Food Allergies

[Boracay]

+ 1 on bringing a card written in the local lingo outlining any dietary requirements.

I got caught out going from the Philippines (food mostly gluten free, gluten free selection in supermarkets, English widespread) to Hong Kong, where they put wheat in absolutely everything and their English (outside of the tourist areas is very limited, inside it's spoken through gritted teeth).

Let's just say that there is one MTR toilet where I don't dare show my face (or any other part of my body) again.

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by sailcruiser

Talbot, if I understood Olaf correctly he was just clarifying the difference between an intolerance or sensitivity and an allergic reaction that can take your life in minutes.
...........

I did understand this, but the terminolog used and understood by laymen is not always the same as that used by practioners. Furthermore there is a major difference in someone who would die in minutes from a bee sting or eating nuts, and someone who also has an allergic reaction to the same items, yet will survive for a number of hours. Yet these are both termed the same.

There is little difference between someone with a mild allergic reaction to nuts etc versus someone with a bad irritable bowel or coeliac intolerance/allergy. Furthermore, nut or beesting allergic reactions are normally well understood/ and catered for when travelling or eating out. Gluten free (or in my case, both gluten and dairy) can be a bit of a problem, and Irritable Bowel when you are travelling means the application of immodium, which see/saws the system into the opposite reaction, which can alo end up in hospital / been there, done that.

[webejammin]

I guess intollerence to foods is differen for everyone I get knocked down like having bad flue like symptoms for days ( 4 to 5 days ) just eating anything soy and anything with MSG makes me swell up like a baloon big lips and puffy all over, all beans make me barff almost immedetaly, even beer made of hops beans ( no beer at all ). If I were out sailing off shore and no red meat I would be looking at the most tender looking person to cook before I ate a bean.

[lcrider]

The gluten free allergy is a frustrating topic. I cannot tell you the number of times when folks question the diagnosis. I would just love for them to be in my body the next day suffering the digestive consequences of gluten in your body! There are long term effects to consuming gluten if you are a celiac. It is not dramatic like a peanut allergy. My captain is a retired allergist. Even he has had to adjust to my diet. We have devised a system aboard. Gluten free items have a check mark. Those with glute have "gluten" written on them. I am going back to the states for a month. The captain is expected to eat the gluten products while gone and I am bringing back hundreds of dollars worth of gluten free product.

New hint Braggs Aminos is a good substitute for soy sauce. I haven't tried it yet. For the non celiacs reading this, wheat can be the first ingredient in bottled soy sauce...who would of thought!

[JanetGroene]

There are so many hazards, each person has to deal in his or her own way. Rule one: know your enemy. This is easier for cooks, who know what is in recipes, than for non-cooks who can get torpedoed by not knowing what goes into each dish. Rule two: carry a good supply of what you need if you unknowingly eat something that is bad for you, e.g. ephedrine pen, antihistimine pills, etc. I once had a friend with a severe reaction to mustard, which is hidden in many other substances including some mayonnaise brands.

[webejammin]

I went thru scratch tests and found I was alergic to lots of foods : So is that an intolerence or alergy ?? What is the difference ? what does scrach tests show alergy or intolerance ?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Deck Scrubber

Due to surgery gone wrong around 10 years ago i can not have anything with nut and Garlic.... makes it really hard.

I can't eat anything with peppercorn in it -- black, white, pink, green, red -- makes no difference. I have to be very careful at pot lucks and around the holidays in particular.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Talbot

So how do you explain me ending up in hospital in an emergency admission?

Whether it's a sensitivity or an allergy, the symptoms can be mild or severe. In particular we don't want to dismiss celiac disease as "just a sensitivity." For some people it is life-threatening condition.

As for me, the pepper thing is a sensitivity thing, not an allergy. However, it is also potentially life-threatening. You see, if I tell you and you still cook me something with pepper in it, I WILL want to kill you the next day!

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

You see, if I tell you and you still cook me something with pepper in it, I WILL want to kill you the next day!

If you tell someone and they do it anyway, I'd say not to hold anything back and beat them good.

[KDH]

Warning...thread drift. What may start off as a mild allergy can progress, through repeated exposure to a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. Latex, shellfish, peanuts, bees are the usual culprits. Don't assume that because the item that causes the allergy usually causes just a rash that it will not progress to a more severe reaction . If you're allergic to shellfish watch out for mussels in the strainers!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by KDH

Warning...thread drift. What may start off as a mild allergy can progress, through repeated exposure to a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. Latex, shellfish, peanuts, bees are the usual culprits. Don't assume that because the item that causes the allergy usually causes just a rash that it will not progress to a more severe reaction . If you're allergic to shellfish watch out for mussels in the strainers!

How is that topic drift?

It's true.

[Jerry Woodward]

I thought I would try to clear up some confusion on this thread concerning different type of allergies, with the hope that it will help people deal with the various types of allergies out there. First, the term allergy or allergic reaction describes an immune response to a normally innocuous substance, i.e. peanuts or wheat. “Intolerance” is a term more properly reserved for a non-immune reaction, like lactose intolerance. So, why do we have so many different types of allergies? It boils down to the type of immune response that one generates to the substance, and the location of that substance, e.g. inhaled, on the skin, in the gut, or systemic circulation. Immunologists, like myself, describe four types of hypersensitivities, named type I-IV.

Type I hypersensitivity, also called immediate hypersensitivity is mediated by pre-formed IgE antibodies. It is characterized by immediate swelling, itching, and muscle contraction and can result in anaphylaxis. It is the type of allergic reaction most people think of when the term allergy is mentioned. But, it can manifest in very different ways depending on the source of the allergen. If you breathe it, you get immediate sneezing, mucous, itching, etc. If it is injected under the skin, or you get a scratch, it causes immediate swelling and itching. It can be as harmless as the immediate bump you get from a mosquito bite, to your whole arm swelling up from a bee sting. If the allergen is eaten, it can cause vomiting and diarrhea. If a sufficient amount of the allergen gets absorbed systemically, either through the gut or injected through the skin, it can cause anaphylaxis. This type of hypersensitivity is mediated by histamines among other things, and thus is responsive to antihistamines like Benadryl. Anaphylaxis can also be treated with epinephrine as others have noted. If you have a type I allergy, you will get an immediate reaction upon a skin test with that allergen.

Types II and III hypersensitivities: Mostly associated with autoimmune diseases and some drug allergies.

Type IV hypersensitivity: Also called delayed-type hypersensitivity because it takes 24-48 hours to show up. A classic example is poison ivy and other types of contact dermatitis. It is caused mainly by the T cells of the immune system responding to allergens in a complex way. Food allergies can manifest as type IV responses and cause very different types of reactions from a type I food allergy. Celiac disease is mainly a Type IV response to the gluten component, gliadin. Someone with celiac is not going to get anaphylaxis from eating gluten, but the reaction is still quite serious and debilitating. In contrast, it is possible to have a non-celiac wheat allergy that is a type I reaction with a danger of anaphylaxis. Type IV hypersensitivities don’t respond to anti-histamines but do respond to cortisone creams (if it is a skin reaction)

So, the purpose of this long-winded post is that it is important to be able to recognize the different types of hypersensitivities, type I and type IV being the most relevant to allergic reactions. The biggest clue is immediate vs delayed reaction. Some people can have a mild reaction causing discomfort while others can have a life threatening reaction requiring immediate attention.

Hope this helps. Jerry