"But I'm ALLLEERRRGGGGIICCCCC!!1!1!"

[PepperElf]

I'm also sensitive to tomatoes but not ketchup, it's because I'm allergic to the acid in the seeds, and the sugar in most ketchups and sauces helps neutralize it.

Mom is similar but ... because of the texture of the product rather than the chemical composition.

She probably weirds some servers out sometimes with this too. I don't know if she's actually said that she's "allergic" or not, but she has had to say that it was very similar, in order to get her food without nuts or seeded fruits.

She doesn't actually like ketchup, but she can have it. However she asks for food without tomatoes because of her sensitivity. Likewise she can have creamy peanut butter but not peanuts.

Seeds and nuts don't affect her breathing like they would with someone who was normally allergic or sensitive. they just run the risk of getting caught in her intestine, which means a trip to the ER with a case of diverticulitis.

[manybellsdown]

I have a problem similar to the tomato one, but with onions. I looooove the taste of onions, but fresh onion and I just do not get along. BUT, I discovered that I can have onion that's been dehydrated; something about the process seems to eliminate whatever causes me issues.

So at Burger King (whose onion rings are made from reconstituted onion), I order my burger no onions ... with a side of onion rings. Yeah, I probably look like a jerk for doing it. I apologize in advance to any BK employees reading.

[DeltaSierra]

I'm fortunate that I have no alleriges, though I'm sensitive to a few foods, nothing that will make me do a Linda Blair impression though.

Hubby on the other hand, does have two allergies, and unfortunately they get him eye-rolls and whatnot quite often when we eat out. The first is mushrooms - if he eats even a small piece, he'll be hurling all day. The other is pickles - specifically dill pickles, which leads us to believe its an allergy to dill itself, not cucumbers (as he can eat them in a salad with no issue.) The problem we seem to run into (most often in fast food places) is if we ask for burgers with no pickles, we've encountered situations where the cooks have simply removed the pickle from an already-made burger and then given it to him. He can still *taste* that the pickle was there, and it ruins the entire meal for him. He breaks out in hives when he even ingests pickle juice. We once ordered double cheeseburgers at McD's and told them no pickles - the cook put them between the patties!!! Then the manager had the gall to tell him that "nobody's allergic to pickles" while hubby is standing there breaking out in hives in front of him.

[Marlowe]

Then the manager had the gall to tell him that "nobody's allergic to pickles" while hubby is standing there breaking out in hives in front of him.

God, I HATE it when people do that! The number of people who have told me "nah, no one's allergic to onions" after, you know, knowingly serving me something with onions in it only to find that surprise surprise I am now very VERY ill... what do they want to me to say? "Oh yes, you're right, hey look at that, I'm fine! You can go away now, friendly ambulance men! It turns out I CAN'T be allergic after all! Now, who's for tea?"

[thatcrazyredhead]

I will admit to having contemplated claiming a false food allergy, but I have never actually done it. Because I feel bad for people who really do have them and have to be that careful, and also because it might not make any difference, and then I'd be ethically torn between not complaining because they violated my pretend allergy and raising cain because that kind of carelessness could really screw over someone with a legitimate one.

The reason I've been tempted is because I hate, loathe, despise, and detest onions. Green ones, white ones, red ones, yellow ones, I hate them all equally. (I don't mind them if they are chopped small and cooked to the point they are translucent and soft, but otherwise, keep them away from me!) And after the 500th time you've asked for your burger without onions and receive a burger with onions (which you can easily remove, but they've already contaminated the taste of the tomato, pickles, lettuce, meat, etc) it starts to get under your skin. It shouldn't be that hard to just get what you asked for.

At any rate, I would never pull the "I COULD HAVE DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIED!!!!!!!" schtick. If I really could have died, I'd be out for blood (or at least blood money), and that whole hullaballoo isn't the way to get anything but maybe a free meal. Plus it would make me a douchecanoe.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I don't think I could get used to NO sauce (pizza joints don't like it because the lack of weight tends to allow more bubbles), but I usually get light sauce. I like a bit o' that flavor, but I deffo agree with you that too much simply overwhelms the overall taste.

Same here. I've also noticed that over the years a lot of that pizza sauce also aggravates my reflux, so when ordering I'll ask for light sauce.

I'm having the same issue with the pepperoni . . . even if I take a heartburn pill before I eat, it may not always help prevent it, so most of the time I stay away from it.

But there are times when I sorely miss that spicy pepperoni goodness, so I'll go ahead and have it and hope I don't pay for it later.

[XCashier]

God, I HATE it when people do that! The number of people who have told me "nah, no one's allergic to onions" after, you know, knowingly serving me something with onions in it only to find that surprise surprise I am now very VERY ill...

Unless the food server is also a doctor, they've got no business telling you that you "can't be allergic to Food X". Anything that's edible, someone can have an allergy to it. And you might not be allergic to the base food, but to some component of the processing (like Delta's husband's possible allergy to the dill in pickles, or things like added flavors/colors/preservatives).

[stitchwitch]

This
http://notalwaysworking.com/this-res...the-crop/27655
might explain why some people lie about it.

[Seshat]

That's been irking me for years, too. There is no histamine in smoke to cause an allergic reaction.

Actually, the histamine is produced by the patient's body as a reaction to the irritant. That said, I just discovered that histamine is present in some allergens (while verifying my statement above); so in a sense, we're both correct.

The major problem with - for instance - allergic rhinitis (aka hayfever) is overproduction of histamine. Thus, treatment with antihistamines.

[wolfie]

Also, I tell people with pet allergies that we are 100% pet friendly, and while we do extra deep-cleaning after a pet has been in the room, I cannot guarantee there hasn't been a pet in that room because at some point all our rooms have had pets in them because we are 100% pet friendly. Arguing with me isn't going to change that. If you allergy is that bad, then I'm giving you important information. Accept our deep-cleaning is enough or stay at a chain that, oh I don't know, doesn't take pets.

Even staying at a chain that doesn't take pets wouldn't necessarily help - under ADA, they're required to take service animals. While the law considers a seeing-eye dog to be a white cane with a wet nose, allergies still recognize it as a dog.

Wouldn't happen at your hotel (since you're pet-friendly, they wouldn't book), but what happens if a LARGE group books at a "no-pets" hotel, identifying themselves as a convention of people with pet allergies, and then someone with a service animal makes a reservation? While ADA prohibits turning them away, would it be OK to tell them about the group booking, explain that if the dog causes harm to other guests it can be ejected despite being a service animal, that the nature of the group makes it virtually certain that despite being on its best behaviour it WILL cause harm to other guests simply by being a dog, so they might want to book at a different hotel?

Also, what happens if a hotel takes 2 group bookings, neither of which discloses the nature of the group - and at check-in time, it's found that one group is a convention of people with dog allergies, and the other is a convention of people with service animals?

[Jay 2K Winger]

I used to have a very, very, very, very, very mild sensitivity to soy. (Very.)

All that used to happen was I'd get a red mark appear on my cheek.

It doesn't happen anymore, so I clearly de-sensitized myself over the years.

[Blue Ginger]

Respectfully Marlowe - Bite me. You are basically saying that my allergies aren't real. Thanks. I feel so much better now. I'll just tell my doctor that all the tests that we did were totally wrong. And the migraines are just all in my head. (no pun intended)

And just for the record, I am fine around a camp fire and an open fire place. More than likely I would be fine with normal tobacco. And the second-hand smoke from the 'other' tobacco just makes me sleepy.

It is all the chemicals and crud that they add to the tobacco that I am allergic to. The second-hand smoke is just the way the chemicals enter my poor body.

I also have problems with new car smell, paint, most powerful cleaners and some industrial glues. All things with pretty powerful chemicals that can hang around in the air.

[Marlowe]

Respectfully Marlowe - Bite me. You are basically saying that my allergies aren't real. Thanks. I feel so much better now. I'll just tell my doctor that all the tests that we did were totally wrong. And the migraines are just all in my head. (no pun intended)

And just for the record, I am fine around a camp fire and an open fire place. More than likely I would be fine with normal tobacco. And the second-hand smoke from the 'other' tobacco just makes me sleepy.

It is all the chemicals and crud that they add to the tobacco that I am allergic to. The second-hand smoke is just the way the chemicals enter my poor body.

I also have problems with new car smell, paint, most powerful cleaners and some industrial glues. All things with pretty powerful chemicals that can hang around in the air.

That's not what I said. I said you had lots of allergies to underlying things, but all the medical evidence I have seen states that an allergy to smoke is impossible. It's an irritant that increases your sensitivity to OTHER things. That's not my opinion or me being mean, it's just the factual truth of it. One of my tutors at Oxford had spent 15 years studying it, so it's not something I've pulled out of my ass.

The car paint I totally get. That sets me off too (I had pneumonia as a teenager then did too many drugs in college and my lungs SUCK.) That has fine particles in the air though, as do powerful cleaners.

It really isn't personal. It's scientific fact. Unless your doctor is doing new research or something, and is a specialist you were referred to for that - in which case I apologise, because I only have current research to go by since I quit the biochemistry dept at my university.

[Dave1982]

OK, this thread is closed. We do not call out, argue with, or attack other members, and there are multiple posts in this thread that go way over the line.