliff and the trail should be right on top. I got up really high, too high to turn back (lest I fall to my grisly death) and all of a sudden I was faced with a hedgerow of poisonoak and Oregon-grape (a spiny, low shrub that resembles holly). I had the options of a) fall and break my legs or b) barrel through head first. I opted for the latter, keeping my fingers crossed the entire time that I would be one of the lucky ~50% of people not allergic. If I had been, I would've ended up with a seepy rash all over my face and shoulders. Fortunately, I came away relatively unscathed (spare a few scratches on my shoulders from the Oregon-grape), and found the trail. I've brushed past poisonoak once or twice since, and have never been affected. Stinging nettles though? They are the awfulest thing you'll ever encounter.

[Polysorbate80]

I believe you have to damage the plant to come into contact with the sap (although the plants are rather fragile), so you can sometimes get away with casual contact even if you're sensitive.  But charging through; yah, you'd have to have a tolerance for it :)

And yes, please don't anyone be silly enough to eat poison ivy/oak/whatever.

Nor should you stand near any burning plants.  However, should the police be silly enough to burn a field of pot near you, then feel free to stand downwind.

[Lantyssa]

As a child I was highly allergic to grass pollen and insects.  There was a common caterpillar in our area that was the worst... a single hair from one would cause a dime-sized welt on my skin, and unfortunately they shed hair like cats.  Fortunately I outgrew those around my teens.

A few years ago I found I out I am allergic to glutten (celiac disease), which is in wheat, oats, barley and similar grains.  I can tolerate a little (some people cannot tolerate any), but too much and I will be doubled-over in pain and wishing for someone to put me out of my misery.  Even low amounts can cause some unpleasant digestive effects later on, so I tend to avoid a lot of foods since an incredible amount of the typical American diet contains wheat.

[Hokers]

Allergies

Milk (Lactose) - Too much makes me really tired and upsets my stomach, used to be worse.

Coconuts - Any amount makes me puke and out of action for hours.

Fennel (spice commonly found in Italian sausage) - heat flashes, temp loss of vision, pass out

Thank god I am not allergic to cats,  my 3.

[Surlyboi]

I have spent the last five years building up an immunity to Iocaine powder.

Never deal with a Scotsman when death is on the line!

[Der Helm]

As a child I was highly allergic to grass pollen and insects.  There was a common caterpillar in our area that was the worst... a single hair from one would cause a dime-sized welt on my skin, and unfortunately they shed hair like cats. 

Hm, I never heard of someone being allergic to the insects themself. But I remember that some insects, esp. caterpillars, shed hair as a defense mechanism.

Why am I responding to this, I found the idea of insects with hair oddly amusing.

Oh, and I am allergic to something called "Sulfonamide", as a doctor found out by almost killing me at the age of 6 months.

I also react allergic to alcohol, strangely only when inhaled (think about most colognes, air refresher, stuff like that).

[Bunk]

Usually most doctors just ask if you are alergic to Sulfa drugs. I know my sister is.

Oh, and Lily, I always assumed that everyone reacted badly to stinging nettles; or is it only a few lucky ones?
Scratches from those things would always swell up and itch for hours. Of course anyone in the NW has a backyard full of em.

[voodoolily]

Oh, yeah nettles sting everyone. I hate those fuckers. Working as a wetlands scientist you run into 'em all the time (they grow in swampy places). One time in early spring I didn't see the two-leaf sprout when I was digging and my knuckles grazed it. My hand tingled and stung for a whole day.

[Der Helm]

My hand tingled and stung for a whole day.

During her wild days, my mother desperatly needed to "relief herself" an jumped into a field of those fuckers ...


Not much relief was had, or so she told me.

[voodoolily]

I used to work with a Lithuanian girl who told me that if she was bad when she was a kid, she got spanked with them!!!! Dang but Slavs are some tough fuckers. And we thought "go fetch me a willa' switch" was child abuse.

[penfold]

It used to be tuna, but i accidently ate a huge chunk of raw tuna a few years back thinking it was salmon nigiri and nothing happened.  My medical files have me allergic to penicillin, but that was as a child. Brazil nuts cause a reaction in my mouth and back of throat but other nuts are fine.  

[WayAbvPar]

It used to be tuna, but i accidently ate a huge chunk of raw tuna a few years back thinking it was salmon nigiri and nothing happened.  My medical files have me allergic to penicillin, but that was as a child. Brazil nuts cause a reaction in my mouth and back of throat but other nuts are fine. 

Even Deez Nuts?

[Yegolev]

Brazil nuts cause a reaction in my mouth and back of throat but other nuts are fine. 

Even Deez Nuts?

Oh my God, you soooo win the thread.

I am not allergic to anything except the high concentration of pollen/pollution you get around Atlanta, and even then it's mostly just something I can fix with an antihistamine.  Not allergic to poison ivy, and I recently found out that mosquito bites can make other people red and welty.  Who knew?  In contrast, I am a pasty gamer with a desk job in IT, so there goes that stereotype.

[voodoolily]

Oh, yeah, I forgot. I am allergic to mosquito bites. Stung by a wasp? No problem. Bit by a skeeter? Huge goose egg swelling, and it's all hot and nasty. It goes away after a coupla hours, but it is ridiculous. When I was a kid I stepped on a yellow jacket nest and got stung all to shit, even right next to my eyeball. Ever since then I don't really react to bee stings, even though I should, by all medical reasoning, have an anaphylactic response to it now. Yay for me, I guess.

[Rodent]

I'm not alergic to anything I have yet to be exposed too, but I am really fucking scared of snakes if that helps.